2023 Petrona Award Winner Announced

The winner of the 2023 Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year is: 

Femicide by Pascal Engman, translated from the Swedish by Michael Gallagher and published by Legend Press.

Pascal Engman will receive a trophy, and both the author and translator will receive a cash prize.

The judges’ statement on Femicide:

This year’s Petrona Award winner is a page-turning, absorbing and uncomfortable Swedish thriller. Femicide tells of a young woman, Emilie, who is found murdered in her Stockholm apartment in the same week that her violent ex-boyfriend is released from prison. Detective Vanessa Frank is assigned the case. Meanwhile, we hear the story of young journalist Jasmina, the survivor of a recent, severe sexual assault. Author Pascal Engman dives into the world of incels through Tom, a very believable character who is part of a weaponised gender war brought about by, amongst other things, misguided hatred, feelings of being ignored by society, and sexual frustration. Femicide comes to a pinnacle as the attacks against women escalate on a huge scale.

Continuing in the tradition of fellow Swedish authors Sjöwall and Wahlöö, and Henning Mankell, Pascal Engman uses his writing to comment on societal values making Femicide an interesting, fictional take on the multifaceted topic of violence against women. The book stood out to all the Petrona judges for several reasons. The way Femicide opens the reader’s eyes to the steadily increasing threat of the incel movement and what makes these men tick was felt by all the judges. Femicide is a challenging read that broadens thinking. The writing is well informed, the book has a good sense of urban space, and it picks up pace in a satisfying manner. There is a cast of interesting, and sometimes unconventional, characters for the reader to get to know. All the judges felt this book offered something creatively original that captured the zeitgeist of the early twenty-first century and it is a deserved winner.

Pascal Engman (author):

It feels incredibly significant to win this award. Several of my major idols and heroes in this genre have been recipients of it. I consider it an honour, a great honour. Writing Femicide was a unique experience. The research on the incel movement was very challenging. I was pulled towards their darkness in many ways. Therefore, I also want to thank Linnea, my fiancée, for putting up with me then, as she does now.

Michael Gallagher (translator):

Femicide was a fantastic book to work on. Pascal Engman certainly belongs to the Nordic Noir tradition, but his writing and his characters deftly reflect the tectonic shifts underway in Sweden and the wider world. Always unsettling and compelling, he is not bound by conventions or old cliches. I am delighted that the jury has recognised his talent and that my translation seems to have done it justice!

Cari Rosen (Legend Press Commissioning Editor

We are so thrilled that Femicide has been chosen as the winner of this year's Petrona Award. The novel delves into the world of incels after a series of brutal attacks against women, and perfectly encapsulates the pace, drama and drive of Pascal's writing. The Vanessa Frank series has sold more than a million copies worldwide and everyone at Legend is delighted to be able to bring this, the first of three books, to an English-speaking audience thanks to Michael Gallagher's expert translation.

The Petrona team would like to thank David Hicks for his continuing sponsorship of the Petrona Award.

Petrona Award Shortlist 2023

 

Outstanding crime fiction from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland shortlisted for the 2023 Petrona Award 

Seven impressive crime novels from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland have been shortlisted for the 2023 Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year. The shortlist is announced today, Thursday 7 September and is as follows:

Femicide by Pascal Engman tr. Michael Gallagher (Sweden, Legend Press)

The Corpse Flower by Anne Mette Hancock tr. Tara F Chace (Denmark, Swift Press)

The Axe Woman by Håkan Nesser tr. Sarah Death (Sweden, Mantle)

Land of Snow and Ashes by Petra Rautiainen tr. David Hackston (Finland, Pushkin Press)

Kalmann by Joachim B Schmidt tr. Jamie Lee Searle (Switzerland, Bitter Lemon Press)

Red as Blood by Lilja Sigurðardóttir tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland, Orenda Books)

Bitter Flowers by Gunnar Staalesen tr. Don Bartlett (Norway, Orenda Books)

The winning title will be announced on 5th October 2023.

The Petrona Award is open to crime fiction in translation, either written by a Scandinavian author or set in Scandinavia, and published in the UK in the previous calendar year.

The Petrona team would like to thank our sponsor, David Hicks, for his continued generous support of the Petrona Award. 

The judges’ comments on the shortlist:

There were 43 entries for the 2023 Petrona Award from six countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland). There were twenty-one female, nineteen male, two female/male pairs and one male/male pair of authors. The novels were translated by 22 translators and submitted by 22 publishers/imprints. 

This year’s Petrona Award shortlist sees Sweden represented with two novels and Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland with one novel each. The judges selected the shortlist from a particularly strong pool of candidates with the shortlisted titles ranging from police procedural and private investigator to historical. 

As ever, we are extremely grateful to the seven translators whose expertise and skill have allowed readers to access these outstanding examples of Scandinavian crime fiction, and to the publishers who continue to champion and support translated fiction. 

