Autumn is here with many interesting events for the old, the young, and everyone in between. Don’t forget that as a member of the Alumni Network, you get discounts on tickets and admission to various attractions and events.
Log in to your alumni page to find the discount codes and take the opportunity to update your information.
At Vattenhallen, both children and adults can try various experiments focusing on natural sciences and technology. This autumn, Vattenhallen is open to the public throughout the autumn break (höstlovet) and the Christmas break (jullovet). They also offer free admission to ForskarFredag (Researcher Friday) on 30 September.
By showing your alumni membership card, you get a 20% discount on the entrance ticket.
Odeum Music Center has its roots in traditions dating back to 1745 when the Academic Chapel was founded and is today Lund University’s center for student-based music, concerts, lectures, and education.
The theme for this autumn’s events is Spirituality. A broad theme where Odeum collaborates with Lund Cathedral in honor of its 900th anniversary. With spirituality as the focus, there will be a concert featuring the Academic Chapel, the university’s own symphony orchestra, and the Cathedral’s choirs, among other events. In addition to events revolving around spirituality, Odeum also offers a magnificent anniversary concert in mid-November when the Academic Choir celebrates 75 years as a mixed choir. The autumn concludes with Odeum’s traditional Christmas concerts with the Academic Choir and the Academic Chapel to create a festive atmosphere for the upcoming holiday season.
Alumni with membership cards are offered a 20% discount on the ticket price.
Malmö Opera Malmö Opera is a music and drama institution with a music and opera house in Malmö. It is one of the largest opera houses in the Nordic region and presents a full range of music theater with a focus on opera and musicals.
This autumn, you can see the musical Everybody’s talking about Jamie at Malmö Opera. In the musical, you meet Jamie, who dreams of becoming a dragshow artist. A musical about dreams and identity featuring Oscar Pierrou Lindén and Loa Falkman, among others.
With the Malmö Opera LU alumni discount, you get a discount on Everybody’s talking about Jamie as well as a selection of other shows during the autumn.
Photos by Christoffer Lomfors (left) and Jonas Persson (right)
Botanical Garden The Botanical Garden is a beloved oasis for many and a delightful spot in the heart of Lund. For over 300 years, researchers and students have used the garden for teaching and research. With a discount code and by presenting your membership card, you get a 10% discount on admission tickets and a 10% discount in the shop.
Lundagård – Sweden’s oldest student newspaper Members of the Alumni Network can subscribe to Lundagård at a student price. Log in to your alumni page to find more information.
Electrolux Online Members of Lund University’s Alumni Network receive a 25% discount on Electrolux’s complete online range. Log in to your alumni page to find more information.
GoinGlobal GoinGlobal is a career tool where you can learn more about job searching and working in different countries. GoinGlobal is completely free for all members of the Alumni Network. Log in to your alumni page to find more information.
Many of us are back in the office again after the summer holidays. But let’s keep those memories of reading at the beach, in the garden or on the sofa alive by continuing our Alumni Reading Challenge. We have arrived at challenge number 3 and now it is time to get familiar with “Författarskolan”, the Creative Writing Programme at Lund University, and its alumni.
The Creative Writing Programme is a two-year long programme at the Faculties of Humanities and Theology. Fiction writing runs like a common thread throughout the programme and occupies a significant part of the studies. About the Creative Writing Programme (in Swedish)
Below you find three books by the programme’s alumni, however, there are of course many more to choose from.
Thorfinn is a bestselling Swedish fiction writer and journalist, born in Lund and studied at Författarskolan 2010-2012. Her books are noted for their interest in international development, poverty, human rights and ex-pat experiences. Before the publication of her first book, Innan Floden Tar Oss (Before the River Takes Us) in 2012, Thorfinn worked in international development.
The novel Before the River Takes Us is set in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and gives us a glimpse of a world where hard working diplomats, in this case Swedish Sophia and her family, cross paths with struggling garment workers and shady factory owners. The novel has been translated into Polish, Norwegian, Icelandic and English.
