Colony
Translated by Alice E. Olsson
Overview
NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2025
NPR BEST BOOK OF 2025
BOOKLIST BEST BOOK OF 2025
A mega bestseller in Sweden — and winner of its two biggest literary awards — Colony is a gripping portrayal of contemporary society and its alternatives.
Burnt-out from a demanding job and a bustling life in the city, Emelie has left town to spend a few days in the country. Once there, in the peaceful, verdant hills, down by the river she encounters a mysterious group of seven people, each with personal stories full of pain, alienation, and the longing to live differently. They are misfits, each in their own way, and all led by the enigmatic and charismatic Sara.
How did they end up there? Are they content with the rigid roles they’ve been assigned? And what happens when an outsider appears and is initially drawn to their alternative lifestyle, but cannot help stirring things up?
A masterful blend of humour, emotion, unforgettable characters, and sharp social commentary, Colony is a magnetic and deeply touching story about love, community, and the unfathomable power we have over others and that others have over us.
Details
- Format
- Size
- Extent
- ISBN
- RRP
- Pub date
- Rights held
- Other rights
- Paperback
- 198mm x 129mm
- 416 pages
- 9781761381294
- AUD$32.99
- 4 March 2025
- UK & Commonwealth (ex. Can) + Europe
- Andrew Nurnberg Associates UK
Categories
Awards
- Winner of the 2023 Vi Magazine Literature Award
- Winner of the 2024 Swedish Radio Prize for Best Swedish Novel
- Shortlisted for the 2023 Svenska Dagbladet Literature Prize
- Shortlisted for the 2023 Adlibris Award for Best Fiction
- Longlisted for the 2026 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction
Praise
‘Norlin’s characters are all so real; she knows every feeling of every person, which is incredibly hard to do and requires a lot of investment. She also has a wonderfully unpredictable way of writing. It’s both journalistic and poetic, and she moves back and forth between the registers in a way that few writers can. She leans toward the reportorial, but there are beautiful sentences hidden throughout, and when you find one it just knocks you over.’
‘Swedish author Annika Norlin has written an incisive, character-driven dissection of society and human nature … Colony is smart and often droll. It features strong characters and world-building, all portrayed with compassion for the nuances of human resilience and frailty.’
About the Author
Born in the northern parts of Sweden, Annika Norlin is a writer and musician. She has won numerous awards for her lyrically driven indie pop in her own name, and in projects Hello Saferide and Säkert! After searching for her authorial voice for decades, she finally found it in 2020 when she published her debut book, a collection of short stories. Colony is her debut novel. It has won several awards in Sweden and will be published in fifteen languages.
Translator
Alice E. Olsson is a literary translator, writer, and editor working across Swedish and English. She has served as the Cultural Affairs Adviser at the Embassy of Sweden in London and is the recipient of a fellowship as well as multiple grants from the Swedish Arts Council. She has been shortlisted for the 2020 Peirene Stevns Translation Prize and the 2023 Bernard Shaw Prize.
