As most of you will know by now, Suomen Dekkariseura will be hosting the AGM and the awarding of the Glass key next year. What not so many of you knew, until now, is that we are ready to host these events in the spring of 2009! Yes, I know, it's still a long way away, but anyway...
I reckon it's okay to go public with this information, even if it's not officially official as yet, but our boss, Kristinn, committed the Icelandic crime society to host AIEP's AGM in 2009, so we'll do a double since we're at it... Start saving up for the trip now, it'll be worth it - even if it keeps raining.
But: Do we have a candidate for 2008? Norway? Sweden? Anyone? Somebody mentioned Barbados, but I'm not sure they're up to it.
Cheers,
Ævar Örn.
søndag den 2. juli 2006
The worst summer
This is a warning - if anyone of you out there were planning to visit the south, west or, particularly the southwest corner of Iceland this summer: Forget it!
The weather in the northeast has been o.k. but over here - where people actually live - this has been the rainiest, coldest, most miserable of icelandic summers as far back as I can remember - and believe me, I remember a lot of cold, wet and miserable summers and this one tops them all.
Guess I'll just have to stay indoors and write. A crime novel, maybe. Or something.
Cheers,
Ævar Örn.
The weather in the northeast has been o.k. but over here - where people actually live - this has been the rainiest, coldest, most miserable of icelandic summers as far back as I can remember - and believe me, I remember a lot of cold, wet and miserable summers and this one tops them all.
Guess I'll just have to stay indoors and write. A crime novel, maybe. Or something.
Cheers,
Ævar Örn.
mandag den 22. maj 2006
Copenhagen report
Hello folks - and congratulations Sweden and Finland!
As most of you probably know by now, the 15th Glass key went to Sweden this year, just like last year (we really have to figure out how to beat the swedish mafia, folks, this just can't go on - even if we are a criminal organization...). But, anyway, Stieg Larsson's Man som hatar kvinnor (this should be men in plural, but I'm using a stupid computer right now that doesn't have the double dots at the ready on the keyboard, and I'm just too stupid and lazy to bother finding them somewhere else...) was the best nordic crime novel this time around, according to the juries of the five countries participating in this annual competition of nordic crime writers. The other candidates were, as you no doubt have heard, even if I've neglected publishing this here on the blog, Finlands Matti Yrjana Joensuu (I'll correct the spelling as soon as I get back to Iceland...) for his novel Harjunpaa ja pahan pappi (Harjunpaa och djavulens prest); Norways Frode Grytten for his novel Flytande björn and Denmarks Gretelise Holm for her novel; Under fuld bedövelse. Iceland did not have a candidate this year, for reasons previously explained.
Sadly, Stieg Larsson died of a heart attack before his first crime-novel was even published. He passed away in november 2004, a few months before Men som hatar kvinnor was published, only 50 years old.
This novel, however, was only the first one in a trilogy he called The millenium trilogy, which he had already written before his premature death. The second novel in this criminal trilogy; Flickan som lekte med elden, will be published shortly.
The AGM itself went better than anyone could hope for - or not nearly as well as some might have hoped... I'm not at all sure how to put it, to be honest. There were not many of us there, but representatives from all four remaining countries in the SKS as suc, i.e. Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland, were present at the meeting, and Anders Koch Nielsen was present at the handing over of the Glass key on friday, representing Denmark.
In short, we can put it like this: The show will go on.
There was a compromise of sorts, regarding the premises for membership/partnership in the SKS/glass-key co-operation. There is no obligation to host a conference/AGM/glass-key ceremony on any host country. If some member-organization takes it up on itself to host a regular, full-blown meeting, the glass-key will be presented at that very meeting. Should this not be the case, however, it is up to the winner's home-country to do something in order to bring attention to the fact that she/he won the award.
Some more changes were made to SKS's rules in order to simplify things and secure the future participation of all five independent nordic countries in the glass-key co-operation, the details will be published here as soon as the minutes of the AGM are ready.
Let it suffice to say, that the 11 of us who were there left Copenhagen pretty optimistic as to the future of the Glass-key - at least I left Copenhagen in a much more optimistic mood than I was in before the AGM.
As to the meeting beyond the meeting - the informal meeting of minds and friends - it was, I think, quite successfull. We had some nice chats, the outer surroundings were a bit chilly, I admit (Copenhagen was not in it's sunniest of moods, this time around), but the Faroese house was as cozy as ever, their food, their hospitality and the general, laid-back atmosphere of this nice house made us all, I think, feel at home and welcome.
