Speculative fiction in English translation from the Nordic countries has been available as far back as the turn of the twentieth century. Since the beginning of the twenty-first, though, we’ve gotten a lot more, especially horror from Sweden and fantasy from Finland.
During the month of June, I’ll be spotlighting this little-known (in the Anglosphere) but important and often brilliant speculative fiction. Several stories listed here are available for free online.
If YOU would like to write something about Nordic SFT (essay, review, etc.), send me an email. Thanks!
Also, check out these great Nordic SFT resources on the web:
Books from Finland
The Finnish-English Literary Translation Cooperative
Novels/Anthologies
Reviews
Stand-alone stories
Bergsøe, Vilhelm. “Flying Fish (Prometheus),” translated by Dwight R. Decker (Steampunk II: Steampunk Reloaded, 2010).
—-. “The Amputated Arms,” translated by Julian Hawthorne (The Short Story Project, 2018).
Kruuse, Merete. “Mikey Turns Three,” translated by Joe F. Randolph (Terra SF II, 1983).
Madsen, Svend Ǻge. “The Good Ring,” translated by Carl Malmberg (View from Another Shore: European Science Fiction, 1974).
—-. “Mnemosyne’s Children,” translated by Johan Heje (The Road to Science Fiction 6, 1998).
Neutzsky-Wulff, Erwin. “Aruna,” translated by Joe F. Randolph (Terra SF: The Year’s Best European SF, 1981).
Nielsen, Niels E. “Planet for Sale,” translated by Sam Lundwall (The Best from the Rest of the World, 1976).
Ribbeck, Bernhard. “A Blue and Cloudless Sky,” translated by Niels Dalgaard (The SFWA European Hall of Fame, 2007).
Weitze, Charlotte. “The Aquanauts,” translated by Klaus Æ. Mogensen (Creatures of Glass and Light, 2007).
Novels/Anthologies
Stand-alone stories
Hai, Magdalena. “Fairyland,” translated by J. Robert Tupasela (Finnish Weird #4, 2017)
Hyvönen, Viivi. Excerpt from The Monkey and the New Moon, translated by the author (Finnish Weird #4, 2017).
Jääskeläinen, Pasi Ilmari. “Where the Trains Turn,” translated by Liisa Rantalaiho (Tor.com, November 2014).
Kauppila, Suvi. “Wither and Blossom,” translated by the author (Samovar Magazine, 2017).
—-. “Children of the Endless Sea,” translated by the author (Samovar Magazine, 2018).
Kontro, Inkeri. “The Dying Embers,” translated by the author (Strange Horizons, 2014).
Krohn, Leena. “Eyelids That Spatter Blood” (excerpt from Gold of Ophir), translated by Hildi Hawkins (Weird Fiction Review, 2015).
—-. “The Trepanist” (excerpt from Datura), translated by Anna Volmari and J. Robert Tupasela (Weird Fiction Review, 2015).
—-. “The Bystander” (excerpt from Tainaron), translated by Hilda Hawkins (Weird Fiction Review, 2015).
—-. “Gorgonoids” (excerpt from Mathematical Creatures or Shared Dreams), translated by Hildi Hawkins (Leena Krohn: Collected Fiction, 2015 / Lightspeed, 2016 / The Big Book of Science Fiction, 2016).
—-. “In the Quiet of the Gardens,” translated by Eva Buchwald (Other Aliens, 2016).
—-. “The Light in the Guest Room,” translated by Eva Buchwald (Other Aliens, 2016).
—-. “The Night of the Normal Distribution Curve,” translated by Anna Volmari and J. Robert Tupasela (ODD?, 2011).
Meresmaa, J. S. “Forever, As Always,” translated by J. Robert Tupasela (Finnish Weird #4, 2017).
Niemelä, Marketta. “Wagtail,” translated by Liisa Rantalaiho (Usva International, 2010).
Raevaara, Tiina. “My Creator, My Creation,” translated by Hildi Hawkins & Soila Lehtonen (Books from Finland, 2010)
Rajaniemi, Hannu. “Elegy for a Young Elk,” translated by the author (Subterranean Online, Spring 2010).
