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Fans of Scandi Noir, and literary crime aficionados in general, were dealt a hard blow with news of the death of Martin Beck co-author Maj Sjöwall at the age of 84. Her passing comes just a few months shy of the 45th anniversary of the passing of her partner and co-writer Per Wahlöö, with whom she penned the immensely popular detective novels between 1965 and 1975.
I had the good fortune of interviewing Maj Sjöwall for an MHz Networks documentary back in 2010, on a very snowy Sunday in December in Stockholm. This was the last of a big series of interviews I’d conducted that week; I was due to fly out the next morning. Maj’s interview had been coordinated by her agent and I, camera and microphone in hand, was waiting in the lobby of the Radisson Strand Hotel for her arrival. And waiting. And waiting. At some point, I glanced up and realized Beck starring Peter Haber – whom I’d interviewed the previous day - was showing on the lobby TV, an episode titled “Buried Alive”. How very appropriate. A glance out the lobby window showed the streets buried alive in still-falling snow – did I mention it was December?
Then the phone rang. Maj’s agent! She was snowed in - would I be able to meet her in her local pub for the interview? Five minutes later I was sloshing through the streets of Stockholm in a taxi. Fifteen minutes later we met at her local. Happy ending! (And now you know why there’s all the background chatter there.) The interview was the pièce de résistance of our documentary, and a fitting tribute to the godmother of Scandinavian crime fiction.
Chris Arth
Senior Editor/Producer
MHz Choice
I had the good fortune of interviewing Maj Sjöwall for an MHz Networks documentary back in 2010, on a very snowy Sunday in December in Stockholm. This was the last of a big series of interviews I’d conducted that week; I was due to fly out the next morning. Maj’s interview had been coordinated by her agent and I, camera and microphone in hand, was waiting in the lobby of the Radisson Strand Hotel for her arrival. And waiting. And waiting. At some point, I glanced up and realized Beck starring Peter Haber – whom I’d interviewed the previous day - was showing on the lobby TV, an episode titled “Buried Alive”. How very appropriate. A glance out the lobby window showed the streets buried alive in still-falling snow – did I mention it was December?
Then the phone rang. Maj’s agent! She was snowed in - would I be able to meet her in her local pub for the interview? Five minutes later I was sloshing through the streets of Stockholm in a taxi. Fifteen minutes later we met at her local. Happy ending! (And now you know why there’s all the background chatter there.) The interview was the pièce de résistance of our documentary, and a fitting tribute to the godmother of Scandinavian crime fiction.
Chris Arth
Senior Editor/Producer
MHz Choice