Ellen Mattson (born 1962) lives on the Swedish West coast. She has published eight novels – the first in 1992 – and received much acclaim from the critics and several prestigious literary prizes. In 1998 Ellen Mattson was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet’s Literary Prize for her novel The Travelers. In 2011 Ellen Mattson was awarded the prestigious Selma Lagerlöf’s prize. She also writes literary critics

Dag Hammarskjöld was born in 1905. He famously served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1953 until his death in 1961. He was also a member of the Swedish Academy from 1954. In 1961 he was posthumously awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Dag Hammarskjöld enjoyed a very close relationship to the Swedish landscape and its traditions, while at the same time being well acquainted with a variety of international customs and religions. The posthumously published MARKINGS, found among Hammarskjöld’s personal notes after his passing, has become a Swedish classic, and is listed among the greatest of the country’s literary texts.