Göran Tunström (1937-2000) is one of the most read and loved loved authors in Sweden and considered one of the most important Swedish authors of the late 20th century. He was born in Sunne in the county of Värmland. Tunström has as been awarded a number of literary awards, including Svenska Dagbladet’s Literature Prize in 1976, the Nordic Council Literature Prize in 1984, the Selma Lagerlöf Prize in 1987, the Nils Ferlin Prize in 1998 and the August Prize in 1998. He is published in some 25 languages.

Much of what he wrote is based on his hometown, Sunne, but it is only a venue for destinies of a more universal nature and for questions of a deep existential nature. His novels THE CHRISTMAS ORATORIO and THE THIEF can both be incorporated under the heading “the return of storytelling in Swedish literature”, and one here sees a clear kinship with other great storytelling från Värmland by the Nobel Prize Winner Selma Lagerlöf. Tunström is also recognized for his complex exploration of interpersonal relationships through a style that is reminiscent and sometimes compared to Gabriel García Márquez magical realism. At his death, Göran Tunström left behind an unfinished manuscript, which he began writing in 1996. TRIALS FOR A CENTURY was published in 2002.