John Ajvide Lindqvist (; born 2 December 1968) is a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
writer of horror novels and short stories.
Early life
Lindqvist was born and raised in the
Stockholm suburb of
Blackeberg
Blackeberg is a suburb of Stockholm built in the 1950s, and is part of the Bromma borough. Blackeberg was originally a croft first mentioned in 1599. The croft was demolished in 1861 by Knut Ljunglöf, who built a house, a stable, a mill and a s ...
.
Before becoming a published writer, Lindqvist worked for 12 years as a
stand-up comedian, and also worked for a time as a
magician.
Career
Lindqvist's
debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...
, ''
Let the Right One In'' (''Låt den rätte komma in''), a romantic
vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deat ...
horror story published in 2004, enjoyed great success in Sweden and abroad. ''
Handling the Undead'' (''Hanteringen av odöda'') was published in 2005 and involved the rising of the dead as
zombie
A zombie ( Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in w ...
s, referred to as the "re-living", in the Stockholm area.
In 2006, he released his third book, ''Pappersväggar'' (''Paper Walls'', published in English as ''
Let the Old Dreams Die''), a collection of short stories. In 2007, his story "Tindalos" was published as a serial in the Swedish newspaper ''
Dagens Nyheter
''Dagens Nyheter'' (, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record.
History and profile
' ...
'' and as a free audiobook available through the newspaper's website, read by the author himself. His works are published in Sweden by
Ordfront
Ordfront (lit. ''Word Front'') is a left-oriented Swedish publishing house, established in 1969. Except for the publishing of the magazine ''Ordfront'', the association also organize courses and seminars. In 2006, the organisation had about 15,000 ...
and have been translated into many languages, including
English
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* English language
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Peoples, culture, and language
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,
Bulgarian
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* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
,
German
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* Germany (of or related to)
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* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
,
Italian
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* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
,
Chinese
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* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
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,
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
,
Norwegian
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*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
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,
Danish
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* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
,
French,
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
,
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
,
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
and
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
.
Lindqvist was also a writer for the television series ' (1999) and wrote the
screenplays for
Sveriges Television's drama series ''
Kommissionen
Kommissionen, (in English: ''The Commission'') is a 2005 Swedish TV series airing over 12 episodes.
The series, set in and around Stockholm, deals with the effects and political aftermath of a terrorist attack that destroys Rosenbad, the Ministr ...
'' (2005) and the film ''
Let the Right One In'', based on his novel.
The production company
Tre Vänner bought the film rights to ''Handling the Undead'' and were planning a future production. However, heavy interest in an American version led to the request to sell the rights to an American company. Lindqvist refused and the film went unmade. Tre Vänner's rights for an adaptation expired in 2012.
Inspirations
Lindqvist is a
Morrissey fan. The name of his debut novel was inspired by the Morrissey song "
Let the Right One Slip In" and one of the short stories in ''Pappersväggar'' was named after the song "
Shoplifters of the World Unite
"Shoplifters of the World Unite" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths, written by Morrissey and Johnny Marr. Morrissey's lyrics, which endorsed shoplifting and referenced Karl Marx, were controversial at the time of the song's release. ...
". The influence of Morrissey's music became involved in the actual plot of ''Harbour'', where two of the main characters are devoted Morrissey fans who live out much of their lives by speaking in quotes from Morrissey's songs.
Lindqvist's father drowned , and the sea has appeared in several of his works as a dark and sinister force, such as in ''Handling the Undead'' and a short story in ''Pappersväggar''. In ''Harbour'' the sea has a prominent role as a menacing presence and could be considered the villain of the novel. Furthermore, ''Let the Right One In'' features a pivotal near-drowning scene in a gym swimming pool.
Bibliography
*2004 – ''Låt den rätte komma in'' (''
Let the Right One In'', 2007)
*2005 – ''Hanteringen av odöda'' (''
Handling the Undead'', 2009)
*2006 – ''Pappersväggar'' (''Paper Walls'')
*2008 – ''Människohamn'' (''
Harbour'', 2010)
*2010 – ''Lilla stjärna'' (''
Little Star'', 2011)
0857385100">https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0857385100
/ref>
*2011 – ''Låt de gamla drömmarna dö'' ('' Let the Old Dreams Die'')
*2011 – ''Tjärven'' (name of a lighthouse island, see separate article)
*2011 - ''The Music of Bengt Karlsson, Murderer''
*2011 - "Itsy Bitsy" (short story)
*2012 - ''Sulky och Bebbe regerar okej'' (''Sulky and Bebbe Rule Okay''; with Mia Ajvide)
*2013 - ''Fem kända musiker döda i seriekrock'' (''Five Famous Musicians Dead in Pile-Up'')
*2013 - ''Come Unto Me''
*2014 - ''Himmelstrand'' (''I Am Behind You(: The First Place)'')
*2014 - "Speciella omständigheter" ("Special Circumstances"; short story)
*2015 - ''Rörelsen: Den andra platsen'' (''The Movement: The Second Place'')
*2016 - ''Våran hud, vårat blod, våra ben'' (''Our Skin, Our Blood, Our Bones'')
*2017 - ''X: Den sista platsen'' (''X: The Last Place'') (''I Am the Tiger'')
*2017 - ''The Keeper's Companion'' (novel i anthology ''Varsel i Mörkret'')
*2018 - ''Gräns'' (''Border'')
*2021 - ''Vänligheten'' (''The Kindness'')
*2022 - ''Verkligheten'' (''The Reality'')
Plays
*2012 - ''Fem kända musiker döda i seriekrock''
*2012 - ''Ett informellt samtal om den nuvarande situationen''
*2014 - ''Storstugan - En pyromans berättelse''
Film and TV adaptions
* ''Let the Right One In'' (film)
* ''Let Me In'' (film)
* ''Let the Right One In'' (TV series)
* ''Border'' (film)
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
John Ajvide Lindqvist: Stand Up, 1995
on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindqvist, John Ajvide
Living people
Swedish horror writers
Writers from Stockholm
Swedish comedians
Sommar (radio program) hosts
1968 births
Selma Lagerlöf Prize winners
Best Screenplay Guldbagge Award winners
Swedish male novelists