Fredrik Backman

{{short description|Swedish columnist, blogger, and writer|bot=PearBOT 5}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}

{{Infobox writer

| name = Fredrik Backman

| image = Fredrik Backman, Bokmässan 2013 1.jpg

| alt = Fredrik Backman at Bokmässan 2013

| caption = Backman at Bokmässan 2013

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1981|6|2}}

| birth_place = Brännkyrka in Söderort, Sweden

| occupation = Columnist, blogger, and novelist

| period = 2012–present

| genre = {{flatlist|

}}

| notableworks = {{flatlist|

}}

| spouse = Neda Shafti Backman

| signature = Signature of Fredrik Backman.svg

| website = {{URL|https://fredrikbackmanbooks.com}}|

}}

Fredrik Backman (born 2 June 1981) is a Swedish author, blogger, and columnist. He wrote A Man Called Ove (2012), Things My Son Needs to Know about the World (2012), My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry (2013), Britt-Marie Was Here (2014), Beartown (2017), Us Against You (2018), Anxious People (2020), The Winners (2022), and My Friends (2025). The books were number one bestsellers in his home country of Sweden. Backman's books have been published in more than twenty-five languages.{{cite web |url= http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Fredrik-Backman/411545926 |title= Fredrik Backman's Biography|publisher=Simon & Schuster|accessdate=15 February 2016 }}

Biography

Backman grew up in Helsingborg, Scania, Sweden. He has been writing for the Swedish newspaper Helsingborgs Dagblad and for the Swedish men's magazine, Moore Magazine. Backman debuted as a novelist in 2012 with A Man Called Ove. The novel was adapted as a film which premiered on 25 December 2015, and again in 2023.{{cite web|url=http://www.sfi.se/en-GB/Swedish-film-database/Item/?itemid=79650&type=MOVIE&iv=Basic|title=A Man Called Ove (2015)|publisher=Swedish Film Database|accessdate=15 February 2016}} The rights to his book Beartown were bought by Swedish production company, Filmlance. It was adapted for television in 2020.{{cite web |url= http://filmlance.se/en/2017/02/fredrik-backmans-beartown-to-be-adapted-for-tv/ |title= Fredrik Backman's Beartown to be adapted for TV|publisher=Simon & Schuster|accessdate=1 August 2017 }} Many of his books have been translated into English. After his debut novel, A Man Called Ove, was translated into English, it spent over a year on The New York Times Best Seller list.{{Cite news |last=Alter |first=Alexandra |date=2016-10-28 |title=The Man Behind A Man Called Ove, Sweden's Latest Hit Novel |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/29/books/a-man-called-ove-fredrik-backman-sweden-success.html |access-date=2021-03-24 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |date=24 June 2017 |title=Combined Print & E-Book Fiction - Best Sellers - Books - June 25, 2017 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2017/06/24/combined-print-and-e-book-fiction/ |access-date=2025-04-05 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Following the success of his first book, Atria/Simon & Schuster bought the rights to his other novels and had them translated into English.{{Cite news|last=Alter|first=Alexandra|date=2016-10-28|title=The Man Behind 'A Man Called Ove,' Sweden's Latest Hit Novel|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/29/books/a-man-called-ove-fredrik-backman-sweden-success.html|access-date=2021-03-24|issn=0362-4331}}

Personal life

Fredrik Backman married Neda Shafti Backman in 2009.{{Cite web|title=Author Bio - PLG_CONTENT_PAGEBREAK_PAGE_NUM - LitLovers|url=https://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/fiction/9920-man-called-ove-backman?start=1|access-date=2021-03-24|website=www.litlovers.com}} They have two children. His second book, Things My Son Needs to Know about the World (2012), was based on his own experiences with parenting. He labeled it a "dysfunctional parenting guide" and made a deal that his publisher had to publish the book in order to publish A Man Called Ove.{{Cite news|last=Haupt|first=Angela|title='A Man Called Ove' author Fredrik Backman reflects on the highs and lows of fatherhood|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/a-man-called-ove-author-fredrik-backman-reflects-on-the-highs-and-lows-of-fatherhood/2019/05/02/8c69df2e-6c1d-11e9-a66d-a82d3f3d96d5_story.html|access-date=2021-03-26|issn=0190-8286}}

Bibliography

  • En man som heter Ove (2012; English translation A Man Called Ove, 2013){{cite book |url= http://books.simonandschuster.com/A-Man-Called-Ove/Fredrik-Backman/9781476738024|title= A Man Called Ove|date= 5 May 2015|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn= 9781476738024|accessdate=15 February 2016 }}{{cite web |url= http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/13-fiction/9920-man-called-ove-backman?start=1|title= Fredrik Backman's Biography|publisher=Litlovers|accessdate=15 February 2016 }}
  • Saker min son behöver veta om världen (2012; English translation Things My Son Needs to Know About the World, 2019){{cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1061304451 |title=Things my son needs to know about the world|publisher=worldcat.org|oclc=1061304451|accessdate=7 August 2019 }}
  • Min mormor hälsar och säger förlåt (2013; English translation My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry, 2015){{cite book |url= http://books.simonandschuster.com/My-Grandmother-Asked-Me-to-Tell-You-Shes-Sorry/Fredrik-Backman/9781501115066|title= My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry|date= 16 June 2015|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn= 9781501115066|accessdate=15 February 2016 }}
  • Britt-Marie var här (2014; English translation Britt-Marie Was Here, released in May 2016){{cite book |url= http://books.simonandschuster.com/Britt-Marie-Was-Here/Fredrik-Backman/9781501142536|title= Britt-Marie Was Here|date= 7 February 2017|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn= 9781501142543|accessdate=15 February 2016 }}
  • And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer: A Novella (November 2016){{cite book |url= http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/And-Every-Morning-the-Way-Home-Gets-Longer-and-Longer/Fredrik-Backman/9781501160486|title= And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer: A Novella|date= November 2016|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn= 9781501160486|accessdate=1 August 2017 }}
  • Beartown (also titled The Scandal{{cite web|url= https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/304470/the-scandal/|title= The Scandal|publisher= Penguin Books|accessdate= 1 August 2017|archive-date= 2 August 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170802040705/https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/304470/the-scandal/|url-status= dead}} in United Kingdom: April 2017){{cite book |url= http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Beartown/Fredrik-Backman/9781501160769|title= Beartown|date= 25 April 2017|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn= 9781501160769|accessdate=1 August 2017 }}
  • The Deal of a Lifetime: A Novella (October 2017){{cite book |url= http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Deal-of-a-Lifetime/Fredrik-Backman/9781501193491|title= The Deal of a Lifetime: A Novella|date= 31 October 2017|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn= 9781501193491|accessdate=21 December 2017 }}
  • Us Against You (sequel to Beartown: June 2018){{cite web |url= https://www.facebook.com/Backmanland/photos/a.1034492189990763.1073741827.102825186490806/1212551568851490|title= Us Against You (sequel to Beartown)|publisher=Simon & Schuster|accessdate=1 August 2017 }}
  • Folk med ångest (2019; English Translation Anxious People, September 2020){{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49127718-anxious-people|title=Anxious People|website=www.goodreads.com|access-date=2019-12-27}}
  • Vinnarna (English translation The Winners (last in Beartown trilogy: September 2022)
  • The Answer is No (2024)https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/219876684-the-answer-is-no
  • Mina Vänner (2025; English translation My Friends, May 2025)

References

{{Reflist}}