Fjärilsvägen by Patrik Lundberg
Photo by Stefan Tell
Patrik Lundberg, born in 1983, is a writer and journalist and studied at Författarskolan from 2010. He is the 2020 recipient of the Publicists Club’s Gold Pen Award and in 2021 he was one of the recipients of Stora Journalistpriset (a major journalism award) in Sweden. He has written several books, including; Gul på utsidan and Berättelsen om Sverige: texter om vår demokrati.Fjärilsvägen is his first novel. It is a story is a declaration of love to his mother Birgitta Lundberg and a story about Swedish society.
My Brother by Karin Smirnoff
Photo by Johan Gunséus
Karin Smirnoff started as a journalist but after some time she was eager to work with something else and therefore bought a carpentry factory. After a few years, she missed writing and applied to Författarskolan with what would become her debut novel: Jag for ner till bror (My Brother). It is a novel steeped in darkness and violence – about abuse, love, complicity, and coming to terms with the past. My Brother was received with great enthusiasm, and she was nominated for the August Prize in 2018 in the literary fiction category. Book two, Vi for upp med mor (My Mother), was published in spring 2019 and the trilogy was completed in 2020 with Sen for jag hem (Then I Went Home). By December 2020, her series about Jana Kippo had sold more than 500 000 copies.
In December 2021, Smirnoff was announced as the new author in the best-selling and award-winning Millennium book series, originally created by Stieg Larsson. And in autumn 2022 the first book by Smirnoff in the Millennium series, Havsörnens skrik (Girl in the Eagle’s Talons) arrived in the bookstores.
Some would say yes, but the answer is a scientific no. Even 470-million-year-old fossils (no pun intended) can attend – and get a backstage pass!
Professor Mats E. Eriksson, however, is no fossil himself. In contrast, he is a mere 51 years old, which doesn’t come anywhere close in age to the fossils he studies. He is a geology alumnus from Lund University, a Lund University professor in palaeontology and a huge rock music fan.
Professor Mats E. Eriksson at Sweden Rock 2023. Photo: Tine & Paul Bossenmaier
When scientists discover a new and unknown fossil, they get to give it a name
In 2021, Professor Mats E. Eriksson created a name for himself across the world when he and his colleagues named one of their discovered fossils Drepanoistodus iommii after the iconic Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi. It caused a lot of media attention but was not the first (or last) fossil that Eriksson had named after legendary rockstars. In the “The Rock Fossil Hall of Fame” you’ll also find Frank Zappa 1997, Lemmy Kilmister 2006, King Diamond 2012, Alex Webster 2017, Ian Paice and Tomas Haake 2022 with the slightly more scientific takes on their names:
From left to right: King Diamond and Kingnites diamondi, Tony Iommi and Drepanoistodus iommii, Lemmy Kilmister and Kalloprion kilmisteri. Artist photos: Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository, Mark Marek and Adam Bielawki. Fossil photos: Esben Horn.
So if Ross in Friends made palaeontology famous to TV-lovers, then Mats Eriksson made palaeontology famous to rock ‘n’ roll-lovers all over the globe. However, this was done not solely by giving these old prehistoric fossils cool names, but also by showcasing the fossils to new audiences in a new and innovative way.
Rock fossils on tour
When the professor was asked if he wanted to do a natural science exhibition and showcase models of the “rock fossils,” of course he accepted. The exhibition was first opened in 2013 in Denmark at the Geomuseum Faxe, with the actual Rockstar King Diamond attending and revealing the fossil named in his honour.
In 2019, the Rock Fossils world tour exhibit was showcased both at Copenhell (Denmark’s largest metal festival) and Sweden Rock (Sweden’s largest rock festival), where rock enthusiasts could experience natural science in a whole new context. It was successful and everyone loved it!
