Steve Sem-Sandberg (born 16 August 1958) is a Swedish journalist, novelist, non-fiction writer and translator. He made his literary debut in 1976 with the two science fiction novels ''Sländornas värld'' and ''Sökare i dödsskuggan''. He was awarded the

Dobloug Prize The Dobloug Prize ( sv, Doblougska priset, no, Doblougprisen) is a literature prize awarded for Swedish and Norwegian fiction. The prize is named after Norwegian businessman and philanthropist Birger Dobloug (1881–1944) pursuant to his bequest. T ...

for fiction in 2005. His 2009 novel, ''

The Emperor of Lies ''The Emperor of Lies'' ( sv, De fattiga i Łódź, lit=The Poor in Łódź) is a 2009 novel by Swedish author Steve Sem-Sandberg. It won the August Prize The August Prize ( sv, Augustpriset) is an annual Swedish literary prize awarded each year ...

'', was awarded the

August Prize The August Prize ( sv, Augustpriset) 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. Prize In the years 1989- ...

. It recounts the life of the

Łódź ghetto The Łódź Ghetto or Litzmannstadt Ghetto (after the Nazi German name for Łódź) was a Nazi ghetto established by the German authorities for Polish Jews and Roma following the Invasion of Poland. It was the second-largest ghetto in all of ...

and its leader

Chaim Rumkowski Chaim Mordechaj Rumkowski (February 27, 1877 – August 28, 1944) was the head of the Jewish Council of Elders in the Łódź Ghetto appointed by Nazi Germany during the German occupation of Poland. Rumkowski accrued much power by transformin ...

in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II.

Daphne Merkin Daphne Miriam Merkin (born in New York City) is an American literary critic, essayist and novelist. Merkin is a graduate of Barnard College and also attended Columbia University's graduate program in English literature. She began her career as ...

in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said that he had succeeded in writing "a freshly felt, fully absorbing novel about the Holocaust," an even more difficult task as he was writing about a known historical figure in Rumkowski.Daphne Merkin, "The Man Who Ruled the Lodz Ghetto"
''New York Times'', 4 September 2011, accessed 17 May 2013 By combining both intimate views and overall history, he conveys an effect "both super-realist and surrealist, in the manner of an animated documentary."

Awards and honours

*2005

*2013

Jan Michalski Prize for Literature Jan Michalski Prize for Literature (French: Prix Jan Michalski) is a Swiss literary prize for any work of fiction or non-fiction published anywhere in the world in any language. It is meant to recognize authors from around the world and world lite ...

, shortlist, ''The Emperor of Lies'' *2016 Prix Médicis etranger, winner, ''Les élus''

Works

*''Sländornas värld'' and ''Sökare i dödsskuggan'' (1976) * ''De ansiktslösa'', novel (1987) * ''I en annan del av staden'', essays (1990) * ''Den kluvna spegeln'', reportage (1991) * ''En lektion i pardans'', novel (1993) * ''Theres'', novel (1996) * ''"Allt förgängligt är bara en bild"'', novel (1999) * ''Prag (no exit)'', essays (2002) * ''Ravensbrück'', novel (2003) * ''Härifrån till Allmänningen'', novel (2005) * ''

'' ( sv, De fattiga i Łódź, 2009, published in translation 2011) * ''"Tre romaner"'' (2011) *''The Chosen Ones (Swedish: De utvalda, 2014), published in translation 2016'' *''The Tempest (Swedish: Stormen'', 2016), published in translation 2019 *''W. A novel (Swedish: W.'', 2019), published in translation 2022

References

1958 births Living people Swedish emigrants to Norway Swedish journalists 20th-century Swedish novelists Swedish non-fiction writers Swedish translators Dobloug Prize winners August Prize winners Swedish male novelists International Writing Program alumni 21st-century Swedish novelists Prix Médicis étranger winners Male non-fiction writers Members of the Swedish Academy {{Sweden-writer-stub