Themes at Bogforum 2025

Major Works

Chinese author Jung Chang entered world literature with Wild Swans. The sequel, Fly, Wild Swans, is now being published. On Saturday, audiences could hear all about the novel on the Main Stage.

With Spirits of the Present, German philosopher and author Wolfram Eilenberger concludes his widely acclaimed trilogy on the central thinkers of the 20th century. Eilenberger appeared on the Knowledge Stage on Saturday, interviewed by Svend Brinkmann.

Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgård is likewise current with the novel Arendal, the fifth volume in his ambitious Morning Star series. On Saturday, he appeared on the Main Stage in conversation with Weekendavisen’s culture editor Kathrine Tschemerinsky.

A Danish author currently at work on a major literary project is Asta Olivia Nordenhof. Scandinavian Star is the name of the series, which so far includes the novels Money on My Mind and Devil’s Book. On Saturday, Nordenhof closed the Literature Stage in conversation with Swedish author Andrzej Tichý, nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize for the monumental novel The Book of Events.

Origins

A large number of this year’s most significant books explore aspects of family and lineage.

On Friday at the Main Stage, Niels Frank (This Is Where It Ends) appeared in conversation with Morten Pape (Moon Child), discussing the destinies and shadows of the close family. The same day, audiences could also experience Johanne Mygind (Toxic) and Niels Krause‑Kjær in conversation about the long arc of family history and ancestry.

On Saturday at the Perspective Stage, Liv Helm (If You’re Afraid, Move Closer) and Matthias Dressler‑Bredsdorff (After the Fall) unfolded their work with the empty spaces and silences within family histories.

On Sunday, Swedish star author Alex Schulman spoke on the Literature Stage about his new novel June 17, in which the main character is given the chance to call his own childhood. The same day, on the same stage, Christian Mørk appeared with My Three Parents, a portrait of the close family, particularly the relationship between father and son, while Jens Smærup Sørensen’s current book Mother offers a portrait of the author’s own mother.

The theme came together when Katrine Marie Guldager (Heavenly Bodies at the Edge of the World) and Jens Blendstrup (God Comes Into Being), also on the Literature Stage, discussed mothers and fathers in literature.