We also shared a nice dinner on friday night, but as there was no conference, the program ended early saturday afternoon, and the majority of attendees went their seperate ways after that. I freely admit that I quite regret having decided to spare myself the costs of another night in a hotel and going directly to visit my very best friend in the world instead. Ordinarily, this would not be a decision to regret, but as I sat there in front of the tv, with my very best friend in the world, his wife and a couple of their friends, cheering - along with everyone else at this small and informal party - for Lordi and their success as each and (almost) every country gave them 8 or 10 or 12 points that fateful saturday night, I must admit that I wished I'd stayed and went with Paula, Marja and Taavi to some pub or another to watch the Eurovision Song Contest. I almost jumped on a train back to Copenhagen, as the voting progressed and Lordi's victory seemed more and more of a certainty... But I decided to do the sensible, responsible thing, and just get drunk in their honour right where I was instead...
But I bet no-one had more fun in Copenhagen that night than Paula, Marja and Taavi. And I must say that Lordi's victory renews my hope in mankind...
Anyway, this years conference was short and to the point - and, I think, quite successfull. We managed to change the rules in a way that will hopefully secure the future of the Glass-key, and we had a good time together. What more can one ask for? Well, a full blown conference for one thing, some might say - and that's exactly what we're getting next year if everything goes according to plan - and that conference will be held in Finland.
So keep posted - if we stick with the tradition, the conference will be held on the same weekend as the Eurovision finals ... and that will surely be an extraordinary weekend in Finland next year.
And yes - alas - I was, under heavy protest, elected president again. So it's not all good news from Copenhagen - but most of it is.
As most of you probably know by now, the 15th Glass key went to Sweden this year, just like last year (we really have to figure out how to beat the swedish mafia, folks, this just can't go on - even if we are a criminal organization...). But, anyway, Stieg Larsson's Man som hatar kvinnor (this should be men in plural, but I'm using a stupid computer right now that doesn't have the double dots at the ready on the keyboard, and I'm just too stupid and lazy to bother finding them somewhere else...) was the best nordic crime novel this time around, according to the juries of the five countries participating in this annual competition of nordic crime writers. The other candidates were, as you no doubt have heard, even if I've neglected publishing this here on the blog, Finlands Matti Yrjana Joensuu (I'll correct the spelling as soon as I get back to Iceland...) for his novel Harjunpaa ja pahan pappi (Harjunpaa och djavulens prest); Norways Frode Grytten for his novel Flytande björn and Denmarks Gretelise Holm for her novel; Under fuld bedövelse. Iceland did not have a candidate this year, for reasons previously explained.
Sadly, Stieg Larsson died of a heart attack before his first crime-novel was even published. He passed away in november 2004, a few months before Men som hatar kvinnor was published, only 50 years old.
This novel, however, was only the first one in a trilogy he called The millenium trilogy, which he had already written before his premature death. The second novel in this criminal trilogy; Flickan som lekte med elden, will be published shortly.
The AGM itself went better than anyone could hope for - or not nearly as well as some might have hoped... I'm not at all sure how to put it, to be honest. There were not many of us there, but representatives from all four remaining countries in the SKS as suc, i.e. Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland, were present at the meeting, and Anders Koch Nielsen was present at the handing over of the Glass key on friday, representing Denmark.
In short, we can put it like this: The show will go on.
There was a compromise of sorts, regarding the premises for membership/partnership in the SKS/glass-key co-operation. There is no obligation to host a conference/AGM/glass-key ceremony on any host country. If some member-organization takes it up on itself to host a regular, full-blown meeting, the glass-key will be presented at that very meeting. Should this not be the case, however, it is up to the winner's home-country to do something in order to bring attention to the fact that she/he won the award.
Some more changes were made to SKS's rules in order to simplify things and secure the future participation of all five independent nordic countries in the glass-key co-operation, the details will be published here as soon as the minutes of the AGM are ready.
Let it suffice to say, that the 11 of us who were there left Copenhagen pretty optimistic as to the future of the Glass-key - at least I left Copenhagen in a much more optimistic mood than I was in before the AGM.
As to the meeting beyond the meeting - the informal meeting of minds and friends - it was, I think, quite successfull. We had some nice chats, the outer surroundings were a bit chilly, I admit (Copenhagen was not in it's sunniest of moods, this time around), but the Faroese house was as cozy as ever, their food, their hospitality and the general, laid-back atmosphere of this nice house made us all, I think, feel at home and welcome.
