Martin Beck Award

Last updated August 08, 2023

The Martin Beck Award is an award given by the Swedish Crime Writers' Academy (Svenska Deckarakademin) for the best crime novel in translation. It is one of the most prestigious international crime-writing awards. The award is named after Martin Beck, a fictional Swedish police detective who is the main character in a series of ten novels by Maj Sjöwall (1935–2020) and Per Wahlöö (1926–1975).^[1]^[2]^[3]

Winners

The country and year of the first publication in brackets.

1970s

1971 – Julian Symons, The 31st of February , (UK, 1950)
1972 – Frederick Forsyth, The Day of the Jackal , (UK, 1971)
1973 – Richard Neely, The Walter Syndrome, (USA, 1970)
1974 – Francis Iles, Malice Aforethought , (UK, 1931)
1975 – Cornell Woolrich, Rendezvous in Black, (USA, 1948)
1976 – John Franklin Bardin, The Last of Philip Banter, (USA, 1947) and Devil Take The Blue-Tail Fly, (UK, 1948)
1977 – Leslie Thomas, Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective, (UK, 1976)
1978 – Anthony Price, Other Paths to Glory, (UK, 1974)
1979 – Brian Garfield, Recoil, (USA, 1977)

1980s

1980 – Ruth Rendell, Make Death Love Me , (UK, 1979)
1981 – Sébastien Japrisot, One Deadly Summer, (L'Été meurtrier, France, 1977)
1982 – Margaret Yorke, The Scent of Fear, (UK, 1980)
1983 – Pierre Magnan, Death in the Truffle Wood, (Le Commissaire dans la truffière, France, 1978)
1984 – Len Deighton, Berlin Game , (UK, 1983)
1985 – Elmore Leonard, LaBrava , (USA, 1983)
1986 – John le Carré, A Perfect Spy , (UK, 1986)
1987 – Matti Joensuu, Harjunpää and the Tormentors, (Harjunpää ja kiusantekijät, Finland, 1986)
1988 – Scott Turow, Presumed Innocent , (USA, 1987)
1989 – Anders Bodelsen, Mørklægning, (Denmark, 1988)

1990s

1990 – Ross Thomas, Chinaman's Chance, (USA, 1978)
1991 – Doris Gercke, Weinschröter, du musst hängen, (Weinschröter, du musst hängen, Germany, 1988)
1992 – Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, The Southern Seas , (Spain, 1979)
1993 – Tim Krabbé, The Golden Egg , (Het gouden ei, Netherlands, 1984)
1994 – Maarten 't Hart, Het Woeden der Gehele Wereld , (Netherlands, 1993)
1995 – Scott Smith, A Simple Plan , (USA, 1993)
1996 – David Guterson, Snow Falling on Cedars , (USA, 1994)
1997 – Barry Unsworth, Morality Play , (UK, 1995)
1998 – Mary Willis Walker, Under the Beetle's Cellar , (USA, 1995)
1999 – Iain Pears, An Instance of the Fingerpost , (UK, 1997)

2000s

2000 – Thomas H. Cook, The Chatham School Affair, (USA, 1996)
2001 – Peter Robinson, In a Dry Season , (USA, 1999)
2002 – Karin Fossum, Black Seconds , (Svarte sekunder, Norway, 2002)
2003 – Ben Elton, Dead Famous , (UK, 2001)
2004 – Alexander McCall Smith, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency , (UK, 1998)
2005 – Arnaldur Indriðason, Voices , (Röddin, Iceland, 2002)
2006 – Philippe Claudel, Grey Souls, ( Les Âmes grises , France, 2003)
2007 – Thomas H. Cook, Red Leaves, (USA, 2005)
2008 – Andrea Maria Schenkel, Tannöd , (Germany, 2006)
2009 – Andrew Taylor, Bleeding Heart Square, (UK, 2008)

2010s

2010 – Deon Meyer, Devil's Peak, (Infanta, South Africa, 2004)
2011 – Denise Mina, The End of the Wasp Season, ( Scotland, 2010)
2012 – Peter Robinson, Before the Poison, ( Canada, 2011)
2013 – Dror Mishani, The Missing File, (Tik ne'edar, Israel, 2011)
2014 – Jørn Lier Horst, The Hunting Dogs, (Jakthundene, Norway, 2012)
2015 – Nic Pizzolatto, Galveston, ( USA, 2010)
2016 – Ray Celestin, The Axeman's Jazz, ( UK, 2014)
2017 – Ane Riel, Harpiks, ( Denmark, 2015)
2018 – Thomas Mullen, Darktown , ( USA, 2016)
2019 – Jane Harper, The Lost Man , ( Australia, 2018)

2020s

2020 – Deon Meyer, The Last Hunt, (Prooi, South Africa, 2019)
2021 – Guillaume Musso, La jeune fille et la nuit, ( France, 2018)

Related Research Articles

Maj Sjöwall was a Swedish author and translator. She is best known for her books about police detective Martin Beck. She wrote the books in collaborative work with her partner Per Wahlöö.

