Kjell Westö (born 6 August 1961) is a Finnish author and journalist. Westö writes in Swedish. Best known for his epic novels set in Helsinki, he has also written short stories, poetry, essays and newspaper columns.

Biography

His family comes from Ostrobothnia. Kjell Westö studied journalism at the ' in Helsinki, and began his career as a journalist at ''

Hufvudstadsbladet ''Hufvudstadsbladet'' (abbr. ''HBL'') is the highest-circulation Swedish language, Swedish-language newspaper in Finland. Its headquarters is located in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The name of the newspaper translates approximately into "Jo ...

'', Finland's largest Swedish-language newspaper, and at the politically left leaning magazine ''

Ny Tid ''Ny Tid'' (English: ''Modern Times Review'') is Norway's largest international quarterly review of non-fiction books – up to 50 in each issue. It is currently owned by Ny Tid & Orientering AS. ''Ny Tid'' is headed by the newspaper founder ...

''. Kjell Westö made his literary debut as a poet in 1986. Three years later his first volume of prose, (''Rasch and Other Stories''), was published. It was a critical success and was nominated for the prestigious

Finlandia Prize The Finlandia Prize (; ) is a set of Finnish literary prizes awarded by the Finnish Book Foundation to "celebrate reading and highlight new Finnish first-rate literature." Considered the most prestigious in the nation, they are awarded annually in ...

. Westö's earliest works provided glimpses of his future strengths, particularly an assured command of dialogue, setting and mood. Kjell Westö's first novel, '' Drakarna över Helsingfors'' (''Kites over Helsinki'', 1996), made a huge impact on Swedish- and Finnish-speaking audiences in Finland. His next novels, (''The Peril of Being a Skrake'', 2000) and (''Lang'', 2002), were nominated for the

as well as the

Nordic Council Literature Prize The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries, that meets "high literary and artistic standards". Established in 1962, the prize is awarded every year, and is worth ...

, and ''Lang'' was translated into thirteen languages. His fourth novel, '' Där vi en gång gått'' (''Where We Once Walked'', 2006), secured Kjell Westö's status as an author for all of Finland and won him the

. Both its Swedish and Finnish editions were commercial successes in Finland and the novel was also Westö's breakthrough in Sweden. A stage adaptation was performed at Helsinki City Theatre, and the story was made into a film and TV series. In his depictions of different eras, Kjell Westö portrays fragile, vulnerable individuals and the impact the big historical events have on them. This practice continues in his fifth novel, (''Do Not Go Alone Into the Night'', 2009), and his sixth, ''

Hägring 38 ''The Wednesday Club'' () is a 2013 novel by Finnish author Kjell Westö. It won the Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 2014. The novel tells about Helsinki in 1938. Plot The story takes place over eight months in 1938 in Helsinki. The main ...

'' (''Mirage 38'', 2013). Like Westö's previous works, is a Helsinki novel, a portrait of an era and of a social class. It was nominated for the

and Sweden's

August Prize The August Prize () is an annual Swedish literary prize awarded each year since 1989 by the Swedish Publishers' Association. The prize is awarded to the best Swedish book of the year, in three categories. The Swedish Publishers' Association also ...

, and was awarded the 2014

and the Swedish Radio Novel Prize. That same year Westö received two more awards from Sweden – the and The Nine Society's Grand Prize – for his entire literary oeuvre. Today, Kjell Westö's works have been translated into over 20 languages, and he is a seven-time recipient of awards from the

Society of Swedish Literature in Finland The Society of Swedish Literature in Finland (; SLS) is a scholarly society for the collection, archiving and dissemination of knowledge about Finland-Swedish culture. SLS publishes scholarly literature, maintains archives and libraries, funds r ...

. (''The Sulphur-Yellow Sky'') is his seventh novel. It was published in 2017 in Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian and Danish, with French, German and Dutch translation rights also sold; a film based on the novel was released in 2021. In September 2017, the stage version of , adapted by Mikaela Hasan and Michael Baran and directed by Mikaela Hasan, had its Finnish-language premiere at the

Finnish National Theatre The Finnish National Theatre (), established in 1872, is a theatre located in central Helsinki on the northern side of the Helsinki Central Railway Station Square. The Finnish National Theatre is the oldest Finnish speaking professional thea ...

in Helsinki. In 2020, Westö's eighth novel ''Tritonus'' was published. It was followed in 2023 by ''Skymning 41'', a historical novel set in the early 1940s during the

Winter war The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

and

Continuation war The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

in Finland.Skymning 41
Albert Bonniers förlag

Bibliography

* ''Tango orange'' (1986) * (1988) * (1989; under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Anders Hed) * (1989) * (1992) * (1996) * (1998; with Kristoffer Albrecht) * (2000) * (2002) * (2004) * '' Där vi en gång gått'' (lit. 'Where We Once Went', novel, 2006) * (2009) * (2011) * '' Mirage 38'' (, novel, 2013) * (2017) * (2020) * (2023)

Awards

Kjell Westö has received several prestigious awards and acknowledgements. He has been nominated for the

in 1989 (), 2000 (), 2002 () and 2013 (''

''). He won the prize in 2006 for . Westö has also been nominated for the

in 2001 () and 2003 (). He received the Nordic Council Literature Prize in 2014 for . The same year he received the for and two more awards from Sweden – the Aniara Prize and The Nine Society's Grand Prize – for his entire literary oeuvre. The

has awarded Westö in 1987, 1990, 1997, 2001, 2007, 2010 and 2014.

References

External links

kjellwesto.com

Kjell Westö

Schildts & Söderströms Schildts & Söderströms is a Finnish book publisher, which was established in February 2012 through a merger between Schildts Förlags Ab and Söderströms Förlags Ab, Söderström & Co. The publisher is based in Helsinki. Its first managing d ...

Kjell Westö

Albert Bonniers förlag Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street ma ...

Kjell Westö
Otava {{DEFAULTSORT:Westo, Kjell 1961 births Living people Writers from Helsinki Finnish writers in Swedish Finnish poets in Swedish Finlandia Prize winners Swedish-speaking Finns