New Swedish Voices 1
usually requires a reason. Willows’ protagonist m
oves for her boyfriend’s sake and winds up staying when the relationship ends. Her journey of personal growth is familiar from many first novels; the difference is that this journey leads not to the city but away from it. Karin Smirnoff is the rare debut novelist to achieve both critical acclaim – not quite universal; the biggest Swedish morning paper said something about ‘crowd-pleasing clichés’ – and broad popularity. In Swedish fiction, the line between the two can be hard to breach. Debut authors who win the most awards and plaudits rarely sell the most books. My Brother (‘Jag for ner till bror’, 2018) unfolds in a village in Västerbotten “Kippo faces life with fortitude and a healthy dose of gallows humour.” between the cities of Skellefteå and Umeå. The main character, Jana Kippo, is on her way home. The novel begins as she steps off the country bus into the village where she grew up. The rural landscape is full of dark secrets, which has inspired the label ‘Norrland noir’ for this and other books from similar latitudes. But Kippo faces life with fortitude and a healthy dose of gallows humour. Smirnoff’s debut has already launched a trilogy with sales of over 500,000 copies – a staggering number for little Sweden. The latest breakout success from the north, Mikael Yvesand’s debut Hang City (‘Häng City’, 2022), tells the story of three boys, ages 13, 13, and 11, with a habit of nicknaming things ‘Something City’, in a play on the name of a local grocery store. The friends seem to dwell in an adultfree world of endless summer vacation, their restless skateboards rattling down the house-lined streets of Luleå. They try to get hold of snuff and cigarettes (illegal for minors…in theory) and work on building their cabin in the woods. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, a killer stalks the residential neighbourhoods. Hang City is less a thriller, however, than 11 Books mentioned Daniel Gustafsson (b. 1972) Odenplan, 208 p., 2019, Nirstedt/litteratur Rights: Sebes & Bisseling, Rights sold to: France, Hungary, Russia Marit Kapla (b. 1970) Osebol, 812 p., 2019, Teg Publishing Rights: Albatros Agency Rights sold to: Netherlands, Norway, World English Judith Kiros (b. 1989) O, 112 p., 2019, Albert Bonniers Rights: Albert Bonniers All rights are available Erik Lindman Mata (b. 1992) Pure,192 p., 2020, Nirstedt/litteratur Rights: Emiliano Sener emiliano@modernista.se All rights are available Sorin Masifi (b. 1982) State, Sisters, Poetry, 135 p., 2022, Norstedts Rights: Norstedts, Elise Karlsson All rights are available Iman Mohammed (b. 1987) Behind Tree Backs, 70 p., 2020, Norstedts Rights: Norstedts All rights are available Annika Norlin (b. 1977) I See All That You Do, 218 p., 2020, Weyler Rights: Weyler, Anton Gustavsson All rights are available Lydia Sandgren (b. 1987) Collected Works, 689 p., 2020, Albert Bonniers Rights: Ahlander Agency Rights sold to: Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Serbia, UK, US, World Spanish Karin Smirnoff (b. 1964) My Brother, 320 p., 2018, Polaris Rights: Politiken Literary Agency Rights sold to: Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, UK Our Mother (‘Vi for upp med mor’), 352 p., 2019, Polaris Rights: Politiken Literary Agency Rights sold or optioned to: Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, UK Then I Went Home (‘Sen for jag hem’), 352 p., 2020, Polaris Rights: Politiken Literary Agency Rights sold or optioned to: Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, UK Elin Willows (b. 1982) Inlands, 203 p., 2018, Natur & Kultur Rights: Albatros Agency Rights sold to: Hungary, Netherlands, UK, US (Audio) Mikael Yvesand (b. 1986) Hang City, 309 p., 2022, Polaris Rights: Politiken Literary Agency All rights are available New Swedish Voices