
Nesbø, Kepler and Tuomainen on Finnish bestseller list
Jo Nesbø’s Rat Island and Other Stories is No. 4 on the largest bookstore chain Suomalainen Kirjakauppa’s bestseller list in Finland. Antti Tuomainen’s The Rabbit Factor and Lars Kepler’s The Mirror Man can be found on No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, on the bestseller list for paperback.

‘Icebreaker’ published in Sweden
The ground is covered in white and August Strindberg is happier than he’s been in a long time. His new shop, Strindberg’s Second Hand, is doing great. And even better, August is in love.
Then, on a freezing cold January night, August’s new home town Hovenäset’s peace is broken by a violent fire. The inferno destroys two boathouses – one of which belongs to August and the other to Axel Ehnbom, an elderly local. Detective Sergeant Maria Martinsson starts her investigation only to find that her arson inquiry has turned into a murder one. Someone in Hovenäset is hiding dark secrets. And danger is fast approaching from another direction as well. Soon both Maria and August find themselves in the line of fire.
Icebreaker is the second installment in Kristina Ohlsson’s No. 1 bestselling new series about August Strindberg.

Fantastic reviews for ‘The Congregation’
The anticipated TV series The Congregation, based on the novel by Jonas Bonnier, premieres today on C More and on TV 4 November 11.
The six-part drama, written by Fredrik Agetoft (head writer), Jonas Bonnier and Anna Platt and starring Aliette Opheim as the Bride of Christ, has received outstanding reviews in Swedish press.
“The Congregation grabs hold from the first frame.”
– Dagens Nyheter ★★★★
“The series succeeds with its difficult balancing act, and as a tragic, increasingly twisted and extremely unsettling suspense drama, it really delivers.”
– Aftonbladet ★★★★
“The permeating feeling of uneasiness makes The Congregation so difficult to stop watching. An extremely well-acted and gripping series.”
– Filmtopp ★★★★
“The strongest 5-star review ever goes to Aliette, who is utterly fantastic.”
– Expressen

Stefan Ahnhem No. 1 in Norway
Stefan Ahnhem’s The Final Nail – the sixth and final installment in the internationally bestselling Fabian Risk series – enters at No. 1 on the Norwegian betseller list for e-books this week.

‘The Saviour from Hvidovre’ published in Denmark
Europe is in a state of emergency. Financial crises, pandemics and climate change are raging, and just when it seems things can’t get any worse, Mount Vesuvius erupts. It’s the biggest volcanic eruption in thousands of years and as a result, a gigantic ash cloud envelops the continent in total darkness. People die on the streets from new, more aggressive forms of the corona virus, millions of birds fall dead to the ground, and on a central address in Copenhagen, a sourdough hotel has opened, where people can have their sourdough looked after while on holiday. The end is nigh.
In this crucial time for humanity, various independent analyses show that one man can save the world. Slightly bewilderingly, this man turns out to be the 48-year-old failed poet Allan Thornbum, who resides in a basement apartment in Hvidovre. Allan counts traffic for a living and spends his free time commenting on poems that he borrows from the library. One day, the very tall and broad-shouldered Social Democratic prime minister, Bianca Didriksen, knocks on his door and begs for his help. She explains that experts at the Ministry of Finance have calculated that if Allan writes a poem, just one poem, he can solve the entire world’s problems. The only thing is, Allan couldn’t care less.
The Savior from Hvidovre is a grotesquely biting social satire – a highly topical novel about a society which is no longer able to solve its problems.

‘Brain Blues’ published in Sweden
It is easy to believe that you have a broken brain when you feel mentally ill, but anxiety and depression are natural conditions and remnants from ancient times when we risked dying of starvation and infections. We are not made to be content and happy all the time – if that were the case, our ancestors would not have survived for very long. Anders Hansen shows us how our mind works and instils hope in that we can indeed feel well in today’s stressful and digitally connected society. To succeed, we need to take better care of our brain and body – and perhaps also stop constantly chasing happiness.

Sofi Oksanen appointed literary godmother to Finland’s prime minister
Sofi Oksanen is one of sixteen authors entrusted with the role of literary godparent to Finnish political decision-makers. Sanasto, an organization dedicated to copyright issues in literature, has launched a program where they connect authors and decision-makers in order to create a link between literature and politics. The authors entrusted with this mission will uphold a conversation about literature, the book industry and copyright matters.
Oksanen’s three godchildren include prime minister Sanna Marin, speaker of parliament Anu Vehviläinen, and chairman of the education and culture committee Paula Risikko.

Backman’s ‘The Winners’ No. 1 in Sweden
The Winners, Fredrik Backman’s final installment in his beloved trilogy about Beartown, comes in at No. 1 on the official Swedish bestseller list for hardcover fiction this week.

‘Innocence’ opera nominated in two categories at the Culture Gala in Finland
The opera Innocence, with the libretto written by Sofi Oksanen, has been nominated for the Cultural Achievement of the Year in Finland. Innocence is also nominated in the category International Achievement.
Voting for Cultural Achievement of the Year will continue through November 9th, and the winners will be announced at the Culture Gala in Tammerfors on November 25th.

‘As You Sow’ No. 1 on Der Spiegel’s bestseller list
The just published ‘As You Sow‘ by Hjorth & Rosenfeldt enters the official German bestseller list for hardcover fiction as No.1.