Writing the novels of The Killing
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 10:21AM 
The Danish TV crime series The Killing is one of the most stunning pieces of television drama of recent years, and just picked up a very deserved BAFTA award after its incredibly popular debut on BBC 4. So I’m delighted, flattered and a little daunted to tell you that I’ll be writing the novels of the first two Killing series.
After a very hard-fought auction among international publishers Pan Macmillan were granted the literary publishing rights to novelise the series late last month by scriptwriter Søren Sveistrup and DR, the Danish broadcasting corporation. Macmillan have asked me to take on the task of turning the stories into books. You can find the announcement in full at the foot of this article.
I’m not in the habit of talking about work in progress. So please don’t expect me to change the habits of a lifetime while I get my head around the task of trying to make this wonderfully rich and dark visual story work through nothing more than ink on paper. This will involve getting to know Copenhagen, talking to Søren Sveistrup and others involved in the series, and endeavouring to recreate the visual world of the stories in book form. It’s going to be a fascinating task, not least because Bavaria TV’s Rome subsidiary are, as announced earlier this year, doing the same thing in reverse with my own Costa series, working on developing my eleven Italian novels for TV.
The Killing books will not be replacing my own fiction. So from 2012 on you should expect more than one title with my name on it for a couple of years anyway.
Many thanks to everyone at Macmillan for attaching my name to this project from the very start — and to Søren and his Danish colleagues for creating such a wonderful masterpiece to work with. The project is already under way. Please don’t expect too many updates or messages here, or on Facebook and Twitter, in the near future. Life is going to be very busy indeed.
Press release
David Hewson named author for The Killing
Following the hotly contested world rights acquisition for the literary publishing rights of the BAFTA-winning Danish crime TV series, THE KILLING, Pan Macmillan is delighted to announce that crime writer, David Hewson, will be the author to novelise the series.
Highly respected, and much admired for his popular Rome-based Nic Costa detective series, and three other thrillers set in Seville, Venice and the USA, Hewson’s particular skill for female characters and passion for writing and researching novels set in a foreign country make him perfect for translating THE KILLING to the page.
David Hewson says:
“It’s a great honour to be asked to turn the best crime series on TV – and the fascinating character of Sarah Lund – into books, alongside my own novels set in Italy. The richness, innovation and complexity of THE KILLING have captured the imaginations of TV viewers around the world. I’m flattered to know that it’s going to be my task to bring this acclaimed classic series to the printed page. Rome and Copenhagen are very different places, but both wonderful stages for compelling crime fiction. I can’t wait to start work with my first trip to Denmark in a few weeks.”
Acquiring editor, Trisha Jackson, says:
“We believe that David is the perfect author for this project. Apart from being a wonderful writer, his particular strengths lie in atmosphere, sense of place and female characters. And we trust him implicitly to create a brilliant thriller from this wonderful series.”
Pan Macmillan plan to publish the novelisation of series one in the autumn of 2012.
Reader Comments (4)
Well congratulations! Very well deserved. Will definately look forward to two books a year! Especially after I've caught up on my backlog of "Costas"!
Tell me is this the exciting news/big secret that we have been waiting for news of, or is that still to come too?
Thanks Alan. This only went live a couple of weeks ago when Pan Macmillan won that huge auction for The Killing. There will be something else coming shortly - and out shortly too. Stay tuned tomorrow.
David, this is exciting news! I agree with your editor -- you are the PERFECT choice to write The Killing novelizations. The series is running now in the States (the U.S. version, set in a rainy, dark, brooding Seattle) and it's the best thing on TV right now, IMHO.
Congratulations!
Congratulations! Such very exciting news. I've been watching the US version, but have not seen the original. I look forward to reading it.