Anders de la Motte’s Rites of Spring makes a repeat appearance at No. 1 on the weekly paperback bestseller list in Sweden. This is the third No. 1 placement since the novel’s paperback publication.
Jørn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger’s Unhinged makes its debut on the Norwegian paperback list this week, claiming the No. 2 spot. Unhinged is the third novel in the Blix & Ramm series.
Photo: Kiefer Lee
Daniel Sawka is a writer/director with international experience, working on projects in both the US and in Sweden.
Sawka graduated with an MFA in film directing at the AFI Conservatory in Los Angeles, where he received the school’s Franklin J. Schaffner Fellow Award for ‘Best Film’ upon graduating in 2016. Sawka’s thesis short film, Icebox, went on to become shortlisted (final 10) for the 2018 Academy Awards in the short film category and won the Grand Jury Award at AFI Fest.
Sawka then started working with multiple Academy Award winner James L. Brooks (Terms of Endearment, As Good As It Gets, The Simpsons) and his production company Gracie Films. This collaboration resulted in the adaptation of Icebox into a feature film, written and directed by Sawka. The film, distributed by HBO, premiered in December 2018, receiving critical acclaim. Icebox was nominated for a Critics’ Choice Award, won the Cinema Without Borders Award and the NAMIC Vision Award. The collaboration with James L. Brooks and Gracie Films continued in 2019 with the development of another project, soon to be announced.
Currently, Sawka is collaborating with Anagram on his first Swedish feature film, and writing a TV-series for Blackpills Entertainment, which he is also attached to direct.
I May Be Wrong, Björn Natthiko Lindeblad’s moving non-fiction work and the most sold non-fiction title of 2020, is once again No. 1 in Sweden, topping week five’s bestseller list.
Jørn Lier Horst & Hans Jørgen Sandnes’ latest Detective Agency No. 2 title, Operation Cover-up, debuts on the Norwegian hardcover list at No. 3. The paperback list sees Anders de la Motte place at No. 4 with Rites of Spring.
Photo: Toni Härkönen
Innocence is a large-scale symphonic opera with an international wide-ranging cast, composed by Kaija Saariaho and libretto written by Sofi Oksanen. It is scheduled to have its world premiere at the 2021 Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in July.
Although the premiere still lies ahead, the opera has already been shortlisted for the prestigious 2021 Fedora Opera Prize.
The Fedora Opera Prize is awarded by Fedora – a European platform that supports innovation in opera and ballet – and is bestowed on promising artists and teams of co-producing cultural institutions who collaborate on the creation of new opera or ballet productions to reach out to new and wider audiences. This prize celebrates new talents and ideas in opera and ballet that will shape the future of these art forms.
To vote, click the “Read more” button below.
Photo: Carla Orrego Veliz
Philomène Grandin (b. 1974) is a Swedish actress, scriptwriter and TV host who has starred in a variety of movies, TV series and theater productions at the Stockholm and Gothenburg City Theaters. She debuts as an author with her autofictional novel Don’t Forget Me – a raw and deeply touching portrait of life with her father, the iconic folk music expert Izzy Young. Don’t Forget Me is the story of a father and a daughter who refuse to let go of life, and of each other.
Stina Jackson’s debut, The Silver Road, is No. 1 in Fiction on Taiwan’s largest e-book platform, Readmoo. The novel is also the overall No. 2 across all genres, fiction and non-fiction alike.
Yrsa Sigurdardóttir’s stand-alone thriller The Prey is the No. 3 most sold title of 2020 in Iceland, across all genres.
Photo: Stefan Tell
David Sundin (b. 1976) is a Swedish comedian, screenwriter, actor and television show host, not to mention a silver medalist in the Swedish Championship in Puns. Having thoroughly charmed the grown populace of Sweden, Sundin finally set out to entertain the pickiest audience of all: kids. In 2020, he made his children’s books debut with The Book That Did Not Want To Be Read. This unruly, mischievous and utterly entertaining book became the most sold children’s title of 2020.
Finland, Into Kustannus
Three-book deal closed by Tor Jonasson
Bulgaria, EMAS
Two-book deal closed by Emma Granberg
Greece, Memento
Closed by Emma Granberg
China, Beijing Science and Technology
Five-book deal closed by The Grayhawk Agency on behalf of Ida Schabbauer
Poland, Smak Slowa
Two-book deal closed by Julia Angelin
Lithuania, Pflaŭmbaŭm Publishing House
Closed by Emma Granberg
Yrsa Sigurðardóttir is a masterful plotter and accomplished stylist, with a storytelling style that echoes the Icelandic sagas. Once again, she delivers a gripping and enigmatic crime novel.
– Politiken
I could recognize myself in some of the scenes, and they affected me deeply. /…/ The book is also easy to get into. I was quickly drawn into the story and was very curious to see what would happen next.
– Sundsvalls Tidning
There are a lot of things to unravel in this pitch-black homecoming novel and Bengtsdotter succeeds really well in doing so on just under 300 pages.
– Göteborgs-Posten
It’s a powerful opening. In just a few pages, Selåker paints a portrait of a deeply flawed man on the verge of breaking point, while also capturing loneliness so vividly that the silence inside the house seems to scream from the pages. /…/ I’m looking forward to returning to the Wilderness Road and its surroundings, which Selåker portrays with a sharp eye in this dark and compelling first installment.
– Göteborgs-Posten
[A] brilliant thriller. /…/ [Winter Grave] is unsettling, occasionally hilarious and constantly thrilling. /…/ I make no secret of the fact I’m a fan of Heine Bakkeid’s writing (…). Winter Grave is also dark noir on an elite level.
– Harstad Tidene
Late at night, a doctor burns to death inside the closed forensic psychiatric institution Helix. The interrogations with staff and inmates are complicated due to patient confidentiality and psychotic illnesses. After another death in the same ward, Saga Bauer accepts a top-secret assignment.