A million thanks to the incredibly professional and overwhelmingly kind crew of @fallontonight and @fallonbookclub for having me and my family in your studio last night. I've never done anything like this, probably never will again (it was wonderful, but it was also a little like falling from a mountain), so it was a real core memory to get to share this with my wife and kids. Thanks @jimmyfallon for being insanely thoughtful and generous, for making us feel so at home and for making sure I didn't trip too badly over the stairs or my own anecdotes. (And for walking off stage just to say hi to my two childhood friends who flew over from Sweden to see the show, we'll never forget that.) I'm not going to lie, I'm looking forward to walking my dog in the forest for a little while now, but this was a New York experience we'll be eternally grateful for. Thank you.
(Photo: @toddowyoung )
Full speech from yesterday, in case anyone has run out of things to watch on the internet. The very excited agent at the end is my agent @arielestewart It's really quite astonishing that Ariele and I are both able to make a living as adults, but here we are.
My daughter saw the "bottle your own whisky"-sign and summed it up with: "So like build-a-bear but for dads?"
Making me look like a responsible parent since 2013.
Should anyone be at Arlanda Airport, Terminal 5, outside of Stockholm, and don't mind my books terribly, I've signed a few of them at @adlibrispocket this morning. (A few in English, a few more in Swedish.) Certain members of the family that shall go unnamed said "the drawing still looks like a seal", but it's a bird. BIRD!!!
Thank you for your attention. Carry on.
Fredrik Backman är nominerad till Årets bok 2026 för sin senaste roman Mina vänner!
Juryns motivering lyder:
"En av världens mest kända målningar föreställer tre vänner på en pir. Louisa, en föräldralös och vilsen artonåring, är betagen av tavlan och bestämmer sig för att ta reda på vilka personerna är. En värmande och tankeväckande berättelse om vänskapens betydelse och om att våga följa sina drömmar."
Röstningen är öppen fram till 6 september på aretsbok.se
Läs mer på NORSTEDTS.SE
Foto: Morgan Norman
I was trying to take a picture of some deer near my office, but the Donkey jumped, and now the picture looks like my dog is welcoming her followers to her Vlog. I thought it was funny, so I tried telling one of my children this when I picked them up from school, and the child immediately looked horrified and said: "Vlog???" And I said: "Is it not called vlog nowadays?" And the child laughed: "Sure. I guess. It just sounds funny when someone your age say it." So I replied, in a very calm voice: "It was my generation who invented the goddamn word!" And the child said: "Sure it was, sure it was." But it didn't sound like they MEANT IT, you know? And then the child repeated "vlog", like mockery, and chuckled. And I said "did I pronounce it wrong?" And they said "no, no, not at all. Vlooog." But it sounded like they said it with air quotation marks, you know? So, anyway, I let it go. I was not offended, because I'm an adult. And then we got home, and the child brought their friends, and the friends played a song and asked me if I'd ever heard this band? And I said yes. BECAUSE IT WAS NIRVANA!!! And then they started talking enthusiastically about making small cinnamon buns (yes, they're sold in bags in Sweden, we call them "gifflar" and they're basically legalized narcotics, but that's not the important part of this story, please stay focused) in the sandwich grill. Because they had seen this on the Tiktok and they talked about it like it was a new thing, invented by Generation Alpha. And they explained the whole concept to me in a tone of voice like I'd just woken up from a coma. So I said, in what under the circumstances can only be described as the calmest possible voice by any rational human being: "Neeeeeeew? You think this is neeeeeeew? CINNAMON BUNS in the SANDWICH GRILL!!! I was born in the 80s you little...what the actual...ARE YOU GOING TO STAND HERE AND TELL ME ABOUT NIRVANA AND CINNAMON..."
And then it was decided that I was going to go for a very, very long walk with the Donkey. If I had a vlog, you would never hear the end of this, let me tell you.
They are stealing our history.
I was a little slow up the hill today, because I have some back problems. It was frowned upon, by the reason for the back problems.
In other news: I'm going on a small tour in England, Scotland and Wales in May. The tickets for the London event are unfortunately sold out, but there are still a few left for Edinburgh (18 May at Tollcross Central Hall) and Hay Festival (22 May at Meadow Stage). That's all. Thank you for flying with Backman Airways, it's fine, everything is fine, don't worry about the blinking lights.
I'm at a point in my life now when my doctor has given me so many pills to take every morning that I need one of these little boxes to keep track of the days. (In Swedish, for anyone wondering, and in my experience there's always a certain someone: Måndag, Tisdag, Onsdag, Torsdag, Fredag, Lördag, Söndag.) So I was arranging my pills when one of my kids went past me in the kitchen and said: "Wow, you're REALLY old!" And I turned around, only mildly offended (because I'm a very mild tempered and balanced sort of a parent) and asked: "Why am I old? Because I take a lot of pills, or because I forget which ones I've taken?" And then the child looked at me for a long time, shrugged and said: "Mostly your personality."
So Tuesday went awesome. Thanks.
Hello. It's me again. I don't do a lot of traveling, but I'm going to do a little bit of traveling to Scotland, England and Wales, in May. I'm not great with information, so please don't ask me complicated questions. (I thought I was going blind for half a lunch earlier today until I realized I was wearing sunglasses inside a restaurant, so I'm barely getting through Thursday.) Here's everything I know about places and tickets and so on and so forth. If anything is unclear, please find the nearest adult. Alright? Alright.
18 May, Edinburgh, tickets: Toppingbooks.co.uk
21 May, London, tickets: Eventbrite.co.uk
22 May, Hay Festival, tickets: Hayfestival.com
With that said, I find that sometimes when I say I'm traveling to a place I immediately get asked why I'm not traveling to another place. I try not to be rude, but I feel that there are too many places. I'm also not great with flying, or being in airports, or moving about in general. I also try to write books and read books and argue with my dog, which is usually a very full day for me. And I like my home because that's where I keep all the stuff and people I like. So there's that. However, my wife is coming with me for this, she's excited about seeing Scotland and Wales for the first time, and I was very tired when I said yes. So here we are. I'm sure I'll love it. I'm a very positive person. Everyone says.
It's that feeling when you suddenly wake up and realize you forgot to chase one of those squirrels. Trouble you did not make. Shit you did not start. Now how will the squirrel know who is the ruler of the forest and the barker of the universe? It could be anyone! Lot of work to do on ourselves tomorrow. The journey never ends.
