REPORTAGE

The bookworm turned into an award-winning author

The boy who once carried home piles of books from the Bergsbyn library has grown up. Nils Lundkvist is suddenly one of the proud storytellers of Västerbotten and is praised for his writing style. And the library environment continues to play a central role in his life.

What do we do now? A writer without a desk and us taking pictures at home in the terraced house in Sörböle.

- I don't even own a computer either," says Nils.

Curtain down.

Instead, he bends down and pulls out a wooden box from under an old display cabinet in the living room. Out comes a pencil case, the kind you had in primary school, and a more expensive notebook, a Leuchtturm1917.

- "I'm certainly not a materialist, but I like the slow pace I get from writing by hand in a nice pad," Nils says.

The six Blackwing pencils are always sharpened before a writing session and ritually lined up in front of him when the time comes. He writes all first drafts by hand.

- "It feels nice, it's a bit of a solemn moment.

Författaren Nils Lundkvist sitter och skriver vid sitt köksbord med blommig tapet i bakgrunden

The love of pencils, by the way, is linked to the author Roald Dahl who was famous for the same ritual with his six yellow pencils of the Ticonderoga brand. Dahl became Nils' household god as a child. The bestseller "The Big Friendly Giant" was devoured early on at home in Bergsbyn by Nils, who was encouraged to read by book-loving parents.

- I have clear memories of my father reading that book aloud. He always brought me a hard sandwich that I had to eat in bed at the same time, and although the sandwich left its unpleasant traces, it awakened something in me. A desire to read, says Nils.

He was a child who could sit for hours by himself in after-school programs and read books while his friends rode their bikes in the mud puddles or played football.

His love of books was joined by music during his teenage years, a time when Skellefteå's music scene was flourishing. Say indie pop and every other teenage boy in Skellefteå dreamed of being the next lead singer of This Perfect Day.

- I was involved in several indie bands as a guitarist and songwriter. It was a great time, but eventually music became a bridge back to storytelling, Nils explains.

Perhaps it was a sign that the songs became eight or nine minutes long, so long that no singer could cope with his lyrics. He remembers one occasion in particular at Bagarmossens Folkets Hus, when he had moved to Stockholm, and it felt more natural for him to read the lyrics from the stage instead of singing. The whim led to a new kind of listening in the room and a new string had struck in Nils.

Poetry had entered his narrative life.

The bookshelf in the living room testifies to a wide-ranging interest in books. It contains everything from Harry Potter, Dan Andersson and Torgny Lindgren.

The breadth also reflects the future and the debut book "Den yttersta vildmarkens historia. Kuben", which the publisher Bonnier Carlsen marketed as "rural scifi" for young people. It is a beautiful story of friendship, where Nils managed to weave in heavier social perspectives on freedom and dictatorship and made it exciting. Not very easy to read, according to Nils himself, but the realization is that children can read more complex stories than you think.

- There are quite a few threads to keep track of, but I feel strengthened in the belief that children can handle this type of story.

The reception of the book could not be better.

- It's gone really well, at least by my standards as a debut author. I've gotten a lot of attention and it's been great to start my writing by being read by so many people. Now people are contacting me and asking when the next book will be published, I can only say that it is on the way, but there are long processes in the book world," he says.

The place that inspired Nils in Kuben is the village of Kålaboda, where he spent a lot of time as a child with his grandparents. Freedom and adventure are words that come to mind, and he weaves many of his own experiences into the story, bringing it to life. The book has awakened young people's desire to read and in 2023 he received the Children's Radio Book Prize in P4. A few months later, he was awarded the Slangbellan prize for the best debut in children's and young people's literature.

- "I had no idea what kind of reception the book would get, you always want to be read, but I couldn't even dream that it would go this well," says Nils.

After a few years in Stockholm, Nils and his family moved to Skellefteå and it has now been eight years since he returned to his hometown. He has had time to quit his job as a middle school teacher in Yttre Ursviken and this summer he started teaching at the Writers' School at Solviks Folkhögskola.

- "It's going to be something completely different, and it feels great!

The contract with Bonnier means that he can write his own book project, the sequel Viken as it will be called, during one day a week.

- "I've got the knack. Now that I'm writing so much, I've worked up the "writing fitness", it's a bit like running. But writing a book of a few hundred pages is a mammoth project. It's only now that I have the finances to be free from work to write, it feels luxurious.

The book contract came about a bit by chance actually. Bonnier organized a writing competition and that's how he was discovered by the publishing giant.

How did it feel?

- It was one of those big personal turning points. I was someone who carried piles of books home from the library and now I've made a book that others can carry home and get their reading experience from. I'm at the beginning of my career, but I think I'll be doing this for as long as I live. Now that I've learned how to do it," he says.

Omslag för boken Klubben

The place that inspired Nils in the Cube is the village of Kålaboda where he spent much time as a child.

And the library environment is as important today as it was then. Not only does he describe it as one of our most important public spaces, but it is also where his work is created. Visitors to the Campus Library often find Nils sitting with pen and pad.

- "It's a creative and calm environment for me - and you have the best view in front of you, the river.

FACTS/THIS IS NILS

Family: Wife Evelina, children Elis, Lo and Ted.

Lives: Terraced house in Sörböle, Skellefteå.

Pets: Rabbit.

Interests: I listen to a lot of music, it can also happen that I write some music with a friend. But of course also writing and reading.

3 favorite places:

1/ I love the campus library! It's fantastic.

2/ We are a bathing family so our excursions preferably go to sea beaches, preferably Skatan and on windy days Byske havsbad is good with big waves.

3/ All three children have learned to ski slalom, so in winter it is fun that there are nice slalom slopes in the immediate area, Bygdsiljum is at a reasonable distance.

Text: Daniel Bergeman

Photo: Patrick Degerman