It is difficult to survive as an author in Sweden, so for commercial success, it is good idea to write crime, get yourself translated, and live happily ever after.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Scandinavian crime fiction has become a great success all across the world and rightfully so. Sjowall and Wahloo ushered in a whole generation of Swedish crime writers, many of whom are now available in English.
Sweden is a small country, and a Swedish writer can barely make a living as an author. We were able to quit our jobs as journalists only after we had been translated into, among others, German.
My liking for Scandinavian crime fiction led me into exploring literary writers from the same countries.
There are 195 crime books published in Sweden every year. You could cut that to 100 and keep the good ones.
I think one thing with Sweden is that in some way the Swedish society is a very good society, almost perfect on the surface. That is something that makes the writers forced to see what is underneath the surface, because it's always something underneath the surface, of course.
The pace of Swedish crime fiction is slower - Stieg Larsson's the exception. And I think we use the environment more.
Scottish writers are particularly successful in the crime genre.
If you want to start reading Swedish crime fiction, you have to start with Sjowall and Wahloo.
If you're a Norwegian writer, you are not visible in the world. The door of the English language is very hard to open for a Norwegian writer.
I love the Swedish people for their detective novels, their archipelago, their sense of humor, their carbonated vodka, and most especially, for their wonderful hospitality.
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