Norwegian actor Anders Baasmo has won Best Actor at the 2026 Seoul International Drama Awards for his leading performance in A Better Man. The acclaimed drama series also took home the Grand Prize in the International Competition, and the series creator Thomas Seeberg Torjussen was honoured with the Best Screenwriter award.

The series previously swept three prizes at Canneseries 2025, including Best Series and Best Performance for Baasmo. The SDA jury praised A Better Man as being “at the highest level in nearly every aspect, from writing and direction to performance,” calling it fully deserving of the Grand Prize.

Rock music has been my school.

Most of what I know about life and the world I have learned by listening to rock—and playing rock. My classroom has been the rehearsal space, the tour bus, and the stage, from Bodø, Berlin, Brisbane, Buenos Aires, Boston, to Bergen*.

Among other things, I have realized that people who take rock seriously haven’t understood a single thing.

And that people who don’t understand that rock is one of the most important things in the whole universe haven’t understood anything either.

This book was written with both of those thoughts working simultaneously.

Now it is your turn to learn these things. You swine.

*unfortunately

In Visions, Digressions, and Massive Erections, Thomas Seltzer lets his readers in on memorable blackouts from a rock musician’s life.

The night before Christmas, Anna receives a troubling call from her dad. He has decided to spend the holiday alone, but won’t say why. Anna’s reaction alters from confusion to fear. What is he not telling her?

Early next morning, on ice-slick roads and with her youngest son Vilmer in the backseat, Anna heads to confront her father. The journey there becomes one through time and old memories. On the hunt for answers about what her dad is trying to hide, Anna must face her own childhood.

All is Bright is a tale about the people who knows us the best yet cost us the most. About the demanding times we all live in and the light we search for in each other.

An epic tale stretching across a whole century, multiple lives, and an entire world.

Ten years have passed since Jenny said her final goodbyes to her elderly relative Doris and read about her dramatic life. Now, Jenny returns to Doris’ apartment in Stockholm. Despite her husband pressuring her to sell, Jenny is unwilling to part with it and her memories of Doris.

In the apartment, she discovers a secret room full of paintings by Doris’ friend, the painter Gösta Adrian Nilsson. What would have been an ending transforms into the beginning of a new story. Because in the room, there is also a blue notebook wherein Gösta has shared the story behind each painting. Hidden inside are also clues that take Jenny back to her own childhood and guide her to new acquaintances.

Gradually it dawns on Jenny that maybe what she seeks isn’t just an answer to what happened – but a new direction for the future.

The Blue Notebook is the gripping standalone sequel to the bestselling debut novel The Red Address Book, continuing the story ten years after the events of the first book.

Moa Backe Åstot has been nominated for the prestigious August Prize 2026 for best Swedish YA and children’s book. The shortlisted title is You’re the One I Write About – a concentrated and lyrical novel about first love, betrayal, longing, and daring to be oneself.

The jury’s motivation:

“Heart pounding along with that of the narrator, the reader is gently yet mercilessly guided through a lyrical tale of first love’s longing, tentative footsteps. Without shying away from what’s difficult, a heartfelt and delicate love story is written forth in three acts, without a single superfluous sentence. With poignant, accurate aim, Moa Backe Åstot writes candidly and straightforwardly about life’s first choice in love.”

The August Prize is an annual Swedish literary prize awarded each year since 1989 by the Swedish Publishers’ Association. The prize is awarded to the three best Swedish books of the year in the categories fiction, nonfiction, and children’s and YA. The winning titles will be announced on November 23.

Matilda Källström is a Swedish actress known for her emotional performances, natural screen presence and ability to portray complex characters with authenticity and depth.

She gained widespread recognition for her leading role in the celebrated series Threesome (2021-2024) which premiered on Viaplay. The series was praised for its honest portrayal of relationships, intimacy and young adulthood, while Källström received critical acclaim for her strong performance as Siri.

2025 saw the Netflix premiere of the charming romantic comedy Love Forever, in which Källström took on a leading role.

Källström currently stars in Hunger, a new SVT drama series which premiered in October.

Lars Kepler makes a double showing on the Swedish bestseller lists this week. The Sailor, a stand-alone collection of short stories, lands the No. 2 spot on the paperback list. Medusa, the latest title in the Joona Linna series, comes in at No. 3 in hardcover.

Janna Granström is a Swedish actor working across film, television and theatre. She graduated from the School of Theatre in Luleå in 2009 and has since worked extensively in theatre, with an established stage career at both Stockholms Stadsteater and Dramaten.

She is known for her physical presence, her comic range and her ability to carry both humour and darkness within the same performance. She is closely associated with Konträr in Stockholm, one of Sweden’s most prominent venues for international and boundary-pushing performing arts. There, she contributes as creator, director and performer in productions that challenge conventional forms at the intersection of text, body and audience.

Her screen credits include the dramedy series Alla utom vi (2021–2024) and the feature films Cirkeln (2015), Så länge hjärtat slår (2024), Hemmet (2025) and Arkipelag (2026).

Among her upcoming projects are the second season of the acclaimed SVT drama Hundarna and a Netflix series, which is soon to be officially announced.