Entertainment

Author Stieg Larsson breaks 1m ebook sales record

The late Swedish journalist Stieg Larsson has become the first author in the world to sell more than one million ebooks on Amazon.

The crime writer, famed for his 'Milennium Trilogy', beat 'Twilight' novelist Stephenie Meyer and thriller veteran James Patterson to the title.

Amazon revealed this week that Larsson had become the first member of its new "Kindle Million Club" - reserved for authors whose work has sold over a million copies in Amazon's Kindle store in the US. So far he is the only author in the club.

The online retailer estimated that 'Kiss The Girls' author Patterson would be next as he already has 860,000 ebooks sold while Meyer, 'Sookie Stackhouse' creator Charlaine Harris and romantic suspense queen Nora Roberts have each sold more than 500,000 Kindle books in the US.

Russ Grandinetti, vice president of Kindle content stated: "Larsson's books have captivated millions of readers around the world and ignited a voracious interest in the lives of its main characters Lisbeth Salander and Michael Blomqvist.

Is the film any good?
Read our review of the
first in the epic trilogy.

"It's been exciting to have been a part of introducing so many people to these great books."

The novelist's three books – 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo', 'The Girl Who Played with Fire' and 'The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest' have become a media sensation. In addition to topping Amazon's Kindle bestseller list, they are also in the top 10 bestselling Kindle books of all time. They have also been made into three critically acclaimed Swedish films, with American remakes in the pipeline.

Cult classic reads
10 modern masterworks
you need on your shelf.

Iain Millar, marketing manager at Larsson's UK publisher Quercus, admitted that UK ebook sales for Larsson were "nowhere near the million mark, which is indicative of the extent to which the US ebook market is ahead of ours".

"Broadly, the print books are equally popular in the States and in the UK, but uptake of the electronic version is much higher there, primarily because a much higher proportion of book customers in the States own ebook devices," he said.

The news concerning Larsson's ebook sales follows Amazon's announcement last week that over the past three months it sold 143 Kindle books for every 100 hardback books.