International Authors' Stage: Andrzej Tichý (SE)

Swedish-Czech Andrzej Tichý has been nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize four times. Most recently in 2025 for "The Book of Events" – a 700-page mosaic of our time, which breaks with the usual novel format and directs sharp criticism at Western civilization. With an impressive and multi-voiced gallery of characters, the book paints a picture of a time when humanity is under pressure.

World literature from Malmö

Tichý is known for giving voice to society's most vulnerable and marginalized destinies. In insistent and sometimes furious language, he confronts the reader with the dark sides of the welfare state.

The author himself grew up in a social housing estate on the outskirts of Malmö – “at the bottom of Swedish class society,” as he describes it. Drawing on his own experiences, he draws threads to the rest of the world with references to political events, aesthetic theory and literary history. In doing so, he connects his own story with a larger global narrative of violence, inequality and social hierarchies.

Reviewer Johann Sten Nielsen wrote about "the Book of Events" in Information:

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“Tichý shows that 'world literature' can easily originate from the outskirts of southern Malmö.”

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Renewal of the novel genre

With his uncompromising and form-experimental novels, Tichý has been named as part of the new avant-garde of Swedish literature. He is particularly noted for his ability to write multi-voiced stories that renew the novel genre with a wide stylistic range.

With "The Book of Events", he makes a stand against the notion that it is possible to tell a common story about our time. There is no central protagonist, no plot, or unifying thread. Instead, the novel is a multi-voiced collage of anecdotes, statements, confessions, absurd dialogues, and quotes that bear witness to the fragmented reality of the 21st century.

In this way, the book becomes an event in itself: an attempt to piece together meaning in the meaninglessness. This is precisely what gives Tichý's books hope and strength.

Cast

Andrzej Tichý (b. 1978) is a Swedish-Czech writer who has lived in Malmö since 1981. He made his debut with the novel "Six liters of air" in 2005, for which he received the Swedish debutant prize. Since then, he has received several major awards and has most recently been nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize for the novel "Begivenhedsbogen".