WILLIAM ÄLGEBRINK
Award-winning writing exploring good and evil
Fiction
THE HOUSE AT PEARL RIVER
Rights and awards
Rights Sold
Finland
France
Germany
Norway
Sweden
Film rights
Available
Awards
2025 – Winner of Crimetime Awards, Debut of the Year
2024 – Nominated for Svenska Deckarakademin’s Debut of the Year award
2025 – Nominated for Book of the Year, Bonniers Bokklubb
William Älgebrink lives in Jokkmokk in the far North of Sweden where he is a writer and filmmaker, and works in communication. The House at Pearl River, winner of Debut of the Year at the Crimetime Awards 2025 and nominated for the Swedish Crime Academy’s Debut Award, is his first novel.
When he is not writing fiction or scripts, William is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of the horror magazine Makaber. He has attended the creative writing course at Jakobsberg Folkhögskola, as well as the Story MasterClass screenwriting course on the island of Gotland.
In 2020, William was awarded the Luleå Bok & Bild short story prize, and in 2023 he wrote and directed the short film Så låt sorgen komma. He is currently writing his second novel.
What does the setting of your debut novel, the ancient forests outside Jokkmokk, mean to you and your writing?
It is a rewarding environment to write about, definitely. We are talking about beautiful, largely untouched natural habitats, which I hope it will remain unspoiled for many years to come. But there is also something about the darkness up here. As soon as darkness descends, I find myself believing in and imagining anything, even though I’m normally a rational thinker. I live in Jokkmokk, and up here sunlight is in short supply during the winter months. In the novel, it is dark almost all the time – and I don’t think that’s just because my creativity thrives in the dark, but because it felt like the storyline of the novel demanded it. It needed a fathomless backdrop.
How did the plot for your debut novel The House at Pearl River come to you?
I had long harboured a kind of nagging irritation towards the true crime genre and I wanted to come to terms with that feeling. At the same time, I was reading about a mental illness, Cotard’s syndrome, and instantly felt that would be something interesting to write about. And then, suddenly one evening, an image formed in my mind of a boy eating gummy bears in an unfamiliar house. That’s when something in me clicked, I simply had to write the story to find out what would happen to him.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
I am a filmmaker, but that too involves writing. So, when I’m not writing, I like to do one of the following: read (preferably graphic novels), watch films (preferably horror), listen to music (preferably Kendrick Lamar), or play video games (preferably Hades).
Bibliography
2026/7 – Svart Dahlia, suspense/ thriller
2024 – The House at Pearl River (Huset vid Pärlälvens slut), suspense/thriller
Author photo
Carl-Johan Utsi. For photo rights please contact the photographer at cj@utsi.se