Moa Backe Åstot’s Butterfly Heart has been selected for the 2026 USBBY Outstanding International Books honor list for young people.
Since 2006, the Outstanding International Books committee has annually curated the list, highlighting exceptional books that offer meaningful perspectives and experiences, broadening and enriching readers’ understanding of the world.
Pascal Engman is yet again No. 1 on the Norwegian paperback bestseller list with his No One, the seventh installment in the bestselling series about detective Vanessa Frank.
Heine Bakkeid’s standalone thriller The Night Voyager and Thomas Enger & Johana Gustawsson’s SON, the first installment in the Kari Voss series, have been shortlisted for the Norwegian Sølvkniven, an award which honors Norwegian crime literature.
The jury had the following to say about each of the nominees:
“Boundary-breaking and nail-biting madness in book form, you can feel the chill take a firm grip on you as the pages fly by. /…/ The pitch-black plot makes this a wild reading experience. One can simply bow in the dust – The Night Voyager is Bakkeid’s best crime novel so far.”
“Excellent, a very thrilling and captivating story about processing grief and keep living after a tragedy. /…/ The plot [in SON] is masterfully crafted, with many subplots leading the reader off course, and the solution is far from easy to predict.”
Lisa Ridzén’s lauded debut novel When the Cranes Fly South enters the Sunday Times bestseller list for paperback fiction at No. 8.
Photo: Charlie Gray
This morning Netflix announced that acclaimed musicians and composers Nick Cave and Warren Ellis will create the original score for the highly anticipated new series Jo Nesbo’s Detective Hole.
The pairing of Cave and Ellis with the dark, atmospheric world of Harry Hole is a match made in noir heaven. Renowned for their haunting, emotive soundtracks – spanning films such as The Proposition, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and Wind River – Cave and Ellis bring a depth and intensity that perfectly echoes the psychological complexity and Nordic noir sensibility of Nesbø’s universe.
Composer Nick Cave: “We loved working on this adaptation – Harry Hole’s murky, morally-complex world has been brought to life in all its darkly brutal glory, and it was an honour to work with the legendary Jo Nesbo.”
Author, creator and executive producer Jo Nesbø: “Nick Cave and Warren Ellis are masters at conjuring mood and tension, and their music is the ideal companion to Harry Hole’s brooding, enigmatic journey through the shadows of Oslo. Their music has always been a soundtrack to my writing process. To have them now scoring the world of Harry Hole feels both surreal and absolutely right.”
Jo Nesbo’s Detective Hole will premiere on Netflix on March 26th.
Monika Fagerholm’s critically acclaimed Nowhere Land/Women in Revolt has been shortlisted for the 2026 Swedish Radio’s Novel Award. The award was founded in 1993 and is given each year to an outstanding Swedish novel from the preceding year’s literary publication. The winner will be announced on April 24.
Monika Fagerholm’s lauded novel Nowhere Land/ Women in Revolt is the most sold domestic fiction title of December in Finland. Nowhere Land/ Women in Revolt is the winner of the 2025 Finlandia award and nominated for the upcoming Runeberg Award.
The official Norwegian bestseller lists for 2025 have been compiled, and claiming the No. 1 spot in hardcover fiction is Jo Nesbø with Wolf Hour. Jørn Lier Horst appears on the lists with two titles, coming in at No. 3 in hardcover and e-book with The Last Case, and No. 3 in paperback with The Lake. Pascal Engman meanwhile has three titles on the lists, starting with Tierra del Fuego and X at No. 6 and No. 7 in paperback, and No One at No. 9 in e-book.
Yrsa Sigurdardóttir is the second most sold crime writer of 2025 in Iceland, placing at No. 2 with A Fall From Grace, a stand-alone thriller.
Nordisk Film & TV Fond and Göteborg Film Festival have announced the five drama series nominated for the Nordic Series Script Award, and among the nominees are Ingeborg Topsøe for Reservatet (Denmark), Karin Arrhenius for Jag for ner till bror (Sweden) and Tiina Lymi for Queen of Fucking Everything (Finland).
The Nordic Series Script Award recognises exceptional screenwriting in Nordic drama. This prestigious award, worth NOK 200,000, is presented annually at the Göteborg Film Festival’s TV Drama Vision. Financed by Nordisk Film & TV Fond, it is awarded to the main writer of a Nordic drama series that premiered in 2025. The winners of the awards will be announced at an award ceremony on the evening of January 27.
Iceland, Ugla
Closed by Emma Granberg
Thailand, Library House
Closed by Emma Granberg
Estonia, Hea Lugu
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Slovakia, DOT
Closed by Emma Granberg
Slovakia, DOT
Closed by Emma Granberg
Lithuania, Baltos Lankos
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A psychological nail-biter! (…) [T]his is a brilliant start of a new series about psychologist Kari Voss. /…/ I simply have to read the next book in the series.
– Allers
A novel that moves you to tears, but also conveys hope and humanity.
– Münchner Merkur Online
Annette Bjergfeldt has written an enchanting novel about love, friendship, and settling in a new place.
– Die Presse
A linguistic spectacle of a book!
– Donna
A searing insight into holding onto identity and love.
– Sainsbury’s Magazine
Carl and Helene, needing a long vacation to reconnect with each other, swaps residences with a couple in California. But upon arriving at their new exclusive home, Carl and Helene start to sense that something feels off. The house doesn’t quite match the pictures of the villa, and unsettling questions arise about the strangers now living in their home.