Professor Mats E. Eriksson speaking to a captivated audience at Sweden Rock 2019. Photo: Achim Reisdorf
The love for beetles and The Beatles
As a child, Mats never really knew that he wanted to be a palaeontologist. But he had always loved nature and animals and jokingly tells people that he loved both beetles and “The Beatles.”
Initially, he entertained the idea of pursuing a career in biology. However, his perspective took an intriguing turn when his first university course encompassed not only biology, but also geology and mathematics. It was during this immersive experience that he became captivated by palaeontology, a discipline situated at the crossroads of biology and geology. According to Wikipedia’s definition, palaeontology utilizes an array of scientific methods, including biochemistry, mathematics and engineering, to unveil the evolutionary chronicles of life from nearly 4 billion years ago.
How palaeontology and Rock ‘n’ Roll came together
Combining his love for palaeontology with his love for rock music really came about mostly to entertain himself and pay tribute to his personal heroes. It also turned out to be an effective way to gain attention and communicate research and science to the public in an entertaining way, and so he continued. In addition to Rock Fossils on tour, Mats has written two books on the topic: Another Primordial Day – the paleo metal diaries (2019) and Hårdrocksfossil (2017). In these books, he among other things, discusses the music industry’s unexpectedly strong connection to extinct animal species.
For example, have you thought about how death can be a recipe for success in life? How old the world’s oldest identified vomit is? Which animal in Sweden is the ugliest and if bolts of lightning can really be petrified? If not, these books have plenty of entertaining stories for you!
When asked if he’d rather be a rockstar than a professor he laughs
“Haven’t all music-lovers and hobby musicians at some point dreamt about being a rockstar? But then my PhD studies took over and my focus shifted in my mid-twenties. Becoming a professor, however, was never a part of my childhood dreams. I just got hooked on my field of interest and if you continue long enough on the academic path, eventually you become a professor.”
But what is it about fossils that is so exciting?
“It is a marvellous and existential thought that makes one realise how short a time we ourselves have on earth and that we should make the most of it. For me, my research is about reconstructing and understanding prehistoric animals and their ecology. Finding new fossils is not just pure luck, but rather serendipity. It requires enough previous knowledge to understand that something is novel and be in the right place at the right time. That’s exciting!”
Is it rock or fossils this summer?
“Well, a little bit of both. Me and my wife actually just came back from the Sweden Rock festival, where we immersed ourselves in awesome music. And as it happens, in the beginning of July my colleague and I have been invited to Birmingham to present Tony Iommi himself with a sculpture of the fossil named after him. We get to meet him and his manager. It feels very exciting that he wanted a sculpture for himself!
After that I am really looking forward to some time off. I have worked really hard with courses and my new science novel (written in English). It’s called Death: The Antidote To Misery and is completely different from what I’ve done before, as it is a fictional story combining science, sci-fi, horror and humour.”
Who’s the next star in the Rock Fossil Hall of fame?
“Well, we are always on the hunt for new fossils, but not all our findings are given rockstar names. We give them traditional names as well. However, we do have some work in progress where there will be some new rock names coming soon…but I can’t tell you which; that is still a secret!
Which rock star do you think the next fossil should be named after? Let us know on Instagram
Watch Rock legend Tony Iommi meet his 469 million-year-old fossil
Going to a music festival this summer? Here’s the Professor’s guide to a good time!
Why should anyone go to a music festival this summer? Because you’ll meet new friends, you can chat to anyone at a festival and generally everyone is very nice. Plus, you might have an unexpected concert experience and discover a new favourite band!
What is the worst thing about music festivals? If it rains a lot, it ruins everything.
What must you not forget to pack? You actually don’t have to pack that much because there’s normally so much to buy if you need it. But clothes for all weather and sunscreen. And fluid replacement and wet wipes…wet wipes are the best!
Do you stand in the front, the middle or the very back when you attend a concert? These days, as a middle-aged man, I tend to make a decision depending on the size of the concert. Small concerts are great for front row, but for very large concerts I’ll be in the middle, because I will get a bit claustrophobic and for safety reasons that is better.
