American Swedish Institute

Nordic Book Circle
2026-12-20 14:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago) | American Swedish Institute
Contemporary Nordic literature is full of diverse literary voices, styles, and genres. This September 2026 through May 2027 the ASI Nordic Book Circle will gather monthly, in-person, to read and discuss a work of Nordic literature in English translation. Our focus this year will be on works of literature written by women authors from across the Nordic world. The works we read will chronologically trace books penned between 1912 and 2020, and include two winners of the Nobel Prize in Literature; authors from the countries of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland; various genres; and a range of topics and perspectives.
If you love to read and discuss literature and would like to expand your appreciation of literature from various parts of the world (the Nordic world in particular), we would love to have you join! Limited to 20 attendees; please register in advance.
2026-2027 Nordic Book Circle titles
September: Kristin Lavransdotter, Book I: The Wreath (1912), by Sigrid Undset, translated from Norwegian by Tiina Nunnally (Penguin Editions, 336 pages), Norway – September 27, 2026
October: The Phantom Carriage (1912), by Selma Lagerlöf, translated from Swedish by Peter Graves (Norvik Press, 124 pages) (Sweden) – October 25, 2026
November: Quicksand (1928) by Nella Larsen (Penguin Classics, 192 pages) (Denmark) – November 22, 2026
December: Kallocain (1940), Karin Boye, translated from Swedish by David McDuff (Penguin Classics, 192 pages) (Sweden) – December 20, 2026
January: Girl Upon Heaven’s Pier (1951), by Eeva-Liisa Manner, translated from Finnish by Terhi Kuusisto (Dalkey Archive Press, 104 pages) (Finland) – January 31, 2027
February: Nothing to be Rescued (1961), by Ásta Sigurðardóttir, translated from Icelandic by Meg Matich (Nordisk Books, 192 pages) Iceland – February 28, 2027
March: Light, Grass, and Letter in April (1962, 1963, 1979), by Inger Christensen, translated from Danish by Susanna Nied (New Directions Publishing, 144 pages) (Denmark) – March 21, 2027
April: Zombieland (2015), by Sørine Steenholdt, translated from Greenlandic to Danish by Niviaq Korneliussen and from Danish to English by Charlotte Barslund (Norvik Press, 150 pages) (Greenland) – April 25, 2027
May: Strega (2020), by Johanna Lykke Holm, translated from Swedish by Saskia Vogel (Riverhead Books, 208 pages) (Sweden) – May 23, 2027