The judges’ comments on each of the shortlisted titles:

Pascal Engman - FEMICIDE tr. Michael Gallagher (Sweden, Legend Press)

FEMICIDE is a page turning, absorbing, thriller featuring Detective Vanessa Frank. A young woman is found murdered in her apartment in the same week her violent ex-boyfriend is released from prison. Meanwhile, we hear the story of Jasmina, a survivor of a recent severe sexual assault. Engman dives into the world of incels through Tom, a very believable character who is part of a weaponised gender war. 

As expected this is not a comfortable read, addressing the whole incel phenomenon which is of growing concern. The well written characters and increasingly tense plot strands keep the reader absorbed as the story comes to a pinnacle as the attacks against women escalate.

Anne Mette Hancock - THE CORPSE FLOWER tr. Tara F Chace (Denmark, Swift Press)

Journalist Heloise Kaldan is trapped in a nightmare. One of her sources has been caught lying. Then she receives a cryptic letter from Anna Kiel, wanted for murder, but not seen by anyone in three years. When the reporter who first wrote about the case is found murdered, detective Erik Schafer comes up with the first lead. Has Kiel struck again? As Kaldan starts digging deeper she realises that to tell Kiel’s story she will have to revisit her own dark past.

A dark and compelling story with echoes of Stieg Larsson's THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, this is an exceptionally strong start to the series, with a balanced blend of journalistic detection, psychological thriller and police procedural.

Håkan Nesser - THE AXE WOMAN tr. Sarah Death (Sweden, Mantle)

The fifth and final Inspector Gunnar Barbarotti novel from Håkan Nesser, sees Barbarotti returning to work after a personal tragedy and tasked with the investigation of a cold case, based on the unexplained disappearance of Arnold Morinder five years previously. Morinder's former partner Ellen Bjarnebo, who had been previously convicted of the brutal murder of her first husband, is sought by Barbarotti for more information, but she too has disappeared.

Håkan Nesser's credentials as a superior storyteller are once more in evidence in THE AXE WOMAN, with its impressive narrative arc and peerless characterisation, coupled with a perceptive translation by Sarah Death.

Petra Rautiainen - LAND OF SNOW AND ASHES tr. David Hackston (Finland, Pushkin Press)

LAND OF SNOW AND ASHES is set at a prison camp in Finnish Lapland in 1944 during the occupation by Nazi Germany, and in 1947 when journalist Inkeri arrives in remote Enontekiö on an assignment to chart the area’s social development. Inkeri gets to know the small community, discovers disturbing silenced crimes, and tries to find out what happened to her missing husband. Rautiainen weaves in the elements of Finland’s recent hidden history in the European context, and gives voice to the Sámi people, while Inkeri’s personal investigation shows the painful truths of human brutality and the cost of survival in extreme conditions. 

A harsh yet beautiful landscape adds to the mystery and allows for reflection and thought in this striking historical but contemporary novel. 

Joachim B Schmidt - KALMANN tr. Jamie Lee Searle (Switzerland, Bitter Lemon Press)

A local hotel owner and entrepreneur has gone missing, then Kalmann Odinsson discovers a pool of blood in the snow in the quiet village of Raufarhofn. Kalmann is an engaging, highly observant, neurodiverse character who sees the world his own way and who can easily become overwhelmed. He hunts and makes fermented shark and his usually quiet life in the small community falls into turmoil as the police arrive to investigate formally. 

This quirky Icelandic story quickly draws the reader in, and information is revealed slowly as the mystery is solved. KALMANN is a beautifully written, absorbing, character-driven tale set in a rich Icelandic landscape.

Lilja Sigurðardóttir - RED AS BLOOD tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland, Orenda Books)

Following the events in COLD AS HELL, the UK-based financial investigator Áróra Jónsdóttir still searches for her sister Ísafold in Iceland, now convinced she will only find her sister’s body. Teaming again with Daníel, an old family friend and a detective, she becomes involved in the murky, violent, criminal underworld when the entrepreneur Flosi’s wife gets kidnapped. 

The chilling scenery and tight plotting with unexpected twists propel the novel into the uncommon sphere of financial crime mixed with a strong sense of unease and danger. The writing is sharp, intelligent and witty, and the characters authentic. Sigurðardóttir surprises at every step with her exciting style, faultlessly brought into English by Quentin Bates. 

Gunnar Staalesen - BITTER FLOWERS tr. Don Bartlett (Norway, Orenda Books)

BITTER FLOWERS is set in Norway in the 1980s during the heated atmosphere of toxic waste environmental protests. Private investigator Varg Veum is just out of rehab for his alcoholism. The story starts with a body found under suspicious circumstances in a swimming pool. The lifestyle of the rich, their power and the privilege their money affords them comes into question.

