Q&A: Stieg Larsson

When journalist Stieg Larsson died in 2004, he left an impressive record of fighting right-wing extremism in his native Sweden and three crime novels. Although he lived to enjoy the Swedish publication of the first book, the posthumous international success of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo may have surprised him. Now as the second book, The Girl Who Played with Fire (see review on p. 62), debuts this August in the States, Knopf editor in chief Sonny Mehta and executive director of publicity Paul Bogaards ponder Larsson's literary legacy. 

Why has Larsson's "Millenium" trilogy, despite its Swedishness, become such a global literary phenomenon?

PB: The reason has to do with Larsson's preternatural gift for storytelling. While Larsson captures Sweden so vividly, I disagree that his characters' issues are regional—there's lying, betrayal, even dysfunctional families. Those are universal phenomena. Larsson has a particular genius for drawing an interesting character. To my mind, Lisbeth Salander is one of the most compelling heroines in fiction. I don't always understand why she does what she does, which is part of the fun. But she is fascinating: menacing, brilliant, vulnerable, and mysterious. So, even for those who aren't interested in issues in Sweden, Larsson's characters, especially Lisbeth, will pull them in.

Could you tell me more about Larsson's career as a journalist and why he turned to crime fiction?

PB: Larsson dedicated his life to stamping out neo-Nazism and other forms of right-wing extremism in his native Sweden. He began his career at Sweden's equivalent of the Associated Press, then went on to start a magazine that would contain his kind of journalism, his kind of truth-telling. He called it Expo. And he edited it, and continued his great work, until the day he died.

His father has said that Larsson began writing fiction at a young age. He did so in his spare time—apparently he wrote the entire series late at night, after working long hours at his magazine. Perhaps writing fiction was an outlet for him, a way to relax. Unfortunately, we'll never be able to ask him about where, exactly, these incredible stories come from.

How did Knopf become involved in publishing these books in the United States? And which is your favorite?

SM: I first heard about Stieg's fiction at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Everyone was talking about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and a friend urged me to read it. She said it was one of the best thrillers she'd read in a long time. In no way, however, did her enthusiasm prepare me for the singular experience of the novel itself. I read it over two nights and knew immediately I wanted to publish it.

I have to say that these books just keep getting better. I think Book 2 is better than Book 1, and Book 3 is better than Book 2. It's extraordinary that Larsson was able to outdo himself with each successive work.

Prior to its U.S. publication, there had been a great deal of online buzz about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. So in a way, Knopf  had a ready-made audience before the book’s debut. What role did your marketing efforts help in the novel's success? And how did libraries contribute to its commercial success?

PB: It’s true that we worked very hard to seed the book with the online community, and with influentials in the mystery blogger community. We sent out advance reading copies (ARCs) and allowed some early publicity to take place. This is an international community of fans you’re talking about, and so even before the books had been translated to English, the online community was buzzing. Word got out.
 
Our Library Marketing team also worked hard to make librarians highly aware of and excited about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The team presented the book at various key events, such as the American Library Association summer convention (where 100 ARCs were given away) and BookExpo, and a meeting of the Librarians of the NYC Metro area, among others. And, the book was featured in the First Fiction section of Library Bulletin, which is inserted, as you know, into Library Journal and reaches LJ’s subscriber base of 120,000. The wonderful community of librarians nationwide, their recommendations to their individual communities, certainly contributed to the book’s popularity and its success, and helped in terms of word of mouth.

What kind of library marketing plans do you have for The Girl Who Played with Fire? And when can we expect Book 3? Is it as good as the first two books?

PB: Our library marketing team will feature the book at ALA’s July meeting in Chicago. The book has already been featured in Library Bulletin. The Girl Who Played with Fire was also presented, along with a few of our other big fall 2009 titles, as part of Library Journal’s Spring Book Buzz webinar on March 10. We’ll continue to get the word out at other regional conventions/meetings as the publication date approaches, and through our individual discussions with librarians.

The pace of each book is faster than that of its predecessor. It’s really just extraordinary that Larsson was able to continue to ratchet up the tension, the excitement, and to make these characters grow as they do in this series. We have not announced a publication date as yet for Book III, but readers won’t have to hang on too, too long. As far as the plot goes, I’m afraid you’ll just have to wait and see.

There is already a Swedish film version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Can we expect an American remake soon?

SM: There is quite a lot of interest in these books on the part of Hollywood. I’m certain that in the weeks and months to come, people will be reading news about Stieg Larsson in Variety.—Wilda Williams