Do you recommend sleeping in a tent, RV or a hotel – what is your own preference? RV is absolutely the most comfortable, but I have slept in tents, too, and in my car.
What bands have you seen this summer that you would recommend? I have seen Gojira, Behemoth, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Ghost, Raised Fist, Napalm Death and Defleshed. If you get the chance, see them!
What band has been the biggest surprise so far? Skynd was the most unexpected find this summer. Mesmerizing band and live show!
And what band are you still looking forward to seeing later this summer? The extreme metal band Carcass, from England will play in Malmö. I’ll be there!
And the Alumni Reading Challenge continues! Ready for challenge #2? We just launched this autumn’s Author Talks in the popular Alumni Book Club and what can be a better way to prepare for the book club than to read this year’s books?
Min skolfröken skall vara ett frimärke by Björn Ranelid
Björn Ranelid is a Lund University alumnus. He was born in Malmö in 1949, but now splits his time between Stockholm and Österlen. His first job was as a Swedish and philosophy teacher, while playing football for Malmö FF. In 1983, he published his first novel Den överlevande trädgårdsmästaren and has written more than 30 books since, of which over one million copies have been sold in total.
In Min skolfröken skall vara ett frimärke Björn Ranelid recalls how his first teacher taught him how to hold a pen and form beautiful letters – and how she raised her pupils with love and patience. His story is a retelling of one hundred years of the school system, Malmö and Sweden through the lens of Anna Jensen’s life.
Not a Swedish-reader? You find Ranelid’s book I gift you my finest words translated into English.
Ixelles by Johannes Anyuru
Johannes Anyuru was born in 1979 and grew up in Borås and Växjö. He made his debut with his prize-winning poetry collection Det är bara gudarna som är nya in 2003. In 2017, his novel De kommer att drunkna i sina mödrars tårar (translated into English as They Will Drown in their Mothers’ Tears) won the August Prize for best literary novel. It went on to be a critical and commercial success and was translated into several languages. Johannes Anyuru’s new novel, Ixelles was also nominated for the August Prize in 2022 and is his first novel since his win in 2017.
Anyuru was awarded an honorary doctorate at the Faculty of Theology in Lund on 26 May 2023 for “his sharp and sensitive writing, which does not shy away from addressing the burning ethical and political questions of our time such as exclusion, racism and religion.”
In Ixelles we meet Rut who has lost Mio, the father of her son. One day, Rut learns that a boy lying unconscious in hospital has a recording of Mio’s voice. Her hands shaking, she removes the old CD player from his rucksack. The disc shimmers like gold. Mio is speaking to her. Mio who should be dead. He says: “There are roofs from which you can see all the way to the sea. Here in the library, nothing.”
Would you like to read a book by Johannes Anyuru in another language than Swedish? The book They will drown in their mothers’ tears is translated into several languages.
Den lodande människan by Patrik Svensson
Alumnus Patrik Svensson studied literary studied at Lund University and lives in Malmö. His debut book, Ålevangeliet (The Gospel of Eels), has been published in over thirty countries to critical acclaim in the Swedish and international press. He won the August Prize for non-fiction in 2019.
Patrik Svensson’s new book, Den lodande människan, is about the sea’s appeal, and the ancient desire across history that has made humans head out into the watery unknown. This is a book about human curiosity.
Want to read a book by Patrik Svensson in English?The Gospel of Eels has been translated into several languages and was selected by Publishers Weekly in the USA as one of 2020’s best books. It was also nominated for a Good Reads Choice Award the same year and won a Carnegie Media of Excellence in 2021.
After eleven years as the leader of Sweden’s Centre Party and sixteen as a member of Parliament, Alumna Annie Lööf will finally get the chance to recharge her batteries this summer. She is proud and happy at what she has had the chance to experience and everything that she has achieved. Now she feels she has had enough and is ready to move on. Most of all, she is looking forward to doing things with her children.