We also shared a nice dinner on friday night, but as there was no conference, the program ended early saturday afternoon, and the majority of attendees went their seperate ways after that. I freely admit that I quite regret having decided to spare myself the costs of another night in a hotel and going directly to visit my very best friend in the world instead. Ordinarily, this would not be a decision to regret, but as I sat there in front of the tv, with my very best friend in the world, his wife and a couple of their friends, cheering - along with everyone else at this small and informal party - for Lordi and their success as each and (almost) every country gave them 8 or 10 or 12 points that fateful saturday night, I must admit that I wished I'd stayed and went with Paula, Marja and Taavi to some pub or another to watch the Eurovision Song Contest. I almost jumped on a train back to Copenhagen, as the voting progressed and Lordi's victory seemed more and more of a certainty... But I decided to do the sensible, responsible thing, and just get drunk in their honour right where I was instead...
But I bet no-one had more fun in Copenhagen that night than Paula, Marja and Taavi. And I must say that Lordi's victory renews my hope in mankind...
Anyway, this years conference was short and to the point - and, I think, quite successfull. We managed to change the rules in a way that will hopefully secure the future of the Glass-key, and we had a good time together. What more can one ask for? Well, a full blown conference for one thing, some might say - and that's exactly what we're getting next year if everything goes according to plan - and that conference will be held in Finland.
So keep posted - if we stick with the tradition, the conference will be held on the same weekend as the Eurovision finals ... and that will surely be an extraordinary weekend in Finland next year.
And yes - alas - I was, under heavy protest, elected president again. So it's not all good news from Copenhagen - but most of it is.
onsdag den 8. februar 2006
SKS's framtid - the short version
Hallo alla tilsammans!
In the following 19 (!) short articles (as there seems to be a newly developed problem with publishing long articles on this blog) I dare to present to you my view of SKS's future. I have already sent an e-mail with approximately the same content to all vice-presidents for consideration. But this is the short version:
In the following 19 (!) short articles (as there seems to be a newly developed problem with publishing long articles on this blog) I dare to present to you my view of SKS's future. I have already sent an e-mail with approximately the same content to all vice-presidents for consideration. But this is the short version:
- we should stick together and keep it simple
- anyone who wants to be eligible for nominating and voting for a Glass-key candidate has to be a member of the SKS
- being a member of SKS (as a national society) involves only two things: The Glass Key (nominating the respective society's candidate and, after that, voting until we have a winner...) and hosting the AGM every five years (if there are five societies in the SKS willing to fulfill these (easy) conditions).
- let's have some fun, folks
- As for the rest of it, it's just something we have to work out. And we can work it out - if we want to. Why make things complicated, when they can be simple? After all, we're not Germans (and let's hope no Germans read this site and start burning Icelandic flags in protest of this insulting generalization of german philosophy...)
PLEASE - do not hesitate to comment upon each and every article concerning SKS's future - either as a direct comment on each article, or as a seperate article to be posted here (simply mail it to me: avarorn@simnet.is and I will post it asap.
SKS's framtid - Statutes and purpose
The main – no, the ONLY purpose of SKS should be what is stated in paragraphs 2 and 6 of its statutes.
It is my personal opinion, that there is no need to be too formal about this whole business. Of course we have to have clear-cut, simple and sensible no-nonsense guidelines, rules or statutes, which we have to follow. But the main thing is to ensure that nordic crime-writers, as well as academics and enthusiasts in the field of crime-writing, keep in touch, compare notes – and compare novels/short stories, with the aim of rewarding the best each year.
My idea of the SKS is that it should be a loose-knit organisation, what we in the north call a paraply-organisation, made up of the various, national societies, and – possibly – also individuals who care to join us and, according to paragraph 3, meet the requirements for membership on their own.
Such individuals will have to apply for membership and be accepted – or rejected – at an AGM, and we might well add some further amendments to our statutes as to how this is to be done (does the individual need to have published a certain number of books/short stories/articles or otherwise made him/herself worthy of membership? Does he/she need recommendation from one or more members? Etc.)
This, however, does not mean that these individuals have anything to say about who gets the Glass Key – this should be left exclusively to the juries of the respective, national societies. If, however, any of these societies choose to ask an individual who is not amongst its members to be a member of their jury, that, of course, is their prerogative.
It is my personal opinion, that there is no need to be too formal about this whole business. Of course we have to have clear-cut, simple and sensible no-nonsense guidelines, rules or statutes, which we have to follow. But the main thing is to ensure that nordic crime-writers, as well as academics and enthusiasts in the field of crime-writing, keep in touch, compare notes – and compare novels/short stories, with the aim of rewarding the best each year.
