Astrid Lindgren’s War Diaries 1939-1945 will be published next year

Astrid Lindgren 1942. Photo: Salikon

Today Salikon Publishing House published the news that Astrid Lindgren’s War Diaries will be published in May, 2015:

May 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. During the entire war, Astrid Lindgren kept diaries where she wrote of everyday life in Stockholm, of the world events and of the actions of the Swedish government. Astrid Lindgren’s war diaries are a very personal account of how dramatic courses of events affect us all – the words bear witness of grief and horror. This is before Astrid Lindgren became a world-famous writer; the first Pippi Longstocking book was published in the same year the war ended, 1945.

Over 70 facsimile photos of the diary pages, cut-outs from Swedish newspapers and many previously unpublished family photos from these years are included among with Astrid’s diary entries. A foreword is written by Kerstin Ekman, renowned Swedish author who knew Astrid Lindgren, and the postscript is by Karin Nyman, Astrid’s daughter. In total, 17 diaries are being published.

Today, Astrid Lindgren is still very much in the spotlight and a recurring point of reference in public debate. Her books are an indispensable part of our cultural heritage and continue to reach new readers all around the world. What many people don’t know is that she was a convinced anti-Nazi at a very early stage and that she all throughout her life fought against war and violence. She was a humanist – a person who thought for herself and stood up for what she believed in, aided by her moral courage, her sense of humour and her love.

In May 2015, Astrid Lindgren’s war diaries are being published, just the way she wrote them. It is a unique document by an ordinary person and also one of the world’s most famous Swedes.

Salikon Publishing House is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Astrid Lindgren Company Saltkråkan. Link to Saltkråkan here.

Astrid Lindgren’s diary. Churchill. Photo: National Library of Sweden, Andrea Davis Kronlund

Photo: Salikon

The War Diaries. Photo: Ricard Estay

Tags: Astrid Lindgren, Pippi Longstocking, saltkråkan, war diaries