Steve Sem-Sandberg

Steve Sem-Sandberg (born 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 for fiction in 2005.

He was born in 1958 in Oslo but grew up in Stockholm. He worked at Svenska Dagbladet from 1988 to 2008.

His 2009 novel, The Emperor of Lies, was awarded the August Prize. It recounts the life of the Łódź Ghetto and its leader Chaim Rumkowski in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II. By combining both intimate views and overall history, he conveys an effect "both super-realist and surrealist, in the manner of an animated documentary." 2005 Dobloug Prize 2007 (first ever winner of the award) 2008 2009 August Prize 2010 2013 Jan Michalski Prize for Literature, shortlist, The Emperor of Lies 2014 Bonnier Scholarship Fund for Writers 2016 Prix Médicis etranger, winner, Les élus 2016 , Swedish Academy 2018 Natur & kultur's special grant for good literary achievements 2020 for W. A novel 2021 2024 Selma Lagerlöf Prize

Works Sländornas värld and Sökare i dödsskuggan, novels (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) De fattiga i Łódź, novel (2009) (English: The Emperor of Lies, 2011) Tre romaner, omnibus (2011) De utvalda, novel (2014) (English: The Chosen Ones, 2016) Stormen, novel (2016) (English: The Tempest, 2019) W, novel (2019) (English: W. A novel, 2022) Jägarna i Armentières, short stories (2020) The Ocean, novel (2022) De heligas stad (2025)