The second of February 2023 was Annie Lööf’s last day as the leader of the Centre Party; naturally, one wonders what she actually got up to on the third of February?
“Ha! I carried on working in Parliament for another three weeks! I took part in the Centre Party’s local government days, meeting members from up and down the country and supporting the newly elected leader Muharrem Demirok, then I travelled to my family and was completely off that weekend. We ate well, slept a lot and did whatever the kids wanted to do.”
Lund – the obvious choice
Annie Lööf arrived at Lund University in 2003, with the aim of obtaining a law degree. Lund was the obvious choice, and it was just far enough away, yet still close enough, to her home town of Värnamo. She ended up spending “only” three years in the city – three lovely years – before she was elected to Parliament in 2006 and moved to Stockholm. She missed Lund’s cobbled streets and the baguette-lunches from Widerbergs, along with evenings out with friends at the “Nations” student social clubs.
“I was a member of Halland’s Nation, because they had a football team, but did most of my partying at Lund’s, Östra Götaland’s and Gothenburg’s nations. Unfortunately I was not active in other activities like student spex and unions, though I was national vice-chair of the Centre Party’s youth organisation, CUF, while I was studying and one year I campaigned for election to Parliament (and got in). So I studied, partied with friends and beyond that I travelled the country being politically active.”
“Whenever I have been back in Lund after my student days, it has felt a bit like coming home. It is a lovely atmosphere, and looking back there are so many personal memories all over town.”
The murder threat was not key in the decision to step down
On 15 September 2022, Annie announced that she intended to resign as party leader of the Centre Party.
She had previously decided that it was to be her last election campaign. She was not going to take part in the 2026 election as party leader, but still had her sights set on a good election result and being able to work in government for a few years or in Parliament under a confidence and supply arrangement. But when the results arrived and there was a majority enabling the Sweden Democrats, Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals to form a government, the time had come.
“As well as us ending up in opposition, and me having been in the post for a very long time, the hate and the threats I received, not least what was uncovered in Almedalen, did play their part. That took me to my limit. I was done, I felt. The plan to assassinate me in Almedalen was not decisive in making my mind up about resigning; rather, it came down to a whole series of things that made me feel it was time to round things off and do something else. I was proud and happy at what I had been able to experience and everything that I achieved, I’d had enough, and I felt I had finished. It was time for new forces to take over. So, for me, it was natural, it was not dramatic. They were incredibly eventful years – good years.”
New book goes behind the scenes
One (at least your average woman or man) might expect to want to have a bit of a holiday after that, but not Annie! Instead, as she rounded off her political career, she wrote a book during the spring entitled Också Annie (Also Annie).
In it, she wants to tell her story and bring the reader behind the scenes in an era in which the world, Swedish society and she herself have changed. In 2018, she released a book called Sanningens Ögonblick (The Moment of Truth), one she describes as a “mid-stride” trample. Också Annie is different, and more personal. It deals with her almost twenty years in politics, but also the private side of her life.
“I’ve grown up in the public eye, and I want to tell my personal story in this book. This is no ordinary political autobiography, which often means a long CV full of name-dropping of the people you have met. I hope that this book gets beneath the surface, up-close and personal both in terms of my successes and the struggles I’ve been through, both as a politician and as a person.”
Annie has always strived to be herself in her political public role and she points out that doing so builds trust and strength.
“Of course there are things that I do not admit to myself or to anyone else while holding these important posts, and with the book’s title I want to show that what I describe in the book is also me – there is more of me, both for myself and for others, that I have not let out of the bag until now.”
Photo: Gabriel Liljevall
Holiday beckons
The book will be published by Forum in September. So, before all the release parties and book fairs get underway, surely it is finally time for some vacation?
“Yes, we are going to be in our cottage all summer, and just take each day as it comes. Let the weather and the kids decide what we are going to do. I also received, as farewell gifts, entry tickets to various theme parks in Sweden for the whole family, so I expect there will be one or two fun parks too. And probably a bit of working out and running too.”
