Shadow Name – the English Version of Skuggnamn

Welcome to the Shadow World – whether you found your way here by following a QR-code on a tiny, tiny book in Paris, or some other way!

This is the homepage of the award nominated Swedish dark urban fantasy novel Skuggnamn, and Shadow Name – its English translation set for release in the winter of 2025-2026.

I hope you will be on the lookout for it, and pick up a copy once it hits the shelves.

To keep updated, please follow Chris Smedbakken on Instagram (voeko) or Twitter (razumishin) – or get in touch at chris.smedbakken@skuggnamn.se

You can also find her collection of other English short stories and poems by visiting the site thesegrainsofsand.com

About Shadow Name

The story begins and ends on a deserted beach in Miami, from where a broken hitman magician thinks back on his troubled life one last time before ending it.

It then focuses on Marcus, a young man who commits a serious crime to save his sister – without knowing that there are witnesses.

Five days later, there’s a knock on his door – but it isn’t the law. Instead, it’s a stranger with a bloody diner knife and very specific demands for Marcus to meet if he doesn’t want it handed over to the police.

The man gives Marcus a new name and a one-way ticket to Umeå, a city in northern Sweden, where the elderly hitman Nicholas Wrede will ruthlessly prepare him for a task that requires him to become someone else.

The shadows deepen even more when an unexpected rooftop encounter blurs the line between magic and reality. Who was she, the woman on the roof, and why can Marcus suddenly do things that defy all logic? Who are The Nameless and the Red King, and – most importantly – what is his own role to play in all this, before it is too late – and before his past catches up with him?

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Shadow Name is a novel for adult fans of fast paced, character driven urban fantasy and crime noir – including fans of role-playing games such as Mage: The Awakening from White Wolf. The Swedish version was released in June 2024, and has gotten a very positive reception – from both fantasy fans and readers of thrillers and crime fiction.

It has also been nominated for the prestigious award “Fantasy Debut Novel of the Year” by the Swedish literary community Fantasykammaren (The Fantasy Chamber). The winner will be announced in September.

About the Author

Chris Smedbakken is a Swedish journalist, English teacher and digital strategist who lives in the countryside with her little daughter. She has a background as a reporter at Aftonbladet, one of Sweden’s largest news outlets, and a deep passion for tabletop RPG and urban exploration.

Writing has always been a big part of her life, and many of her poems and short stories have been published in different magazines, anthologies and podcasts. She is hugely inspired by the works of Anne Rice, Leigh Bardugo and Lev Grossman, to name a few.

She was recently listed among the Power Women of the Year 2024 by the Swedish newspaper Arbetarbladet.

Contact information:

• Instagram: Voeko
• Twitter: Razumishin
• Email: chris.smedbakken@skuggnamn.se
• Alternative homepage with fiction in English: Thesegrainsofsand.com