TORONTO, March 31, 2015 /CNW/ - The worldwide #1 bestselling Millennium series of novels, which was launched in Canada in 2008 with Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, followed by The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest in 2009 and 2010, continues September 1 with the publication of book four in the series, David Lagercrantz's The Girl in the Spider's Web. The announcement of the title and the cover reveal (see attached) were made today by Nicole Winstanley, President and Publisher of Penguin Canada, in concert with Millennium publishers around the world.
"Stieg Larsson's bewitching and masterful Millennium series grabbed millions of Canadian readers by their throats and took them on a harrowing, unforgettable ride through darkness and depravity," says Nicole Winstanley. "We're absolutely thrilled to welcome Lisbeth and Mikael back to unearth more evil in an action-packed new novel by David Lagercrantz. As both a publisher and a fan, I'm tremendously excited to see this series live on in the capable hands of one of Europe's most acclaimed authors."
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest have collectively sold over 2.5 million copies in Canada and 80 million around the globe. Penguin also published Stieg Larsson, My Friend by Kurdo Baksi in October 2010.
Larsson, a Swedish journalist and social activist, died unexpectedly shortly after submitting three manuscripts to his editor. His posthumously published series was met with great enthusiasm in the author's homeland and throughout Europe. Winstanley recognized the series' potential early, securing Canadian rights at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2007, in advance of more than 15 international publishers.
About David Lagercrantz
David Lagercrantz was selected by both the Larsson estate and his publisher in Sweden (Norstedts) to continue working on the Millennium series. Lagercrantz studied philosophy and religion and is a graduate of the School of Journalism in Gothenburg. He worked as a crime reporter for Expressen until 1993, covering some of the biggest crime stories in Sweden, including the Amsele triple murder in 1988. He has written several novels, including the forthcoming Fall of Man in Wilmslow, and worked with Swedish football star Zlatan Ibrahimović on his memoir, which broke sales records in Sweden and throughout Europe and was later shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award and nominated for the August Prize in Sweden.
Joakim and Erland Larsson, Stieg's brother and father, allowed a new book to be written "to keep alive the characters and the world that Stieg Larsson created. We see it as a way of offering his many readers the continuation they have been longing for. We chose David Lagercrantz because we think he is highly suited to the task. David is a skilled writer who has portrayed odd characters and complex geniuses throughout his career. He will be doing it his own way."
Lagercrantz's work on the fourth novel has been highly secretive, writing on a computer with no internet connection and then delivering the completed manuscript to his publishers by hand.
"Stieg Larsson was a master at creating complex stories with a lot of different plotlines and that was something I was determined to live up to," says Lagercrantz. "[His writing style] is down-to-earth and unaffected. But there is a kind of journalistic authoritativeness about his work. I realized early on how idiotic it would be for me just to imitate him. I write my own prose."
About the cover
The book's jacket was designed by award-winning art director Peter Mendelsund, who created the iconic livery for the original trilogy. "Since the publication of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, we have worked towards establishing a unique visual brand for the Millennium series—a unique visual brand for a truly unique series of thrillers. We've carried this thinking forward in creating our cover for The Girl in the Spider's Web, drawing on features from the first three jackets, while making subtle updates appropriate to this instalment's exciting new plot elements."
About Penguin Canada
Founded in 1974, Penguin Canada (www.penguinrandomhouse.ca), a part of Penguin Random House Canada, is one of the country's pre-eminent trade publishers, publishing and distributing a wide range of literary, thought-provoking fiction, non-fiction, lifestyle, and children's books. Penguin Canada's imprints include Viking, Hamish Hamilton, Allen Lane, Penguin, Portfolio Penguin, Puffin, and Razorbill. Under these imprints, Penguin Canada proudly publishes an award-winning list of Canadian authors, including Scotiabank Giller Prize winners Will Ferguson, Joseph Boyden, and Johanna Skibsrud, as well as Stuart McLean, Bobby Orr, Guy Gavriel Kay, Eric Walters, John Ralston Saul, and Adrienne Clarkson. Penguin Canada also publishes and distributes a number of celebrated international authors, including Philip Roth, Zadie Smith, John le Carré, Khaled Hosseini, Kathryn Stockett, Elizabeth Gilbert, and Ken Follett.
SOURCE Penguin Random House Canada Limited
Image with caption: "Stieg Larsson's #1 bestselling Millennium series continues with fourth novel, David Lagercrantz's The Girl in the Spider's Web, to be published by Penguin Canada on September 1, 2015. (CNW Group/Penguin Random House Canada Limited)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150331_C4994_PHOTO_EN_13799.jpg
Beth Lockley, VP, Marketing & Publicity, Penguin Canada, 416.928.2413 / [email protected]; Stephen Myers, Publicity Manager, Penguin Canada, 416.928.2420 / [email protected]
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