Staalesen is an expert at making his characters just complex enough that the reader can empathise with the human condition in the majority of them. BITTER FLOWERS is finely crafted and translated giving the reader a clear sense of location and an array of vivid characters to spend their time with.

The judges

Jackie Farrant - creator of RAVEN CRIME READS and a bookseller/Area Commercial Support for a major book chain in the UK.

Miriam Owen - founder of the NORDIC NOIR blog, passionate about the arts, she moderates author panels and provides support at crime fiction festivals.

Ewa Sherman - translator and writer, and blogger at NORDIC LIGHTHOUSE

Award administrator

Karen Meek – owner of the EURO CRIME blog and website.

Further information can be found on the Petrona Award website: http://www.petronaaward.co.uk.

Femicide author PASCAL ENGMAN on being published in the UK for the first time

My first novel, The Patriots, came out in Sweden in 2017. Since then, I feel very fortunate to have published five further titles and had my books translated into over 20 languages. Each new translation feels special in its own way, but it’s been a long-standing ambition of mine to be published in English, so I was delighted when Legend Press wanted to publish my Vanessa Frank series here. Femicide came out in late September and its publication has given me the opportunity to experience some wonderful things about the UK crime fiction scene. 

One of the first things I noticed was how incredibly supportive members of the crime writing community are of one another. As a newcomer to the UK crime fiction scene, I really valued fellow writers who supported Femicide and who understood the importance of raising awareness of the social problem which it highlights. 

Femicide explores the pressing issue of misogyny in today’s social landscape, specifically focusing on the online extremist ‘incel’ or involuntary celibate community. The story investigates the seemingly separate murders of three women and follows Detective Vanessa Frank as she links them together to the incel movement. Best-selling crime author Peter James generously gave me my first endorsement from a UK crime writer, and his kind words appear on the front cover of the UK edition of Femicide. Having the support of such a successful writer in the UK crime fiction scene made me feel instantly welcome. I also received support from Chris Merritt, a talented crime writer and psychologist who has also written a novel about the incel movement. Chris hosted a Q&A with me at the launch event for Femicide, and his experience made the conversation such an interesting one. 

I wanted to write about incels and draw attention to the issue because I’ve seen how it’s a particular problem in Sweden, and how it’s becoming a more widespread threat online. Journalists and commissioning editors in the UK have really understood this mission and I was grateful to have the opportunity to write about this in detail for Sunday Times Crime Club, Metro and LadBible. I found it extremely humbling when Mark Sanderson at Sunday Times Crime Club made Femicide the ‘Star pick’, and I always appreciate when I have the chance to talk about my work – so a special thank you to Shots for inviting me to write this piece! I was so pleased that I had the chance to write about the issue of incels not only in my fictional work, but in a more journalistic manner; these articles allowed me to share my findings from the time I spent studying incel forums online to learn more about how they operate. I think fiction is an incredibly powerful tool in communicating the emotional impact of such intense topics, but I was thrilled that I could share the facts to a wide UK audience to make people aware of the danger that this extreme misogyny poses to all of us. 

I was also delighted to have the chance to write about my literacy initiative for The Bookseller, and to have the opportunity to chat to the National Literacy Trust while learning about some of the amazing work that they do here in the UK. I officially launched my charitable foundation in 2021 with the goal of working to promote reading among children and young people in Sweden, so I really appreciated the opportunity to promote a cause that’s so important to me. 

Another brilliant thing about the UK crime fiction scene is the incredible amount of enthusiasm that British crime fiction fans have. The passion of the team behind the UK Crime Book Club on Facebook, for example, was phenomenal. They are so brilliant and I loved talking to them about Femicide.

This is only the beginning of my journey in the UK – Legend will be publishing more of my Vanessa Frank novels in the coming years, and I'm so excited for what's to come. In particular I'm really hoping to come back for some of the crime festivals, which you have such an amazing array of in the UK – from Capital Crime to CRIMEFEST and Harrogate to Bloody Scotland – and to have the opportunity to meet more UK crime fans face-to-face.

Femicide by Pascale Engman (Legend Press) Out Now

When 25-year-old Emelie is found murdered in her Stockholm apartment the same week her ex-partner is released from prison, it feels like an open and shut case for Detective Vanessa Frank. Who else would launch such a frenzied attack on the young woman? But Frank suspects there is something they're missing. Could the killing be linked to the rising online movement of men who want to punish women, the so-called 'incels'? When a survivor of brutal sexual assault comes forward, Frank uncovers more about this shadowy group who, in their own words, have weaponised the gender war and will stop at nothing to make themselves heard. Desperate to stop any further attacks, Frank escalates the investigation when a music festival intended to be a safe space for women becomes a potential target.

More information about the author can be found on his website.

You can also find him on Facebook. He can aslo follow him on Twitter @pascalengman