‘Millennium’ publisher launches Salander app

“The app further expands the Millennium world by adding new dimensions which give Stieg Larsson fans around the world an even richer reading experiences”, Eva Gedin, Publishing Director of Fiction at Norstedts Publishing Group, said in a statement.

The publisher hopes that by releasing of the app so close to the movie prèmiere will mean the two support each other’s launches.

The app will be sold for just under $5.

“Our primary aim isn’t to make money. Amid all the massive sales success it hasn’t really emerged that Norstedts has helped make it happen. This way we hope to retake the initiative and show that we are able to act on an international digital market,” said Klas Fjärstedt, Project Manager Digital Media at Norstedts Publishing Group to media trade paper Dagens Media.

The iPhone app builds on a new story, starting from the first Millennium book and the places that are featured in the novel.

“This is a new story that expands the universe of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series and adds a new layer to the hugely successful trilogy”, Norstedts said on its website.

According to the website, the user will visit fourteen locations from the book, through the eyes of a hit man with ties to “the Section”, in the hunt for Lisbeth Salander.

Each scene is told through a 2–3 minute reading and illustrated by a photograph from the actual location.

So far the Millennium trilogy has sold in 62 million copies worldwide. The book has been sold to 48 different countries and in the US alone, 3.4 million digital copies have been sold.

“Interest in the Millennium series and Stieg Larsson’s Stockholm continues to be massive, not least in the US,” Gedin said.

The app is illustrated by photographer Pieter ten Hoopen and read by Swedish actor Shanti Roney.

With the app, the publishers are hoping to conquer another market of avid Stieg Larsson fans.

“Developing this app has been exciting because this is a format that allows us to explore new creative ways of blending images, text and sound. Thanks to the high quality in every component, we’re able to give the user a strong sense of stepping right inside the Millennium world,” Fjärstedt said.