Rekunen, Veikko. “The Biological Truth,” translated by ? (Terra SF II, 1983).
Saario, Mari. “The Light Ones,” translated by Liisa Rantalaiho (Creatures of Glass and Light, 2007).
Sinisalo, Johanna. “Transit” by Johanna Sinisalo (The Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy, 2006).
—-. “Baby Doll,” translated by David Hackston (The SFWA European Hall of Fame, 2007).
—-. “Bear’s Bride,” translated by Liisa Rantalaiho (The Beastly Bride: Tales of the Animal People, eds. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, Viking, 1991).
—-. “The Hunter King,” translated by David Hackston (Books from Finland, 2012).
—-. “The Kings with No Hands,” translated by J. Robert Tupasela (Finnish Weird 3, 2016 / Year’s Best Weird Fiction: Volume Four, 2017).
—-. “Voiceless Voices” by Johanna Sinisalo, tr Lola Rogers (Giants at the End of the World, 2017).
Vainonen, Jyrki. “The Pearl,” translated by Hildi Hawkins (Books from Finland, 1999).
—-. “The Garden,” translated by Lola Rogers (Words Without Borders, 2010 / It Came From the North: An Anthology of Finnish Speculative Fiction, 2013).
Novels
Stand-alone stories
“The Sea Gives Us Children” by Thórdís Helgadóttir, translated by Larissa Kyzer (Words Without Borders, April).
Novels
Stand-alone stories
Bing, Jon. “The Owl of Bear Island,” translated by ? (Tales From the Planet Earth, 1986).
—-. “A Meeting in Georgestown,” translated by ? (The Penguin World Omnibus of Science Fiction, 1986).
—-. “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” translated by ? (The Best From the Rest of the World, 1976).
Bringsvaerd, Tor Åge. “Codemus,” translated by Steven T. Murray (The Best From the Rest of the World, 1976).
—-. “The Man Who Collected the First of September 1973,” translated by ? (Best SF 1973, 1974).
—-. “Gobi, Childhood Moon” (excerpt), translated by James Manis (On Spec, 1989).
Grue, Jan. “The Minotaur,” translated by Becky L. Crook (Asymptote, 2014).
Knudtsen Jr., Ingar. “Turnabout,” translated by Joe F. Randolph (Terra SF, 1981).
Myhre, Øyvind. “John Henry,” translated by Grethe Bøe-Hansen (Terra SF II, 1983).
Øyehaug, Gunnhild. “Same Time, Another Planet,” translated by Lydia Davis (The Paris Review, 2015).
—-. “Light,” translated by Kerri Pierce (Words Without Borders, 2017).
—-. Excerpt from Knots, translated by Kari Dickson (FSG, 2017).
Novels/Collections
Stand-alone stories/excerpts
Edenborg, Carl-Michael. Excerpt from The Alchemist’s Daughter, translated by Fiona Graham (Swedish Book Review, 2017).
Engholm, Ahrvid. “Clues,” translated by Bertil Falk (Creatures of Glass and Light, 2007).
Haskins, Maria. “Lost and Found,” translated by the author (StarShipSofa, 2017).
Mårtensson, Bertil. “The Fifth Time Out,” translated by ? (Terra SF: The Year’s Best European SF, 1981).
Taivassalo, Hannele Mikaela. Excerpt from Oh, Come and Look at This, translated by Sarah Death (Swedish Book Review, 2011).
Tidbeck, Karin. “Brita’s Holiday Village,” translated by the author (World SF Blog, 2012 / Apex Book of World SF 3, 2014).
—-. “Augusta Prima,” translated by the author (Lightspeed, 2013).
—-. “Mine-Wife,” translated by Silvester Mazzarella (Words Without Borders, 2015).
Reviews of untranslated novels
Stig Olsson reviews Jerker Virdborg’s Svart krabba (Black Crab)
Sarah Death reviews Jerker Virdborg’s Kall feber (Cold Fever)
Sarah Death reviews Jerker Virdborg’s Skyddsrummet Luxgatan (The Lux Street Bunker)
