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Steve Sem-Sandberg

すてぃーゔ・せむ＝さんどべるぐ

Sutīvu Semu-Sandoberugu

Aliases: Snorre Steve Sem-Sandberg

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1958 （Oslo, Norway）
Nationality
Sweden
Languages
Swedish
Residence History
Oslo, Norway (birth) → Stockholm, Sweden

Career

Occupations
journalist, novelist, non-fiction writer, translator
Active Years
1976-2024
Affiliations
Svenska Dagbladet, Swedish Academy
Memberships
Swedish Academy (Seat No. 14)
Nominations
Jan Michalski Prize for Literature 2013 shortlist (The Emperor of Lies)

Awards

Dobloug Prize
2005
Category: fiction
Organization: Swedish Academy
Result: winner
August Prize
2009
Work: The Emperor of Lies
Result: winner
Prix Médicis étranger
2016
Work: Les élus
Result: winner
Selma Lagerlöf Prize
2024
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Emperor of Lies

2009 historical novel

Recounts the life of the Łódź ghetto and its leader Chaim Rumkowski in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II.

HolocaustGhettoPowerHumanity
Translations
  • English: The Emperor of Lies (2011)

Bibliography

  • Sländornas värld and Sökare i dödsskuggan (1976)
  • De ansiktslösa (1987)
  • I en annan del av staden (1990)
  • Den kluvna spegeln (1991)
  • En lektion i pardans (1993)
  • Theres (1996)
  • Allt förgängligt är bara en bild (1999)
  • Prag (no exit) (2002)
  • Ravensbrück (2003)
  • Härifrån till Allmänningen (2005)
  • De fattiga i Łódź / The Emperor of Lies (2009)
  • Tre romaner (2011)
  • De utvalda / The Chosen Ones (2014)
  • Stormen / The Tempest (2016)
  • W / W. A novel (2019)
  • Jägarna i Armentières (2020)
  • The Ocean (2022)
  • De heligas stad (2025)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
detailed historical depictiondocumentary-like
Recurring Motifs
Holocaustoppressed societieshuman choices

Legacy

Prominent Swedish novelist and member of the Swedish Academy, internationally acclaimed for works on the Holocaust.

Trivia

  • Debuted in 1976 with two science fiction novels.
  • Born in Oslo but grew up in Stockholm.