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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}<br />
{{Short description|Swedish author and translator (1935–2020)}}<br />
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] --><br />
| name = Maj Sjöwall<br />
| image = Maj Sjöwall 01 (cropped).jpg<br />
| caption = Sjöwall at a crime fiction festival in [[Bremen]], Germany, in 2009<br />
| pseudonym = <br />
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1935|9|25|df=y}}<br />
| birth_place = [[Stockholm]], Sweden<br />
| death_date = {{death date and age|2020|4|29|1935|9|25|df=y}}<br />
| death_place = [[Landskrona]], Sweden<br />
| occupation = [[Novelist]], [[Translator]]<br />
| period = 1965–2007<br />
| genre = [[Crime fiction]]<br />
| language = [[Swedish language|Swedish]]<br />
| subject = <br />
| partner = [[Per Wahlöö]]<br />
| movement = [[Nordic noir]]<br />
| notableworks = [[Martin Beck]] novels<br />
| website = <br />
| awards = The Lenin Award<br>[[Grimme-Preis|Adolf-Grimme-Preis]] (1996, shared with [[Gösta Ekman]])<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Maj Sjöwall''' ({{IPA|sv|maj ˈɧø̂ːval}}; 25 September 1935&nbsp;– 29 April 2020) was a Swedish author and translator. She is best known for her novels about the police detective [[Martin Beck]]. She wrote these novels in collaborative work with her partner [[Per Wahlöö]].<br />
<br />
==Biography==<br />
Maj Sjöwall was the daughter of Margit Trobäck and CEO Will Sjöwall.<ref name="auto">{{Cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/forfattaren-maj-sjowall-dod/|title=Författaren Maj Sjöwall död|date=29 April 2020|website=Dagens Nyheter|accessdate=30 April 2020}}</ref><br />
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After completing school, Sjöwall was employed at Åhlén & Åkerlunds publishers between 1954 and 1959; Wahlström & Widstrands publishers between 1959 and 1961; and then Esselte publishers between 1961 and 1963.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://runeberg.org/vemardet/1977/0948.html|title=928 (Vem är det : Svensk biografisk handbok / 1977)|website=runeberg.org|access-date=30 April 2020}}</ref><br />
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Sjöwall was best known for the collaborative work with her partner [[Per Wahlöö]] on a series of ten novels about the exploits of [[Martin Beck]], a police detective in [[Stockholm]].<ref name="auto1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.svd.se/forfattaren-maj-sjowall-dod|title=Författaren Maj Sjöwall död|date=29 April 2020|accessdate=30 April 2020|newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet}}</ref> They also wrote several novels separately.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/aug/14/sweden-crime-writers-interested-love|title=Sweden's crime writers too interested in love, says Maj Sjöwall|date=14 August 2013|accessdate=29 April 2020 |work= [[The Guardian]]}}</ref> The fourth of the Beck novels, ''Den skrattande polisen'', was published in 1968; a translation of this novel, ''[[The Laughing Policeman (novel)|The Laughing Policeman]]'', won an [[Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel]] from the [[Mystery Writers of America]] in 1971. This novel was also adapted into the film ''[[The Laughing Policeman (film)|The Laughing Policeman]]'', starring [[Walter Matthau]].<ref name="auto1"/> In 2013, Sjöwall received a fifth [[Lenin Award (Sweden)|Lenin Award]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.leninpriset.se/pristagare/maj-sjowall-2/|title=Maj Sjöwall {{!}} Leninpriset|language=en-US|access-date=3 March 2020 |publisher=leninpriset.se}}</ref><br />
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After the death of Wahlöö, Sjöwall continued working as a translator, writing columns for magazines and as an author.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.svd.se/deckardam|title=Deckardam|first=Stefan|last=Eklund|date=18 June 2010|accessdate=30 April 2020|website=Svenska Dagbladet}}</ref> With Danish author Bjarne Nielsen, she published the novel ''Dansk Intermezzo'' in 1989.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.naiz.eus/eu/actualidad/noticia/20200429/muere-la-escritora-sueca-maj-sjowall-pionera-de-la-novela-negra-nordica|title=Muere la escritora Maj Sjöwall, pionera de la novela negra nórdica|first=TAI GABE DIGITALA|last=SL|date=29 April 2020|website=naiz|accessdate=30 April 2020}}</ref> In 1990, she and author [[Tomas Ross (writer)|Tomas Ross]] published the thriller ''Kvinnan som liknade Greta Garbo''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.litteraturmagazinet.se/maj-sjowall/kvinnan-som-liknade-greta-garbo|title=Kvinnan som liknade Greta Garbo av Maj Sjöwall|website=LitteraturMagazinet|accessdate=30 April 2020|archive-date=21 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121001228/http://www.litteraturmagazinet.se/maj-sjowall/kvinnan-som-liknade-greta-garbo|url-status=dead}}</ref><br />
