Smirnoff takes on Larsson's Millennium trilogy

Award-winning Swedish author Karin Smirnoff will write three new sequels to Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy.  

Smirnoff is slated to pen three books, like her predecessors, which will be published by Bokförlaget Polaris in Sweden. Jonas Axelsson, publishing director at Bokförlaget Polaris, bought the original Swedish rights from Magdalena Hedlund at the Hedlund Literary Agency, who represents the Larsson estate.

The publication date for Smirnoff's first novel in the series, Millennium book seven, is not yet set. Quercus has previously published the series in the UK.

Larsson died from a heart attack in 2004, aged 50, shortly after submitting the manuscripts for his first three novels so never got to see how successful his writing became. The original series The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest is Sweden's biggest literary success ever. 

Three subsequent sequels, written by David Lagercrantz, were published between 2015 and 2019: The Girl in the Spider's Web, The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye and The Girl Who Lived Twice.  

Including both Larsson and Lagercrantz's books, the series has sold 6.8 million books for £39.2m through Nielsen BookScan in the UK. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo sold 1.7 million copies in paperback. The biggest seller of the Lagercrantz era was The Girl in the Spider's Web, on 222,933 copies sold in paperback.

Previously a journalist, Smirnoff debuted in 2018 with My Brother (Pushkin Press), the first part of her trilogy about Jana Kippo. It since been shortlisted for the prestigious August Prize, translated into 11 languages, and optioned for TV by the producers behind “The Bridge”.  

Smirnoff, who is based in Hertsånger, Sweden, said: “It feels almost solemn to write the sequel to Millennium. I said yes to the project without hesitation, even though it postpones my own ideas for new novels. It’s an exciting opportunity to independently create and make something new based on a unique fictional universe that is known worldwide.” 

She added: “The Millennium books are classics in their genre, where the combination of unforgettable characters and the strong political and societal engagement still fascinates readers. I will continue to build on Stieg Larsson's core themes, such as violence, abuse of power, and contemporary political currents.” 

Hedlund, who acted as the Larsson family's representative, commented: “To ask Karin Smirnoff to be the new Millennium author is a daring choice but after our many conversations with her it also feels wonderfully right. We have long thought that a woman should now take the helm. The fact that Smirnoff comes from the same area of northern Sweden as Stieg Larsson himself is another compelling aspect.”  

Axelsson said: "When I initially brought the idea to Karin, I was surprised but delighted when she immediately replied: 'I have read all six books, like them, and would like to continue writing the story.' At that moment, I realised that it was possible for us to believe in a brilliant sequel to Larsson’s epic thrillers. I definitely think that Karin has what it takes to live up to what are, to say the least, high expectations.”