Ia Genberg has been shortlisted for the 2024 International Booker Prize for her critically acclaimed novel, The Details. In connection with the book being longlisted last month, the jury said the following: “Ia Genberg writes with a remarkably sharp eye about a series of messy relationships between friends, family and lovers. Using, as she says, “details, rather than information”, she gives us not simply the “residue of life presented in a combination of letters” but an evocation of contemporary Stockholm and a moving portrait of her narrator. She has at times a melancholic eye, but her wit and liveliness constantly break through.”

The prestigious prize is awarded annually for the finest single work of fiction from around the world which has been translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland. The winner will be announced on May 21st.

The scientist, author, and science writer Emma Frans has been given the publishing house Natur & Kultur’s Popular Science Award. She receives the prize for “her broad and lively communication of research and science.” Natur & Kultur’s Popular Science Award has been presented since 2017 to people who successfully reach the broad public with their research.

The motivation reads as follows:

“With her multifaceted and knowledgeable participation in the societal discussion, Emma Frans has contributed to deepening the understanding of research and the role of the researcher. Her work helps us all think critically and understand how we can use science to make fact-based decisions.”

The award ceremony will take place at Södra teatern in Stockholm the 14th of May.

Private Detective Julia Stark has been hired by famous actress Bianca Salo, who is convinced that her dead fiancé is stalking her. Just the night before, she’d awoken to find him standing over her bed, and previous to that, he’d broken into her dressing room at the theater and set fire to a dress.

It’s been three years since Bianca received the news of her fiancés sudden passing in a hotel room in Helsinki. She was in Stockholm at the time, playing the female lead in Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth. She collapsed on stage and the whole play was cancelled just a week after the premiere. Now, the ensemble and director have gotten a second chance to perform the ill-fated tragedy. Julia accompanies Bianca to the rehearsals, to watch over her but also to survey the people around her as the stalker seems to move about freely inside the theater. Almost none of the actors have alibi for the incidents and a great tension can be sensed boiling just below the surface.

Julia asks her ex-husband Sid to investigate the peculiarities surrounding Bianca’s fiancé’s death. They must rush to find the key as everything indicates that the stalker has entered the final, active phase of his pursuit, which often ends in violence and death. To solve the mysterious case, Julia Stark must employ all her psychological acumen, power of observation, and logical thinking.

I Close My Eyes and Pray is the second installment in Alex Ahndoril’s The Key series.

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.

The first episode of Ronja the Robber’s Daughter, one of the biggest endeavors in Nordic television to date, premiers today on Netflix.

The classic Astrid Lindgren adventure about the strong and independent girl Ronja took the whole world by storm when the book was published over 40 years ago and in total, an astonishing eleven million copies of the book have been sold globally. Now, with Hans Rosenfeldt’s adaptation for the screen, viewers are given a deeper insight into Ronja’s world. The story remains the same but is embellished and adapted for today’s audience with grand special effects, beautiful scenery, and more developed characters and settings.

Director Lisa James Larsson says:

“So many of us have grown up with Ronja the Robber’s Daughter and we’re incredibly proud and grateful for the enormous commitment and effort everyone has put into this project. We auditioned more than 4000 actors to find the right Ronja, and have traveled to the most incredible places Sweden has to offer, from castles in Bohuslän via the deep forests of Dalarna to magnificent waterfalls in Jämtland to find the perfect locations for filming. Our series reflects the strong commitment and creative passion of our film crew and cast of over 200 people, and we’re so excited for it to launch on Netflix.”

The series is divided into two parts with a total of twelve 45-minute episodes and stars Kerstin Linden, Christopher Wagelin, Sverrir Gudnason, Pernilla August, Johan Ulveson and Maria Nohra, among others.

Yellow Bird is set to produce the drama series A Life’s Worth, inspired by the novel of the same name. Producer Maida Krak has teamed up with writers Mona Masri (Easy Money) and Oliver Dixon, while Ahmed Abdullahi (Top Dog) is the director. The cast includes Edvin Ryding (Young Royals), Maxwell Cunningham (Top Dog), and Erik Enge (Tigers).

The drama series is inspired by events within the Bosnian conflict in the 1990s, and focuses on a group of Swedish U.N. soldiers struggling with the complexities of war.

The fourth season of the successful crime drama Wisting, based on Jørn Lier Horst’s bestselling books about police inspector William Wisting, premiered on Viaplay Norway, among other Nordic countries, on March 24.

Sven Nordin returns as the main character, William Wisting, and Rupert Evans, known from Charmed, Bridgerton, and The Man in the High Castle, joins the cast. The fifth season is set to air in Scandinavia later this year and will star Bridgerton actor Shelley Conn.

Frode Winther is a versatile actor who was trained at the prestigious acting program at ArtsEd London, where he honed his craft from 1997 to 2000. Since then, he has graced the stages of renowned theaters including Hålogaland Theatre, Riksteatret, Den Nationale Scene, Oslo Nye Teater, and the esteemed Det Norske Teatret, where he has been working since 2014.

But Frode’s brilliance extends far beyond the stage, as he seamlessly transitions into the world of film and television, in acclaimed productions such as Nokas, Borderliner, Witch Hunt and Kristiania Magiske Tivolitheater.

Onstage, Frode has taken on iconic roles including Enjolras in Les Miserables, the tormented Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire, and King Claudius in Hamlet. He has also worked with renowned director Robert Wilson in Peer Gynt and Edda. His portrayal of the investigator in Raskolnikov (Based on Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment) earned him the prestigious Hedda Award for Best Male Actor/Performer in 2020.

In 2022, Frode embarked on a remarkable journey, captivating audiences with his transformative portrayal of multiple characters in the enthralling theater marathon Kristin Lavransdotter at Det Norske Teatret, a performance that garnered critical acclaim, winning the critics’ prize.