Per Fredrik Wahlöö – in English translations often identified as Peter Wahloo – was a Swedish author. He is perhaps best known for the collaborative work with his partner Maj Sjöwall on a series of ten novels about the exploits of Martin Beck, a police detective in Stockholm, published between 1965 and 1975. In 1971, The Laughing Policeman won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Novel. Wahlöö and Sjöwall also wrote novels separately.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Beck</span> Fictional Swedish police detective

Martin Beck is a fictional Swedish police detective and the main character in the ten novels by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, collectively titled The Story of a Crime. Frequently referred to as the Martin Beck stories, all have been adapted into films between 1967 and 1994, six of which were included in a series featuring Gösta Ekman as Martin Beck. Between 1997 and 2018 there have also been 38 films based on the characters, with Peter Haber as Martin Beck. Apart from the core duo of Beck and his right-hand man Gunvald Larsson, the latter have little resemblance to the original series, and feature a widely different and evolving cast of characters, though roughly similar themes and settings around Stockholm.

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<i>The Locked Room</i> 1972 novel by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö

The Locked Room is a mystery novel by Swedish writers Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, published in 1972. It is part of their detective series revolving around Martin Beck and his team.

The Man on the Roof is a 1976 Swedish police procedural-thriller film directed by Bo Widerberg. It is based on the 1971 novel The Abominable Man by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. The film stars Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt, Sven Wollter, Thomas Hellberg and Håkan Serner.

The Abominable Man is a 1971 police procedural novel by Swedish writers Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. It is the seventh book in their series about Martin Beck. The plot follows Martin Beck and his colleagues trying to solve a murder on a senior policeman, known for his brutality against others. While the investigation is ongoing, a well armed man climbs up on a roof in Stockholm.

The Man on the Balcony is a mystery novel by Swedish writers Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, originally published as Mannen på balkongen in 1967. It is the third novel in the detective series revolving around Swedish police detective Martin Beck.

<i>The Laughing Policeman</i> (novel) Swedish novel by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö

The Laughing Policeman is a mystery novel by the Swedish writing duo Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, originally published in Sweden in 1968 as Den skrattande polisen and translated into English in 1970. It is the fourth of ten novels featuring police detective Martin Beck.

Cop Killer is a crime novel by Swedish writers Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, published in 1973. It is part of their detective series revolving around Martin Beck and his team.

<i>The Terrorists</i> Novel by Sjöwall and Wahlöö

The Terrorists is a crime novel by Swedish writers Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö; it is the final book in their 10-part detective series revolving around Martin Beck and his team. The Terrorists was unfinished at the time of Per Wahlöö's death in June 1975; the last few chapters were completed by Maj Sjöwall alone.

<i>Murder at the Savoy</i> Novel by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö

Murder at the Savoy is a 1970 crime novel by Swedish writers Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. It is the sixth book out of ten in the detective series by revolving around police detective Martin Beck.

Jan-Olof Ekholm was a Swedish detective fiction writer born in Grytnäs, Dalarna, Sweden, also known for some children's literature works. He was one of the members of the presidium of the Swedish Crime Writers' Academy. Ekholm's books have been translated to Norwegian, Danish, German, Russian, Ukrainian, and Czech.

The Swedish Crime Writers' Academy, is a Swedish organization set up in 1971 to promote the writing of detective fiction and crime fiction. Originally, the academy had 13 elected members; today the number of members is 24.

Deon Godfrey Meyer is a South African thriller novelist, writing primarily in Afrikaans. His works have been translated into 28 languages. He has also written numerous scripts for television and film.

<i>Stockholm Marathon</i> (film) 1994 Swedish film

Stockholm Marathon is a 1994 film directed by Peter Keglevic about the Swedish police detective Martin Beck, loosely based on the last Martin Beck novel, The Terrorists (1975). The title song for the film, "Marathon of Life", was written by Ralf Stemmann and performed by Thomas Anders.

The Man on the Balcony is a 1993 Swedish-German crime thriller film, based on the 1967 book The Man on the Balcony written by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. This is the fourth film which stars Gösta Ekman as Martin Beck and Rolf Lassgård as Gunvald Larsson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nordic noir</span> Genre of crime fiction originating from the Nordic countries

Nordic noir, also known as Scandinavian noir or Scandi noir, is a genre of crime fiction usually written from a police point of view and set in Scandinavia or Nordic countries. Plain language avoiding metaphor and set in bleak landscapes results in a dark and morally complex mood, depicting a tension between the apparently still and bland social surface and the murder, misogyny, misandry, rape, and racism it depicts as lying underneath. It contrasts with the whodunit style such as the English country house murder mystery.

The Prix Mystère de la critique was established in 1972 by Mystère magazine, published by Éditions OPTA from 1948 to 1976, and is one of the oldest French awards for a detective novel. It continues to be awarded each year by its founder, Georges Rieben and his team, and has the characteristic of having survived the demise of the magazine.

Pierre Magnan was a French crime fiction writer.

References

↑ "Svenska Deckarakademin". Svenska Deckarakademin. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
↑ "Maj Sjöwall". leninpriset.se. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
↑ "Martin Beck book seriesThe Martin Beck Stories". Audible, Inc. Retrieved October 1, 2020.

External links

(in Swedish) Martin Beck Award official website

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[1] "Svenska Deckarakademin". Svenska Deckarakademin. Retrieved October 1, 2020.

[2] "Maj Sjöwall". leninpriset.se. Retrieved October 1, 2020.

[3] "Martin Beck book seriesThe Martin Beck Stories". Audible, Inc. Retrieved October 1, 2020.

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