My idea of the SKS is that it should be a loose-knit organisation, what we in the north call a paraply-organisation, made up of the various, national societies, and – possibly – also individuals who care to join us and, according to paragraph 3, meet the requirements for membership on their own.
Such individuals will have to apply for membership and be accepted – or rejected – at an AGM, and we might well add some further amendments to our statutes as to how this is to be done (does the individual need to have published a certain number of books/short stories/articles or otherwise made him/herself worthy of membership? Does he/she need recommendation from one or more members? Etc.)
This, however, does not mean that these individuals have anything to say about who gets the Glass Key – this should be left exclusively to the juries of the respective, national societies. If, however, any of these societies choose to ask an individual who is not amongst its members to be a member of their jury, that, of course, is their prerogative.
SKS's framtid - No effort: No reward.
But – and this, to me, is a non-negotiable premise for any society wanting to have a say about the Glass-key – the respective society must be a member of the SKS.
To me, it seems unreasonable and, quite frankly, simply unacceptable for any society to insist on nominating and voting on a candidate for SKS’s Glass key, whilst denouncing SKS and refusing to be part of it at the same time.
It kind of reminds one of the story of the Little red hen (and for those who do not know this story,here it is).
And surely, fulfilling the duties of a member of SKS is a lot less hassle than what that poor old hen had to go through before she finally got to eat her bread...
If a society is not a member of the SKS – well, then it’s not entitled to enter a candidate for the Glass key. It’s as simple as that. Or that, at any rate, is my personal opinion on this particular issue. Feel free to disagree and try to convince me along with anyone else within SKS that this should not be so.
To me, it seems unreasonable and, quite frankly, simply unacceptable for any society to insist on nominating and voting on a candidate for SKS’s Glass key, whilst denouncing SKS and refusing to be part of it at the same time.
It kind of reminds one of the story of the Little red hen (and for those who do not know this story,
And surely, fulfilling the duties of a member of SKS is a lot less hassle than what that poor old hen had to go through before she finally got to eat her bread...
If a society is not a member of the SKS – well, then it’s not entitled to enter a candidate for the Glass key. It’s as simple as that. Or that, at any rate, is my personal opinion on this particular issue. Feel free to disagree and try to convince me along with anyone else within SKS that this should not be so.
SKS's framtid - The simple life
Is it not possible to simply make this an organisation, where the five contributing societies (+ perhaps a couple of enthusiastic individuals) meet for a chat, an interesting exchange of views and experience and eventually a few interesting lectures from a few interesting extra/celebrity-guests once a year, and then simply go about their own business for the rest of the year?
Does the co-operation have to go beyond the co-ordination of the juries and the joint prize awarded in the wake of that limited co-operation?
Has it ever done so?
And is it really necessary to have a full-blown organization with a seperate budget and all the hassle that comes with it? A board consisting of a president, five vice presidents and a secretary and whatnot? An accountant?
My answer, until I hear otherwise, is no.
This is how I see it: We have five, national societies, each of them different in some ways; membership-criteria, numbers, etc. But we know of each other, and we have certain things in common. And we want to meet each other and award a prize for the best, nordic crime-novel/book of short stories each year.
So where’s the problem?
Does the co-operation have to go beyond the co-ordination of the juries and the joint prize awarded in the wake of that limited co-operation?
Has it ever done so?
And is it really necessary to have a full-blown organization with a seperate budget and all the hassle that comes with it? A board consisting of a president, five vice presidents and a secretary and whatnot? An accountant?
My answer, until I hear otherwise, is no.
This is how I see it: We have five, national societies, each of them different in some ways; membership-criteria, numbers, etc. But we know of each other, and we have certain things in common. And we want to meet each other and award a prize for the best, nordic crime-novel/book of short stories each year.
So where’s the problem?
SKS's framtid - The way it works - and should keep on working
Each society goes about its business. Picks the best book in it’s own country and nominates it for the common prize. And every five years, each society commits itself to host the AGM to the best of its abilities. Five years notice should be ample time for every society to prepare for such an event. This should be – and really, as far as I can judge, are and always have been, when it comes down to it – the only things actually required of the national societies constituting the SKS.
Is that really asking too much?
Is that really asking too much?
SKS's framtid - The president & the board
To my mind, “styrelsen” should simply be made up out of the five, different presidents of the national organizations. If we do need a president for the SKS as a whole, these five should pick one from amongst themselves to represent the lot, as is the custom in every company board-room.
