And I want to be on the shelves in the book shop… in English.” The thing is, Sweden has a very small readership. And I had this revelation that “I wanted to be in here. There was, and still is, this magazine called “Locus,” which is the SFF industry’s main magazine, and I would read that during lunch break. When I was nineteen, I worked in a science-fiction bookshop in Stockholm. Have you always planned on writing for an English-speaking market? It has to move you somehow, and what moves me is possibilities new worlds. To me, it’s the best form of literature because literature needs to do something to you. You can do whatever you want in science You can try new concepts and new ideas, explore alternatives to the world that we live in right now.

What do you find most appealing about them? I’ve always written fantasy or science-fiction. Would you say you’ve always been into the fantasy and science-fiction genres? It was an illustrated story called “Two Poor Children.” It’s a comic about two poor children that find gold and live happily ever after. The first thing I wrote I was five-years old. Hungarian, published by Athenaeum, 2017Īmatka is regarded as one of the best science fiction book of Guardian in year 2017.I’ve always been writing.Spanish, published by Ediciones Nevsky, 2016.In addition to the original Swedish edition, published by Mix in 2012, the novel has been translated into multiple languages: As the days progress, however, Vanja meets specialists from different fields and is eventually led to discover that Amatka - along with the other colonies - may not be as it appears.

She goes on to live in a house with three others, namely Nina (Ulltors' Nina Four), Ivar (Jondis' Ivar), and Ulla (Sarols' Ulla Three), all of whom have at present or at some time contributed to the workings of Amatka.ĭespite her misgivings about Vanja's mission, Nina introduces the Essre resident to the departments in the colony so she could gather more information for her research. Summary Ĭoming from the colony of Essre, Vanja (formally known as Brilars' Vanja Essre Two) is sent by a government body to Amatka in order to find out what hygiene products the people there use. Central themes of the novel include political oppression, limited freedom and deep conspiracies. Set in a world shaped by language, it follows Vanja who is sent to the Amatka colony on a work assignment where she falls in love with her housemate. Amatka is a 2012 novel by Karin Tidbeck, originally written in Swedish, and published in English in 2017.

Amatka by karin tidbeck