Born in Blackeberg, Sweden in 1968,John Ajvide Lindqvist is a Swedish novelist and short stories author who grew up in the Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg. His debut effort "Låt den rätte komma in" (Let The Right One In), a romantic/social/realistic vampire/horror story was published in 2004, enjoying great success in Sweden and abroad. His next novel, Hanteringen av odöda (Handling the Undead), was published in 2005 and involved the rising of zombies in the Stockholm area. In 2006, he released his third book Pappersväggar (Paper walls), a collection of his various short stories. His story "Tindalos" was published as a serial in the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, and also as a free audiobook through the newspaper's website, which is read by the author himself. His works are published by Ordfront and have been translated into many languages, including English, Russian, Norwegian, Danish, Bulgarian, German, Italian, Polish and Dutch.
Besides fiction he has also written the screenplay for Sveriges Television's drama series Kommissionen, a large part of the material to the television series Reuter & Skoog, as well as the screenplay for the film based on Let the Right One in. The production company Tre Vänner has bought the rights to Hanteringen av odöda and are planning to make a film.
Lindqvist worked for twelve years as a magician and stand-up comedian before becoming a published writer, and as a teenager, he used to perform street magic for the tourists walking on Västerlånggatan in Stockholm. A devoted Morrissey fan, in interviews he has stated that his debut novel's Swedish name got its name from the Morrissey song "Let the Right One Slip In." In addition, he has also stated that his first thought after being told that "Let the Right One In" was going to be translated into English was that he relished Morrissey would be able to read his book, since it was Morrissey's song from which the book's title was borrowed.
Body of Work[]
- Låt den rätte komma in (Let the Right One In) - 2004
- Hanteringen av odöda (Handling the Undead) - 2005
- Pappersväggar (Paper walls) - 2006 (yet to be translated)
- Tindalos - 2007 (published as a serial story in the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter)
- Människohamn (Human harbour or Human guise) - 2008
- Lilla stjärna (Little star) - 2010