Stieg Larsson (1954-2004) was born in Skelleffehamn in the northern area of Sweden. When Stieg was a year old, his parents decided to move south to Stockholm. Because they couldn’t afford an apartment that would accommodate Stieg, they sent him to live with his maternal grandparents in Norrland. Stieg didn’t live with his parents again until 1962, by which time he was 8 years of age.

As a teenager Stieg became interested in writing and was passionately interested in leftist politics. He also become a feminist through his closeness to his grandmother and by witnessing ‘friends’ gang rape a girl when he was a teenager; he did nothing to stop them.

Stieg Larsson began his adult working life as a graphic designer like his father, but later became a respected journalist. He was a forthright campaigner for social justice reporting on the rise of neo-Nazis and speaking out against honour killings. In 2001 Stieg Larsson began writing fiction thinking he would have a 10-volume series and an income into retirement. By the time he contacted a publisher, Larsson had already completed 2 of what’s now known as The Millenium Trilogy—The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest. The first of the trilogy was published in 2005, after Larsson died of a heart attack.