Liza Marklund performs a hat-trick on the first weekly bestseller list of 2023 in Norway. The Mire, the standalone second installment in Marklund’s The Polar Circle trilogy, goes straight to No. 1 on the official list for hardcover fiction as well as on the e-book list upon publication, while The Polar Circle comes in at No. 1 on the paperback list.
The official list of the bestselling books of 2022 has just been released. Published towards the end of October, Lars Kepler’s The Spider performed a remarkable feat and became the most sold novel in Sweden of last year. Also featuring on the top 10 is Ia Genberg’s August Prize winning The Details which comes in at No. 9 on the fiction list, Björn Natthiko Lindeblad’s I May Be Wrong at No. 8 on the non-fiction list and No. 4 on the paperback list. The paperback list also sees Anders de la Motte & Måns Nilsson’s A House to Die For on the No. 2 spot and Liza Marklund’s The Polar Circle at No. 5, while Martin Widmark’s The Masquerade Mystery takes the No. 8 spot on the children’s list.
The highly anticipated TV series Blackwater (Händelser vid vatten), written by Karin Arrhenius and Maren Louise Käehne, will premiere on SVT Play January 13, and on SVT1 January 15.
Based on Kerstin Ekman’s classic novel of the same name, Blackwater is directed by Mikael Marcimain and stars Pernilla August, Rolf Lassgård, Asta Kamma August and Alba August.
The six-part series has received outstanding reviews;
SVT’s intense and fantastic small town thriller Blackwater is top class. /…/ Worth every minute.
– DN ★★★★★
The first TV home run of the year came early. Blackwater is an almost perfect dramatization of Kerstin Ekman’s novel from 1993.
– SvD
Even though we’re only two weeks into the new year, it could very well be the best Swedish TV series of 2023.
– SVT Nyheter ★★★★
The final bestseller lists of December 2022 in Sweden saw Lars Kepler, Kristina Ohlsson and Ia Genberg all claim spots in the top. Lars Kepler’s The Spider became the No. 1 most sold hardcover fiction title of December, while Kristina Ohlsson’s Ice Breaker is No. 1 in paperback. Ia Genberg’s award-winning The Details came in at No. 3 in hardcover fiction on the weekly lists, and became the fifth most sold hardcover title of December.
The biggest festival in Scandinavia, Göteborg Film Festival opens with the world premiere of Abbe Hassan’s much awaited feature debut Exodus on January 27. Exodus will also compete for the title of ‘Best Nordic Film.’
Lars Kepler’s The Spider is Storytel’s most-listened-to book of 2022. Despite being released in October last year, this gut-wrenching thriller still takes home the No.1 spot.
The last bestseller lists of 2022 in Norway saw both Jo Nesbø and Lars Kepler feature at No. 1 on the hardcover lists; first Nesbø with Killing Moon – also the No. 1 most sold hardcover fiction title of the entire month – and then Lars Kepler with The Spider. Kepler’s title was additionally No. 1 on the e-book lists. Lastly, on the final set of lists, Kepler and Nesbø were joined by Liza Marklund, who came in at No. 1 on the paperback list with The Polar Circle.
Yrsa Sigurdardóttir’s blood-curling and unnerving novel The Prey sails to No. 6 on Der Spiegel’s list for trade paperback this week. This marks the sixteenth consecutive week for the novel.
Photo: Hunter Shelley
Writer and director Tuna Özer, educated at Stockholm Film School and Stockholm Academy of the Arts, is a maker of both fiction and documentaries. He is also an experienced segment producer, having worked at the public service companies SVT and UR.
Özer has made several acclaimed and thought-provoking shorts which have traveled to festivals around Sweden and internationally, including Red Moon (2012), Sealed Time (2016), Kevlar (2018), Centrum (2018) and The Pig From Turkey (2020).
Özer is the director of the coming comedy slasher series Ingen ängel, which will premiere on Viaplay (release date TBA). He is also currently developing his first feature film, which was part of the talent program Stockholm Debut.
Vernissage has been selected to compete for the prestigious Startsladden Award, one of the world’s largest awards for short film. The eight nominated shorts will be screened at the Göteborg International Film Festival January 29, and the winner will be announced at an award gala.
Vernissage is directed by Arvin Kananian, and written by Kananian together with Nina Mårshagen. In the lead role we see Mårshagen as Siván and Kalled Mustonen as Simon.
Simon and Siván make the picture-perfect couple. Their lives are thoroughly curated, from the way they have sex to their choice of therapist. During an art exhibition, the dynamics between them harden. While Siván carries herself through the room, flawlessly interacting with the cultural elite, Simon is left to fend for himself. He’s made aware that his presence in Siván’s life is about
the optics rather than the love he thought they shared. Simon is faced with a choice. Will he confront the facade Siván has created, or will he continue to play a role in the drama that is her life?
Slovakia, Verbarium
Closed by Ida Schabbauer
Finland, Otava
Closed by Linda Andersson
Taiwan, Sun Color
Closed by Emma Granberg
North Macedonia, Bata Press
Two-book deal closed by Emma Granberg
Arab World, Al Arabi
Closed by Emma Granberg
Arab World, Al Arabi
Closed by Emma Granberg
Paradis City has thrilling ambitions worthy of applause. Prime Video (…) may very well have a hit on their hands.
– Aftonbladet
The Russos make the most of their enormous budget, with a boatload of impressive visual effects, faithful recreations of Stålenhag’s epic vistas, and some nicely analogue art direction.
– Empire
The Stranger Things star, Chris Pratt and the Russo Brothers have made a Spielbergian treat. /…/ (…) what fun it is to watch a film this expensive and not be able to quite work out where it’s going – or even if it might just stay put for a bit, and soak up the dustily poetic death-of-the-American century vibe.
– The Telegraph
The Electric State is good. (…) [It’s] entertaining, stylish, and lavish. /…/ The 90s had little to nothing to do with the book, but it is the focus here, and in more ways than one, I think it works… and really well too. /…/ I had fun, from start to finish.
– Gamereactor
(…) you can certainly take away one thing from The Electric State, a strong message celebrating our differences and the fact that despite the technological advancements our world faces every day, nothing will ever replace human connection.
– GamesRadar
In Wolf Hour, Jo Nesbø sets the action in the American Midwest in 2016. A hard-boiled police novel in the best Nesbø style – from an America that’s on the edge of a precipice.