Monika Fagerholm’s highly acclaimed novel Who Killed Bambi? is nominated for 2019’s Finlandia Award.

The jury says the following about the novel: “The story depicts the effects that the brutal crime has on the perpetrators, their friends and families, and the community as a whole. The misdeed does not only destroy the victim – everyone around the perpetrators are affected. The intense mood and the magical, rhythmic prose immerses the reader in the story. The book reminds us how unique a stage of life your youth is, and how it can leave permanent marks.”

The winning title will be announced on November 27.

On a cold day in Reykjavik, a baby goes missing from her pram. In her place, the father finds the body of a dead infant. The missing baby was born through a surrogacy agreement, one that started off well but quickly deteriorated. Eleven years have passed since the disappearance, when an isolated case of measles results in the death of a young girl. Her father sets out to find the responsible virus carrier in order to exact his revenge. In another part of the city, a woman’s dismembered body is found in a deserted car, her head missing.

In The Fallout, the sixth instalment in the Freyja and Huldar series, Police officer Huldar and child psychologist Freyja must combine their wits to solve a difficult case, where the fallout from previous misdeeds is relentless. The only common denominator in all three cases is the wall of silence that encircles those involved.

As a songwriter Kristoffer Malmsten developed a unique artistic expression early on, evident in hit ballads like Klassfoto (2006) and Ey Shuno (2010). Malmsten’s songs hold both light and darkness, expressing an ongoing dialogue between those who survive and those who perish.

In 2015, Malmsten graduated from Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts. He has since been working on international co-productions, including Midnight Sun (2016), A Storm Blew in from Paradise and Hassel (2017).

Malmsten’s thesis film Francis (2015) was one of the finalists in the running for the prestigious Student Academy Award.

Currently, Malmsten is working on the Black Spark/Nordisk Film/Lumiére co-production God Calls Me God.

Anders de la Motte and Dead of Winter come in at No. 1 on the official Swedish bestseller list for paperbacks in week 43. Hjorth & Rosenfeldt’s A Higher Justice meanwhile claims the No. 5 spot.

On the hardcover list, Niklas Natt och Dag’s 1794 comes in at No. 2, featuring also at No. 4 on the e-book list. The Wolf and the Watchman, Natt och Dag’s debut, comes in at No. 5 in audio. Returning to the hardcover list, we see the just published The Day of the Lord by Jonas Bonnier at No. 5.

Lastly, Simona Ahrnstedt’s Just a Little More comes in at the top of the audio list. In addition to that No. 1 spot, she also comes in at No. 3 in e-book.

The official Norwegian bestseller lists for week 43 (October 21st – 27th) see Jørn Lier Horst & Hans Jørgen Sandnes’ Operation Radius appear at No. 5 in hardcover. On the paperback list Horst appears again, this time together with Thomas Enger, as their Death Deserved comes in at No. 5. Ill Will, the third novel in Horst’s own Cold Case series, is No. 4 in e-book.

Katrine Engberg has been shortlisted for the 2019 Author of the Year Award by the Danish book chain Plusbog. The winner will be announced at Bogforum in Copenhagen on November 16th.

It is now official that The Emigrants, a remake of the beloved Swedish period drama based on Vilhelm Moberg’s classic novel, will be directed by Erik Poppe. The screenplay will be written by Siv Rajendram Eliassen and Anne Bache-Wiig, who recently collaborated with Poppe also on the award-winning U-July 22 (2018).

The Emigrants tells the story of Kristina and her husband Karl-Oskar, who emigrate from Sweden to America in the 1850s. Determined to flee poverty, religious persecution and social oppression, they head across the Atlantic in search of a better life.

Fredrik Wikström Nicastro produces for SF and the film will shoot in 2020.

Cell phones have just become a thing when Kristina Forsman and her husband Sindre move to Knutby, a small community in rural central Sweden. Sindre has been offered the job of pastor in the local free church by Eva Skoog, its charismatic leader figure. As Sindre revels in his new position, quickly making himself indispensable, Kristina finds herself perched on the edge of a lifestyle and community that want to swallow her whole. At the center of it all is Eva, gathering new members into her fold, lost souls who have been called to join the cause as the word spreads: Knutby will be the place where God’s secrets will be known. And, as Kristina herself will dream, where His Son shall take a human bride – Eva.

Jonas Bonnier’s The Day of the Lord is a tightly spun, small-scale epic of murder, unbridled greed and desire for power and sex, playing out over the course of seven years. Claustrophobic, it immerses the reader in the world of seemingly sensible people corralled into a twisted faith with the threat of isolation and shame. Cold-blooded, it portrays the perspectives of those willing to twist the word of their own god to suit their lusts. Before The Day of the Lord comes to an end, two people will have died, and even more souls and psyches been torn asunder.

The official bestseller lists for week 42 (October 14th-20th) see a couple of new arrivals claim spots in the top fives. One of them is Simona Ahrnstedt’s just published Just a Little More, which comes in at No. 2 on the e-book list. Meanwhile, Stefan Ahnhem’s X Ways to Die appears in three categories, coming in at No. 2 in audio, No. 3 in hardcover, and No. 4 in e-book. Niklas Natt och Dag’s 1794 features on multiple lists as well, coming in at No. 3 in e-book and No. 4 in hardcover.

In the paperback category Lars Kepler claims another top spot this week, appearing at No. 2 with Lazarus. The No. 5 spot on the list goes to the new arrival Dead of Winter by Anders de la Motte.