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==Personal life==<br />
Sjöwall married her first husband, magazine editor Gunnar Isaksson, in 1955, and they divorced in 1958.<ref name="auto"/> She married again in 1959 to photographer Hans J. Flodquist; they divorced in 1962.<ref name="auto"/><br />
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Sjöwall had a 13-year relationship with Wahlöö, which lasted until his death in 1975.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/nov/22/crime-thriller-maj-sjowall-sweden The queen of crime] The Observer 22 November 2009</ref><br />
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Sjöwall died on 29 April 2020, at the age of 84, after a prolonged illness.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/apr/30/maj-sjowall-nordic-noir-pioneer-author-of-the-martin-beck-series-dies-aged-84|title=Maj Sjöwall: 'Nordic noir' pioneer, author of the Martin Beck series, dies aged 84|date=29 April 2020|accessdate=30 April 2020|work=The Guardian}}</ref><br />
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== Bibliography ==<br />
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===Martin Beck novels written with Per Wahlöö===<br />
* ''[[Roseanna (novel)|Roseanna]]'' (1965)<ref name="SVTObituary">{{Cite web|url=https://www.svt.se/kultur/forfattaren-maj-sjowall-ar-dod|title=Beck-författaren Maj Sjöwall har gått bort|date=29 April 2020|website=SVT Nyheter|language=sv|access-date=29 April 2020}}</ref><br />
* ''[[The Man Who Went Up in Smoke|Mannen som gick upp i rök]]'' (1966)<ref name="SVTObituary" /><br />
* ''[[The Man on the Balcony|Mannen på balkongen]]'' (1967)<ref name="SVTObituary" /><br />
* ''[[The Laughing Policeman (novel)|Den skrattande polisen]]'' (1968)<ref name="SVTObituary" /><br />
* ''[[The Fire Engine That Disappeared|Brandbilen som försvann]]'' (1969)<ref name="SVTObituary" /><br />
* ''[[Murder at the Savoy|Polis, polis, potatismos]]'' (1970)<ref name="SVTObituary" /><br />
* ''[[The Abominable Man|Den vedervärdige mannen från Säffle]]'' (1971)<ref name="SVTObituary" /><br />
* ''[[The Locked Room|Det slutna rummet]]'' (1972)<ref name="SVTObituary" /><br />
* ''[[Cop Killer (novel)|Polismördaren]]'' (1974)<ref name="SVTObituary" /><br />
* ''[[The Terrorists|Terroristerna]]'' (1975)<ref name="SVTObituary" /><br />
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===Other books===<br />
* ''Dansk Intermezzo'' (1989). Martin Beck novel written with Bjarne Nielsen.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ne.se/uppslagsverk/encyklopedi/l%C3%A5ng/maj-sj%C3%B6wall|title=Maj Sjöwall|last=|first=|date=|website=[[Nationalencyklopedin]]|access-date=30 April 2020}}</ref><br />
* ''Kvinnan som liknade Greta Garbo'' (1990). Written jointly with [[Tomas Ross (writer)|Tomas Ross]].<ref name="SVTObituary" /><br />
* ''Sista resan och andra berättelser'' (2007).<ref name="SVTObituary" /> Collection of short stories written by Sjöwall and Wahlöö.<ref name=":0" /><br />
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===Adaptations===<br />
The novels about Martin Beck were adapted into several successful films, and Beck has been portrayed by several of Sweden's best-known actors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.expressen.se/noje/sju-av-de-viktigaste-beck-filmerna/|title=Sju av de viktigaste "Beck" – filmerna|website=Expressen|date=30 April 2020 |accessdate=30 April 2020}}</ref> The best-known portrayal of Beck is by actor [[Peter Haber]], who has appeared in 42 films or TV episodes in the role.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/a/GGgjBq|title=BEKRÄFTAT: Det blir fyra nya Beck-filmer – då har de premiär|website=Aftonbladet|date=22 January 2020 |accessdate=30 April 2020}}</ref><br />
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== References ==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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== Further reading ==<br />
* {{SKBL}} <br />
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== External links ==<br />
*{{Books and Writers |id=sjowall |name=Maj Sjöwall}}<br />
*{{Sfdb name}}<br />
*{{IMDb name|0803711}}<br />
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{{Martin Beck}}<br />
{{Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel}}<br />
{{Authority control}}<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sjowall, Maj}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:1935 births]]<br />
[[Category:2020 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:Writers from Stockholm]]<br />
[[Category:Edgar Award winners]]<br />
[[Category:Swedish-language writers]]<br />
[[Category:Swedish crime fiction writers]]<br />
[[Category:Marxist writers]]<br />
[[Category:Swedish women mystery writers]]<br />
[[Category:Nordic detective fiction writers]]<br />
[[Category:Nordic Noir writers]]<br />
[[Category:Swedish mystery writers]]</div>imported>InternetArchiveBot