The Gustavus Adolphus College Department of Scandinavian Studies welcomes Swedish author Arne Dahl to campus May 12-16 as the College’s Out of Scandinavia Artist-in-Residence for 2014. You can read his interview with The Gustavian Weekly at https://weekly.blog.gustavus.edu/2014/05/15/interview-with-arne-dahl-may-13-2014/.
Dahl is an award-winning and bestselling crime fiction writer who has been recognized for helping to revitalize the Scandinavian crime fiction genre. Dahl’s Intercrime series, which comprises ten novels, has sold more than 2.5 million copies and has helped Dahl garner distinguished awards such as the premier crime writing awards in Germany, Denmark, and Sweden. The first two installments of the series, Misterioso and Bad Blood, have both been translated into English and are available for purchase in The Book Mark. The first five novels of the series have been adapted for the screen as part of television series in Sweden (and all five films on DVD are owned by the Gustavus library).
In 2011, Dahl started writing his second book series, the Opcop quartet. The first installment, Chinese Whispers, was awarded the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers Award for Best Swedish Crime Novel of 2011. Other books in the series include Musical Chairs and Blindfold, while the fourth installment is scheduled to be released in June in Sweden.
Prior to launching his career as a crime writer, Dahl—whose real name is Jan Arnald—completed a Ph.D. in literature at Stockholm University in 1995 and founded the literary magazine and publishing house Aiolos that same year. From 2001 to 2005, he served as editor-in-chief of ARTES, the literary magazine of the Swedish Academy, which awards the annual Nobel Prize in Literature. In addition to the prize-winning crime novels he has published under the pen name Arne Dahl, he has published seven books of fiction and poetry under his real name as well as numerous scholarly articles and works of cultural criticism.
During his weeklong residency at Gustavus, Dahl will participate in several classes, meet with writing center tutors, and attend the weekly FIKA sponsored by the Swedish House on Thursday nights from 9 to 10:30 p.m. The highlight of his visit will be a public lecture titled “Why Crime Fiction?” at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 15 in the Melva Lind Interpretive Center. A reception and book signing will precede the lecture at 6 p.m.
“We are particularly excited about welcoming Arne Dahl to campus because as well as being a celebrated author, he is also a cultural critic and public intellectual who has lectured about and taught the writing of crime fiction both in his native Sweden and abroad,” Assistant Professor of Scandinavian Studies Ursula Lindqvist said. “He is eager to meet with students and engage fully with the Gustavus community while here.”
The Out of Scandinavia Artist-in-Residence program was initiated in 1989 to serve the Gustavus community and beyond. The program’s specific goals are to enhance the college’s academic program, to foster and develop stronger cultural ties with the Nordic countries, and to showcase Scandinavian art and artists to American audiences. For more information about the program, including a complete list of prior honorees, see https://gustavus.edu/scand-studies/out.php.
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