Johannes Anyuru

Johannes Anyuru has a Swedish mother and a Ugandan father and was born in Sweden in 1979. He writes poems, novels and plays and is regarded as one of Sweden’s most important contemporary writers. His first book was the acclaimed 2003 poetry collection “Det är bara gudarna som är nya”, which portrays life in residential areas where migrants live, inspired by Homer’s Iliad. This socio-political dimension re-emerges in his third collection “Städerna inuti Hall” (Cities in Hall, 2009). He has also worked in the area of Rap and Spoken Word, with among others the group Broken Word. He attracted a lot of attention with his 2012 novel “En storm kom från paradise”, which is based on the life of Johannes Anyuru’s father, who fled Uganda and came to Sweden after Idi Amin’s coup. His most recent novel, “De kommer att drunkna i sina mödrars tårar” (2017), has also been a great success and has brought him awards including the prestigious August Prize. The translation rights have been sold in 14 countries and Momento Film has secured the film rights. It was published in English in 2019 in the translation by Saskia Vogel as “They Will Drown in their Mothers’ Tears“.

Publications (Selection):
They Will Drown in their Mothers’ Tears, translated into English by Saskia Vogel. Two Lines Press, 2019.
A Storm Blew in From Paradise, translated into English by Rachel Willson-Broyles. World Editions, 2019.
De kommer att drunkna i sina mödrars tårar. Novel, Norstedts, 2017.
En storm kom från paradiset. Novel, Norstedts, 2012.
Städerna inuti Hall. Poems, Norstedts, 2009.
Omega. Poems, Wahlström & Widstrand, 2005.
Det är bara gudarna som är nya. Poems, Wahlström & Widstrand, 2003