Stieg Larsson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Stieg Larsson
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| Born | Karl Stig-Erland Larsson 15 August 1954 Skelleftehamn, Sweden |
| Died | 9 November 2004 (aged 50) Stockholm, Sweden |
| Occupation | Journalist, novelist |
| Period | 1990s–2004 |
| Genre | Crime fiction, thriller |
| Notable works | The Millennium Trilogy |
| Partner | Eva Gabrielsson (1974–2004; his death) |
| Relatives | Knut Erland Fridolf Larsson (father), Gerd Dagny Vivianne Boström (mother) |
Karl Stig-Erland "Stieg" Larsson (born 15 August 1954 – died 9 November 2004) was a Swedish writer, journalist, and activist. He is famous for writing the Millennium series of crime novels. These books were published after he died, starting in 2005.
Larsson's books became very popular around the world. In 2008, he was the second-best-selling fiction author. His third book, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, was the top-selling book in the United States in 2010. By 2015, his series had sold 80 million copies worldwide.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Stieg Larsson was born in Skelleftehamn, Sweden. His father and grandfather worked in a smelting plant, which processes metal. His father left his job due to health issues.
When Stieg was one year old, his family moved to Stockholm. However, because their new home was small, Stieg stayed with his grandparents. He lived with them in a small house in the countryside until he was nine. He went to a village school and used cross-country skis to get there in winter. He remembered these years fondly.
After his grandfather died, Larsson moved to the city of Umeå to live with his parents. He earned a high school diploma in social sciences in 1972. In 1974, he joined the Swedish Army for 16 months. He trained as a mortarman in an infantry unit.
His mother also passed away early, in 1991.
Becoming a Writer
On his 12th birthday, Larsson received a typewriter as a gift. This was the start of his writing journey.
Larsson first wrote science fiction stories. He loved reading science fiction from a young age. He became active in Swedish science-fiction fandom, which is a community of fans. He helped edit his first fan magazine, called a fanzine, in 1972. He also went to his first science fiction convention.
Throughout the 1970s, Larsson published about 30 more fanzines. He was also president of the largest Swedish science fiction fan club. In 2010, some of his early stories and fanzines were found in the Swedish National Library. This discovery brought a lot of attention to his early writing.
Activism and Journalism
Besides writing, Larsson was also a journalist and activist. He was involved in far-left politics. He edited a Swedish political journal called Fjärde internationalen. He also wrote regularly for a weekly newspaper.
In 1977, Larsson spent time in Eritrea. He helped train a group of women guerrillas in how to use mortars. He had to stop this work because he got a kidney disease. When he returned to Sweden, he worked as a graphic designer for a news agency until 1999.
Larsson's strong beliefs led him to create the Swedish Expo Foundation. This foundation works to fight against right-wing extremism, which involves extreme political views. He became the editor of the foundation's magazine, Expo, in 1995.
He also did his own research into extreme right-wing groups in Sweden. In 1991, he published his first book, Extremhögern (The Extreme Right). Larsson became very important in showing and explaining these groups. He often spoke and debated about the topic. He even received death threats because of his work. He researched the political party Sweden Democrats a lot.
Why His Name Changed
Larsson's first name was originally Stig, which is a common Swedish spelling. In his early 20s, he changed it to Stieg. He did this to avoid being confused with his friend, Stig Larsson, who was also a writer. Both names are pronounced the same way.
His Death
Stieg Larsson died from a heart attack on 9 November 2004. He was 50 years old. He passed away after climbing the stairs to his office. He is buried in the Högalid Church cemetery in Stockholm.
His Famous Novels
Larsson had planned to write a series of 10 books. He had finished two and most of a third when he started looking for publishers. When he died in 2004, only three books were completed. They were published after his death as the Millennium series.
The first book was published in Sweden in 2005. Its Swedish title means "Men who hate women." In English, it was called The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It won an award for the best Nordic crime novel in 2005.
His second novel, The Girl Who Played with Fire, was published in 2006. It won the Best Swedish Crime Novel Award.
The third novel, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, was published in 2009 in the UK and 2010 in the US. Its Swedish title means "The castle in the air which was blown up."
Larsson left about three-quarters of a fourth novel on his computer. In 2013, a Swedish publisher decided to continue the Millennium series. They hired David Lagercrantz, another Swedish author, to write new books. The fourth book, The Girl in the Spider's Web, was published in 2015. The fifth book, The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye, came out in 2017. The sixth book, The Girl Who Lived Twice, was released in 2019.
Film Adaptations
The Millennium series was made into films. A Swedish film company, Yellow Bird, produced three movies. All three films were released in 2009 in Scandinavia. The first book was also made into an American movie.
Who Inspired Stieg Larsson?
Stieg Larsson said that many American and British crime writers influenced him. He often put the names of his favorite authors into his books. Some of his favorites included Sara Paretsky, Agatha Christie, and Enid Blyton.
One of his biggest inspirations came from Sweden: Pippi Longstocking, by the famous children's author Astrid Lindgren. Larsson explained that one of his main characters, Lisbeth Salander, was based on an older Pippi Longstocking. Also, another main character, Mikael Blomkvist, is sometimes called "Kalle Blomkvist" by others. Kalle Blomkvist is a fictional teenage detective created by Astrid Lindgren.
There are also similarities between Lisbeth Salander and Peter O'Donnell's character Modesty Blaise. Both are strong women who had difficult childhoods. They become adults with special skills, like fighting, and help others by working outside the law.
Awards and Achievements
Stieg Larsson received many awards for his books:
- 2005 – Glass Key award, for Män som hatar kvinnor
- 2006 – Best Swedish Crime Novel Award, for Flickan som lekte med elden
- 2008 – Glass Key award, for Luftslottet som sprängdes
- 2008 – ITV3 Crime Thriller Award for International Author of the Year, UK, for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- 2008 – Exclusive Books Boeke Prize, South Africa, for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- 2009 – Galaxy British Book Awards, Books Direct Crime Thriller of the Year, UK, for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- 2009 – Anthony Award, Best First Novel, for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- 2009 – General Council of the Judiciary, Spain, for his work against domestic violence
- 2010 – USA Today's Author of the Year.
Stieg Larsson was the first author to sell over one million e-books on Amazon.com.
Biographies About Stieg Larsson
Several books have been written about Stieg Larsson's life:
- Kurdo Baksi, a former colleague, published Min vän Stieg Larsson ("My Friend Stieg Larsson") in 2010.
- Barry Forshaw's English biography was published in 2010.
- His long-term partner, Eva Gabrielsson, released her memoir in 2011. Its English title is "There Are Things I Want You to Know" About Stieg Larsson and Me.
The Stieg Larsson Prize
Since 2009, Larsson's family and his publisher, Norstedts, have given out an annual award. The prize is 200,000 Swedish Krona (about US$18,668). It is given to a person or group who works in the same spirit as Stieg Larsson.
In 2015, the prize went to Chinese author Yang Jisheng. He received it for his important book Tombstone, which describes the effects of The Three Years of Great Chinese Famine.
See also
In Spanish: Stieg Larsson para niños
