ULRIKA LAGERLÖF
Fiction
CLOUDBERRY MIRE
Rights and awards
Rights
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Italy
Netherlands
Norway
Sweden
Ulrika Lagerlöf works in communications within forestry since the past ten years. She lives in Uppsala and made her debut in 2021 with the novel Stanna hos mig (Stay with me).
Her second novel, Cloudberry Mire, is the first part in a series, and inspired by Ulrika Lagerlöf’s own family history.
A few years ago, Ulrika received a large brass bell from her grandmother’s youngest sister. Their father (Ulrika’s great-grandfather) used to have it on the sled when he worked in the forest during the winter, and in the spring, the siblings listened for the bell to hear if their father was on his way home after months away from the family. At the same time, Ulrika learned that her grandmother had worked as a cook (“kocka”) in a forest cabin when she was young in the early 1940s, and this together became the inspiration for the novel Cloudberry Mire.
The term “kocka” (female cook) refers to a profession that employed thousands of often very young women during the 1930s and 1940s. These women lived alone in a forest cabin with a group of men (usually 10-12 forest workers), far away in the woods. This aspect of history has largely been overlooked. In the present-day storyline, the conflicts surrounding the Swedish forest, which are currently attracting attention across Europe, are depicted.
Intertwining the historical story with a contemporary one that depicts the conflicts around the forest today felt completely natural. The Swedish forestry practices are being discussed and criticized by several countries and is a subject of heated debates in recent years, both in Sweden and within EU, something that Ulrika comes into contact with almost daily at work.
When Ulrika is not working or writing stories, she loves to go out into the forest, preferably on cross-country skis. In March 2024, she participated in the Swedish long-distance ski race Vasaloppet for the fifth time. During the summer, mountain hiking is a major interest, and for the past couple of years, Ulrika and her husband have been renovating a small cottage in southern Hälsingland during their free time.
Bibliography
2024 – Cloudberry Mire (Hjortronmyren), novel
Author photo
Linda Broström. For photo rights please contact the photographer at info@lindisima.se