On Midsummer Eve, Annie and her family gear up the classic Swedish way, with a maypole, herring, schnapps and floral crowns, and a warm coat or umbrella on standby. But summer is short. What is she going to do after that?
“This spring I have been involved with a number of companies working towards a green transition and I have also started a company of my own. My plan is to build on that over the next year, do some public speaking, be an advisor and work on various boards with a focus on social and environmental sustainability. We will have to wait and see though, I am not closing any doors, rather that I want to continue being active in changing society, but from a new platform now.”
Don’t miss this!
Six quick-fire holiday questions with Annie Lööf exclusively on Instagram @alumni_lunduniversity
This summer, we invite all our alumni to join the Alumni Network’s fantastic book club in which literature-lovers can spend the summer reading books by three of our alumni writers, all of whom have won the August Prize.
Read more about the authors and their featured books
If your Swedish language skills are not up to the task, have no fear! Several books by the same authors are available in English, such as Patrik Svensson’s international bestseller The Gospel of Eels, Johannes Anyuru’s They Will Drown in Their Mothers’ Tears and Björn Ranelid’s I Gift You My Finest Words.
You are welcome to read these instead and we invite your questions in English during the author talks this autumn.
Invitations and registration links for the author talks will be sent out by email three weeks prior to each talk. Feel free to contact us at info@alumni.lu.se in case you have any questions.
The LU tent will soon be raised in Visby for two days of panel discussions. The University’s programme for Almedalen Week highlights the global challenges we are facing – such as air pollution and food poverty. However, the programme also inspires hope of finding solutions in external engagement between academia and society at large.
One of the University’s representatives in Visby is Vice-Chancellor Erik Renström. He says:
“In recent years, tensions between and within nation states have increased and the world economy has entered a more uncertain phase. In view of this, the discussions we will be having with industry, politicians and other stakeholders in society have a special value in helping us to understand our contemporary society and, hopefully, improve its conditions.”
One area in which there is an aim for improvement is the air we breathe. Many people die each year as a consequence of air pollution – as many as 7 million globally according to the WHO. The WHO is now lowering the maximum levels for air pollution, and as a result the EU is updating its directives. But how are we to keep below the limits that will be set? This is one of the questions that will be taken up in the discussion on how to achieve cleaner air.
Christina Isaxon, an aerosol researcher at the Faculty of Engineering (LTH), is one of the participants. She says:
“As a researcher, I am interested in what is required for us to comply with the maximum levels and how research can contribute. Hopefully, during the panel discussions we can find common paths forward.”
In addition to researchers, the panel members will include decision-makers, interest groups and healthcare representatives. Regarding the air issue, it is no one stakeholder’s concern.
“The air does not recognise national borders. Much of the air pollution we are exposed to in southern Sweden actually emanates from entirely different parts of the world. The air brings pollution here.”
Christina Isaxon considers that the differing legislation between countries on air pollution makes the issue particularly complex and concludes with a rhetorical question:
“Who actually owns the air issue?
The other topics that will be taken up in the Almedalen tent, such as food poverty, are also complex.
Anna Angelin is an associate professor at the School of Social Work. Her research focuses on social deprivation and inequality. She says:
“Social supermarkets are a rapidly growing trend. At these supermarkets, those who can prove they are poor are allowed to buy food that would otherwise have become food waste. But is it actually up to civil society to ensure that everyone can afford to eat?”
Anna Angelin hopes that the panel will provide scope for food poverty in its discussions and provide a voice for those who receive food aid.
“Social supermarkets are an expanding sector that is considered to be sustainable in climate terms. But the question is whether it’s also socially sustainable, and what the long-term effect will be on welfare policy, if poverty is to be solved through gifts of what others don’t want,” says Anna Angelin.
