Twelve outstanding crime fiction novels from Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden have made the longlist for the 2026 Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year. They are:

• Snæbjörn Arngrímsson – One True Word, tr. Larissa Kyzer (Pushkin Vertigo, Iceland)
• Stella Blómkvist – Murder Tide, tr. Quentin Bates (Corylus Books, Iceland)
• Jón Atli Jónasson – Broken, tr. Quentin Bates (Corylus Books, Iceland)
• Ørjan N Karlsson – Into Thin Air, tr. Ian Giles (Orenda Books, Norway)
• John Ajvide Lindqvist – The Writing in the Water, tr. Michael Meigs (Amazon Crossing, Sweden)
• Jo Nesbø – Wolf Hour, tr. Robert Ferguson (Harvill Secker, Norway)
• Aslak Nore – The Heirs of the Arctic, tr. Sean Kinsella (MacLehose Press, Norway)
• Satu Rämö – The Grave in the Ice, tr. Kristian London (Zaffre, Finland)
• Lilja Sigurðardóttir – Black as Death, tr. Lorenza Garcia (Orenda Books, Iceland)
• Yrsa Sigurðardóttir – The Wake, tr. Victoria Cribb (Hodder & Stoughton, Iceland)
• Karin Smirnoff – The Girl with Ice in her Veins, tr. Sarah Death (MacLehose Press, Sweden)
• Antti Tuomainen – The Winter Job, tr. David Hackston (Orenda Books, Finland)

The longlist contains a mix of newer and more established authors including previous Petrona Award winners Satu Rämö, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir and Antti Tuomainen. Both large and small publishers are represented on the longlist, with Orenda Books having  three entries and Corylus Books and MacLehose Press having two apiece. Both longlisted entries by Corylus Books have been translated by Quentin Bates.

The breakdown by country is Iceland (5), Norway (3), Finland (2) and Sweden (2).

Huge congratulations to all writers, translators and publishers!

The Petrona Award 2026 judging panel comprises Jackie Farrant, the creator of RAVEN CRIME READS and a bookseller for a major book chain in the UK; Ewa Sherman, translator and writer, and blogger at NORDIC LIGHTHOUSE; and Sonja van der Westhuizen, a book critic for print and online publications in the UK and South Africa, as well as a blogger at WEST WORDS REVIEWS. The Award administrator is Karen Meek, owner of the EURO CRIME blog and website.

The shortlist will be announced on 24 September 2026.