It does seem unneccessary to have a sixth member, an extra “President” who is not amongst those five, but maybe I’m wrong. If so, please do not hesitate to tell me why.
The same goes for that finance-stuff. Why does SKS have to be a formal unit with its own budget, financing, accountant etc.? It seems we have broken every rule of accountancy since the foundation of SKS with impunity, no-one pays his or her dues directly to SKS, no big – and hardly any small – mutual funds exist, very little, if anything, of these funds has been spent and there does not really seem to be any real need for mutual funds on the whole.
And the whole book-keeping thing has been a desaster; when was the last time SKS’s books were on the up and up? And who has complained?
Never, and no-one...
It does seem unneccessary to have a sixth member, an extra “President” who is not amongst those five, but maybe I’m wrong. If so, please do not hesitate to tell me why.
The same goes for that finance-stuff. Why does SKS have to be a formal unit with its own budget, financing, accountant etc.? It seems we have broken every rule of accountancy since the foundation of SKS with impunity, no-one pays his or her dues directly to SKS, no big – and hardly any small – mutual funds exist, very little, if anything, of these funds has been spent and there does not really seem to be any real need for mutual funds on the whole.
And the whole book-keeping thing has been a desaster; when was the last time SKS’s books were on the up and up? And who has complained?
Never, and no-one...
SKS's framtid - Where?
There have been voices saying that we should stick to one – or possibly two – venues for the AGM; Denmark (Horsens) and possibly the book-fair in Göteborg. This, some say, will make it much easier and cheaper all-round to attend.
That may well be, when all is counted and the medium cost calculated. It will certainly be cheaper for the Danes and the Swedes. But this measure, to my mind, would go against the whole purpose of SKS as stated in paragraph 2.
O.k., so there won’t be many Danes or Icelanders when Suomen Dekkariseura hosts the AGM in Lappland in the year 2011 or whenever. And even fewer Norwegians when we in Iceland invite you all to join us in Grímsey a couple of years later. But the few Danes, Icelanders, Swedes and Norwegians attending the AGM in Lappland – or wherever – will meet a lot of Finns. And a quite a number of Icelandic crime-writers, enthusiasts and academics will have the opportunity to meet some choice-crime freaks – and authors – when we host the AGM.
It’s not unlike the football World Championships, or any other inter- or multinational event, when you think about it. Yes, a lot more Danes would show up at the World Cup if it were held in Denmark every time. But instead, a lot fewer people from every other possible host-country would be able to enjoy the spectacle. Therefore the AGM - and the awarding of the glass-key – should be held in a different country each year, in my opinion. On the whole, this offers a lot more people the opportunity to attend one.
If the program sounds unintresting or the price seems too high for someone – anyone – in the other countries, they simply stay at home and read about it later. This should be no big deal. Neither for the hosts nor for those who choose not to attend. In a year or two, the AGM will be held closer to home, and they do attend. Along with the few from the other countries who make the trip, and the many from their own country who seize the opportunity they otherwise would not.
That may well be, when all is counted and the medium cost calculated. It will certainly be cheaper for the Danes and the Swedes. But this measure, to my mind, would go against the whole purpose of SKS as stated in paragraph 2.
O.k., so there won’t be many Danes or Icelanders when Suomen Dekkariseura hosts the AGM in Lappland in the year 2011 or whenever. And even fewer Norwegians when we in Iceland invite you all to join us in Grímsey a couple of years later. But the few Danes, Icelanders, Swedes and Norwegians attending the AGM in Lappland – or wherever – will meet a lot of Finns. And a quite a number of Icelandic crime-writers, enthusiasts and academics will have the opportunity to meet some choice-crime freaks – and authors – when we host the AGM.
It’s not unlike the football World Championships, or any other inter- or multinational event, when you think about it. Yes, a lot more Danes would show up at the World Cup if it were held in Denmark every time. But instead, a lot fewer people from every other possible host-country would be able to enjoy the spectacle. Therefore the AGM - and the awarding of the glass-key – should be held in a different country each year, in my opinion. On the whole, this offers a lot more people the opportunity to attend one.
If the program sounds unintresting or the price seems too high for someone – anyone – in the other countries, they simply stay at home and read about it later. This should be no big deal. Neither for the hosts nor for those who choose not to attend. In a year or two, the AGM will be held closer to home, and they do attend. Along with the few from the other countries who make the trip, and the many from their own country who seize the opportunity they otherwise would not.
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