This week, Lisa Ridzén’s When The Cranes Fly South claims the No. 1 spot on the bestselling list for paperbacks, closely followed by Liza Marklund’s Storm Mountain at No. 3. Lars Kepler’s The Sleepwalker holds the No. 2 spot on the hardcover list, while Tina Mackic’s The Summer Shadow and the Christmas Prank, comes in at No. 3 on the children’s list.

Storm Mountain by Liza Marklund holds steady at No. 1 on the paperback list. Lisa Ridzén’s When The Cranes Fly South remains at No. 3 in the same category, while Lars Kepler’s The Sleepwalker climbs to No. 2 on the hardcover list.

Lisa Ridzén’s bestselling debut When the Cranes Fly South features on the Norwegian newspaper Vårt Land’s list of its critics and cultural journalist’s favourite reads from throughout 2024. The motivation reads as follows:

“What’s it like to grow old, when your life companion doesn’t recognize you anymore and when you realise you have to leave yourself notes in order to remember that your dog has run away? Or when your adult son refuses you to do the little you still can, as it makes him uneasy? When the Cranes Fly South has us listening to the old voices, the once so easily sacrificed at the altar of efficiency. No one puts this novel down unaffected.”

This week, Storm Mountain by Liza Marklund claims the No. 1 spot on the paperback list. Lisa Ridzén’s When The Cranes Fly South comes in at No. 3 in the same category, while Lars Kepler’s The Sleepwalker is No. 3 on the hardcover list.

The nominees for the 2024 Adlibris Awards have just been announced. Adlibris is the leading book retailer in the Nordics and the award was founded in 2019 to celebrate the site’s biggest titles. The nominated works have been selected by a jury of Adlibris employees, but the winners will be voted forth by the public.

Liza Ridzén has been nominated in both the “Fiction of the Year” and “Debut of the Year” categories for When The Cranes Fly South. Nominated for “Debut of the Year” are also Johanna Swanberg for Cassi, and Ebba Bandh for A Little Death. 

Amongst the nominated titles in the “Crime Fiction” category are Kristina Ohlsson’s Beyond Rescue, and Lars Kepler’s The Sleepwalker.

Finally, in the “Children’s Book of the Year, Ages 6-12” category, Martin Widmark has received a nomination for The Space Mystery. 

The winning titles will be announced on January 30, 2025.

To vote, click the “Read more” button below.

Lisa Ridzén has been announced as the winner of the Swedish 2024 Book of the Year Award for her runaway bestselling debut When The Cranes Fly South at the official award ceremony held at the Gothenburg Bookfair.

The award is bestowed by Bonnier Book Clubs, that sees a jury shortlist twelve candidates according to criteria of superb linguistic quality; epic reader’s experiences that are relevant for and appealing to a wide reader demographic and stories that are truly well-executed when it comes to plot, characters and milieus. The public can then vote for their favourite novel throughout a period of several months and following a huge voter engagement, Lisa Ridzén was crowned the winner.

The jury motivation read as follows:

“What a gem! 89-year old Bo moves into our reader-hearts! After his wife has moved to a dementia care home in Östersund, Bo’s loneliness is only broken up by the visits from his home care team. Fortunately he has his beloved Sixten for company – the elk hound that his son has begun talking about removing from him… A moving, thought-provoking and tender tale that goes straight to the heart.”

Lisa Ridzén has received Region Jämtland Härjedalen’s Culture Scholarship for her debut When The Cranes Fly South.

Region Jämtland Härjedalen Culture Scholarships are annually handed out to three people active in different art fields, and Ridzén is the recipient of the scholarship for literature.

The motivation for Lisa Ridzén receiving this year’s scholarship reads as follows:

“With an appealing language and a particular ability to depict characters with tenderness, Lisa Ridzén – based in Hegled in Orrviken – writes in a way that affects, is felt deeply and inspires reflection. In a generationally transcending character gallery she captures the unspoken conflicts in both family life and friendships, at the same time as she frames the issues and broodings that an aging person can be confronted with. An authorship that will be most exciting to follow ahead.”

The scholarship ceremony will take place on the 17th of October at Storsjöteatern.

Lisa Ridzén’s debut When The Cranes Fly South has been chosen as an American Booksellers Association’s Indies Introduce title in the US. Indies Introduce is a program created to promote debut authors at independent bookstores in America. Panels of booksellers from across the country gather to select ten adult and ten children’s Indies Introduce titles, aiming to highlight the very best debuts of the upcoming season; When the Cranes Fly South features on their Winter/Spring 2025 list. Below is a blurb by a panel member.

“Such a moving look at one man’s life as he reaches the end. It is about reconciliation, power to maintain control over one’s life, regrets, how we see ourselves in the end and how others see us. So touching, so emotional in subtle and profound ways.” —Kim Brock, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH

Lisa Ridzén’s acclaimed debut When the Cranes Fly South has been shortlisted for Bonnier’s Book Club’s high profile Book of the Year Award. The motivation reads as follows:

“What a gem! 89-year old Bo moves into our reader-hearts! (…) A moving, thought-provoking and tender tale that goes straight to the heart.”

Bonnier’s Book Clubs is the home of five Swedish book clubs, among them the biggest one in Sweden. The winning book and author will be announced during the Gothenburg Book Fair in September. To see the list of the nominees and vote for your favorite, click “Read more” below.

Rights to Lisa Ridzén’s No. 1 bestselling and lauded debut When the Cranes Fly South have now been sold to 30 territories, following heated auctions in numerous countries.

The novel revolves around our elderly protagonist Bo as he finds himself running out of time. Yet time is one of the few things he’s got left; his body is failing him and his quiet existence is only broken up by the daily visits from his home care team. His hands soon too weak to open the precious jar housing the scarf of his Alzheimer-stricken wife Frederika, which still bears her scent. Fortunately he still has his beloved elkhound Sixten for company, only now his son insists upon taking the dog away. The very same son that Bo is wanting to mend his relationship with before his time is up. The threat of losing Sixten stirs up a whirlwind of emotions that make him look back at his life, his fatherhood and the way he expresses his love.

When the Cranes Fly South is a profoundly moving debut about an aging man’s fight to keep the power over his own life.

Lisa Ridzén’s highly anticipated debut, When the Cranes Fly South, shoots to No. 1 on the official hardcover bestseller list in Sweden. Jo Nesbø continues to dominate the paperback list, where his Killing Moon is once more No. 1.

Lisa Ridzén (b.1988) is a doctoral student in sociology, researching masculinity norms in the rural communities of the Swedish far north, where she herself was raised and now lives in a small village outside of Östersund. The idea for her heartrending debut When the Cranes Fly South came from the discovery of notes her Grandfather’s care team had left the family as he neared the end of his life. She began penning the novel whilst attending Långholmen Writer’s Academy.