The University’s Communications Director Johanna Sandahl comments on the programme:
“The programme reflects topics in the current public debate, such as cybersecurity, AI, climate change, sustainability, the Middle East, democracy trends, poverty and elderly care. I hope that the panel discussions will be the starting point for many future collaborations.”
Synopsis: How did humans learn to navigate the oceans? Was Magellan really the first person to circumnavigate the globe? How did the sperm whale contribute to the Enlightenment? In what ways did the Scottish baker Robert Dick change our view on the history of life? How do we really know how deep the sea is?
After his debut The Gospel of Eels, Patrik Svensson has written a book about people who have explored, mapped, tried to understand and dominate the seas. Den lodande människan is about the sea’s appeal, and the ancient desire across history that has made humans head out into the watery unknown. This is a book about human curiosity.
Author talk with Patrik Svensson
Date: 10 October 2023 Time: 18:30 CEST Location: Zoom | Invitation and registration link will be sent out by email three weeks before the talk.
About Patrik Svensson
Patrik Svensson / Photo: Emil Malmborg
Lund University Alumnus Patrik Svensson was born in 1972 and lives in Malmö. His debut book, The Gospel of Eels, has been published in over thirty countries to critical acclaim in the Swedish and international press. He won the August Prize for non-fiction in 2019.
International success
The Gospel of Eels was selected by Publishers Weekly in the USA as one of 2020’s best books. It was also nominated for a Good Reads Choice Award the same year and won a Carnegie Media of Excellence in 2021.
Synopsis: Ever since Mio’s death, Rut has raised their son alone, creating a life for them: she has a house by the sea, a share of their wealth, and a job at the enigmatic “agency”, which with the help of fictional voices manipulates the public. The boy, now ten, knows nothing about his father: not how he lived, nor how he died. He is safe. Saved.
One day, Rut learns that a boy lying unconscious in hospital has a recording of Mio’s voice. Her hands shaking, she removes the old CD player from his rucksack. The disc shimmers like gold. Mio is speaking to her. Mio who should be dead. He says: “There are roofs from which you can see all the way to the sea. Here in the library, nothing.”
Author talk with Johannes Anyuru
Date: 7 November 2023 Time: 18:30 CET Location: Zoom | Invitation and registration link will be sent out by email three weeks before the talk.
About Johannes Anyuru
Johannes Anyuru / Photo: Anders Rundberg
Johannes Anyuru was born in 1979 and grew up in Borås and Växjö. He made his debut with his prize-winning poetry collection Det är bara gudarna som är nya in 2003. In 2017, his novel De kommer att drunkna i sina mödrars tårar (translated into English as They Will Drown in their Mothers’ Tears) won the August Prize for best literary novel. It went on to be a critical and commercial success and was translated into several languages. Johannes Anyuru’s new novel, Ixelles was also nominated for the August Prize in 2022 and is his first novel since his win in 2017. His poetry collection Städerna inuti Hall was nominated for the August Prize in 2009. The following year, he released his first novel, Skulle jag dö under andra himlar, which garnered much attention.
International breakthrough
Johannes Anyuru’s international breakthrough came with En storm kom från paradiset (A Storm Blew in From Paradise), which has been translated into French, German, English, Norwegian, Danish, Finish and Dutch.
Anyuru was awarded an honorary doctorate at the Faculty of Theology in Lund on 26 May 2023 for “his sharp and sensitive writing, which does not shy away from addressing the burning ethical and political questions of our time such as exclusion, racism and religion.”
Eager to start the Alumni Reading Challenge? In need of some inspiration? Here is a selection of books that fit the first challenge: “A book including a crime set in Lund”
A Nearly Normal Family and En familjetragedi by Mattias Edvardsson Mattias Edvardsson is a writer and upper secondary school teacher of Swedish and psychology. He also has a degree in Literature Studies from Lund University. In 2016, he made his debut with the book En nästan sann historia (An Almost True Story). Mattias’ second novel, the thriller En helt vanlig familj (A Nearly Normal Family) came in 2018 and was acclaimed by both reviewers and readers. It has been translated into thirty-three languages. A Nearly Normal Family is a gripping legal thriller set in Lund, forcing the reader to consider: How far would you go to protect the ones you love? In this twisted narrative of love and murder, a horrific crime makes a seemingly normal family question everything they thought they knew about their life―and one another.
