Biography

Creator of suspense and narrator of
characteristically Swedish phenomena.
A true entertainer, both in writing
and in person, and always sly as a fox.

After seven decades and penning over 50 titles there are few Swedish authors with an output as prodigious and productive as Jan-Olof Ekholm.

Ekholm was a cub reporter at local newspaper Avesta-Posten, produced near his home village of Grytnäs in the county of Dalarna when his debut was published in 1958. It details the adventures of Ditt and Datt, a cat and dachshund respectively who live in the town of Måfå amongst their friends. Shortly after came the four-part Fröken Stål series about a retired teacher fighting crime. Then followed the much-loved “Hurra för Ludvig Lurifax” detailing the sometimes tricky friendship between a chicken and a fox.

In 1968 Jan-Olof Ekholm leapt from writing children’s books to diving in to the crime genre. In his first whodunnit story “Sista resan – mord!” readers were introduced to Göran Sandahl, a journalist and anti-hero who would become a recurring protagonist in Ekholm’s detective tales. Another main character is rural postman Ingemar Svensson, initially introduced in “Sörjd och saknad” published in 1990.

A consistent feature of Ekholm’s detective stories is that they take place in small towns, where the web of lies among friends is as wide-spread as the puns and humorous elements in his writing are. Even though they’re mostly labelled whodunnit’s, Ekholm’s detective fiction often have an open ending, leaving readers to guess who the real killer might have been.

Jan-Olof Ekholm was elected to the Swedish Academy of Crime Fiction in 1974. He stayed a cherished member until his death.

In ways still shrouded in mystery, the children’s book about Ludvig Lurifax somehow ended up in the Soviet Union in the early 1980’s. The book was translated and became a huge hit, initially without Ekholm being aware of it. So popular was the book in the USSR that it was made into a musical, tv movie, vinyl record and radio theatre production.

The 1980’s and 1990’s were some of Ekholm’s most prolific years. His clever whodunnit books came in quick succession, many of which have been translated into Danish, German, French and Norwegian. His true crime novel “Mälarmördaren” was awarded Best Fact Book by the Swedish Academy of Crime Fiction in 1979.

The early 2000’s saw the ever-curious Ekholm turn to yet another genre, easy-to-read teen fiction. All in all, Ekholm wrote ten such stories and was awarded the children’s culture prize Temmelburken, presented annually at the Gothenburg Book Fair. He also staged a comeback as a children’s book author, inspired by his first grandchild.

Ekholm’s final release was the easy-to-read book “Det löser sig, grabben” from 2009. But in the intervening eleven years interest in his work has not waned. Quite the contrary, Ludvig Lurifax lives on in Russia and its bordering countries where the generation who grew up with the fox are now telling his tales to their own children. Ludvig Lurifax has become somewhat of a children’s book classic in this vast eastern region.

Simultaneously, the books about Fröken Stål have been republished in Sweden. A large number of Ekholm’s 70’s and 80s detective stories were also released as audiobooks in 2020 and 2021.

Jan-Olof Ekholm passed away in Nockeby, Bromma, on January 14th 2020. He is lovingly remembered by his wife Inga-Lill, his son Jan, daughter-in-law Thom and grandchildren April and May.

For inquiries about Jan-Olof Ekholm’s publications and authorship, please contact his son Jan Ekholm at email address ekholm.jp(at)gmail.com

Contact: ekholm.jp@gmail.com