Norwegian readers around the world will be following the Edgar Awards closely this year. Norway’s hardboiled novelist Jo Nesbo is up for Best Novel at the April 29th awards ceremony.
At an official luncheon yesterday, Norway’s consul general in New York, Sissel Breie, celebrated Nesbo’s new novel–a dark, surreal mystery where an alcoholic police detective chases a Satanic serial killer. Nesbo (pictured, via Peter Knutson) mingled with journalists and publishing folk, talking about his former rock band and his father’s connections to Brooklyn.
Breie gave a brief speech: “We would like to congratulate you on your nomination for Best Novel at this year’s Edgar Awards. We’re all rooting for you … Now that your new book is coming out here, I’m sure he’s about to be showered with new waves of affection. It’s not often that we make it big in the United States. He is walking a path for other writers.”
She concluded: “This is his third publication in America, and we are all delighted that he is making such a breakthrough here. As one of our more successful contemporary crime fiction writers, he already has a considerable following in Norway, including me, and it’s easy to see why … I’m happy that more and more American readers are discovering him and enjoy the work he does.”