In the book En familjetragedi (A Family Tragedy) from 2021, you will also find a gruesome crime story set in Lund. It is a story about three young individuals. Two murders. But maybe more than one truth.
Blocket, De Drabbade and En God Man by Karin Wahlberg Karin Wahlberg lives in Lund, is an alumna from the Medical Programme and a popular crime novel writer. Her books have sold over 1.5 million total copies worldwide. She published her first crime novel, Sista Jouren (The Last Round), at the age of 51 in 2001. Since then, she has written many page-turners set in and around Skåne and Lund about the police inspector Claes Claesson and his wife, Doctor Veronica Lundborg-Westman.
In Blocket, De drabbade and En God Man you follow Claesson’s mission to solve hideous crimes taking place in and around the hospital in Lund.
Gamla Kirurgen by Tomas Akenine-Möller and André Möller Tomas Akenine-Möller and André Möller are brothers and live in Lund and Landskrona. Tomas is a professor in computer graphics and André has a PhD in religious history at Lund University. In the book Gamla Kirurgen we meet Lund University professor Luka Zlatar who is about to be initiated in a secret society when the initiation ritual is interrupted by death. The professor finds himself abruptly thrown into a vortex of murder, shady business and family secrets. This is a is an enigmatic suspense novel in an academic setting filled with desperation, family loyalty and unanswered questions.
It’s here – the Lund University alumni reading challenge based on books by Lund University and the alumni community!
Are you looking for reading inspiration for the rest of 2023? Then this challenge is for you! It will run over the course of the year and offer inspiration to a wide variety of literature by Lund University alumni. To help you navigate through the “book jungle”, we will share inspiration here on the blog and on our social media channels.
Feel free to use the bingo sheet below to keep track of your reading!
Do you know of a great alumni author for the challenge? Write a comment here on the blog or on Instagram.
Synopsis: Anna Jensen’s long life has reached its end and some of her old students have gathered in the cemetery. One of them is Björn Ranelid. He recalls how his first teacher taught him how to hold a pen and form beautiful letters – and how she raised her pupils with love and patience. His story is a retelling of one hundred years of the school system, Malmö and Sweden through the lens of Anna Jensen’s life.
Author talk with Björn Ranelid
Date: 19 September 2023 Time: 18:30 CEST Location: Zoom | Invitation and registration link will be sent out three weeks before the talk.
About Björn Ranelid
Björn Ranelid / Photo: Martin Cederblad
Björn Ranelid is a Lund alumnus. He was born in Malmö in 1949, but now splits his time between Stockholm and Österlen. His first job was as a Swedish and philosophy teacher, while playing football for Malmö FF. In 1983, he published his first novel Den överlevande trädgårdsmästaren and has written more than 30 books since, of which over one million copies have been sold in total.
Björn Ranelid is an extremely industrious person, who is active in many arenas. Aside from his writing, he is a prolific speaker and columnist. In recent years, he has also participated in several television productions, such as the reality show Stjärnorna på slottet, the popular quiz show På spåret, the dancing competition Let’s Dance and Melodifestivalen. He does more speaker events than perhaps anyone else. He has spoken at thousands of venues, from sold-out arenas to small groups of school students. He has also been awarded many literary prizes, including the August Prize for his novel Synden in 1994.
Exclusive offer to alumni
Björn Ranelid has signed several hardbound copies of his novel Synden, which are available for members of the Alumni Network to buy for the favourable price of SEK 200, including postage. Order directly from Björn by emailing bjorn@ranelid.se. This offer is valid from 16 June-21 September 2023, or as long as supplies last. First come, first served! The books will be sent out this autumn by Björn Ranelid.
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