"Shouldn't you write a book?"

Annika Norlin got that question about ten years ago in the literature program Babel. Now the book is here. She debuted with the short story collection I See Everything You Do, published by Weyler Publishers.

- For me, there is a two-part happiness, partly that I love the book, but then also that I never thought I would get it. So only it is a happiness in itself, says Annika Norlin.

Writes about touring

Annika Norlin, who is best known as an artist, released her debut album in 2005 under the name Hello Saferide, and has since become the queen of Swedish pop lyric. She has been praised several times, both as an artist and for her copywriting, including Grammys and the Evert Taube scholarship. Last year, she was also awarded the Swedish Radio Award for the radio novel "The Carpet".

One of the short stories in the new book is about a punk band on the roads.

- It is not about any of my bands, but on the other hand I have tried to capture some kind of feeling of what it feels like to be on tour. Since it can be quite tiring to tour I usually think about if I should stop doing it. I can imagine stopping on stage, but can't imagine stopping or going around in bus or train with people, says Annika Norlin.

Possessed by the forest

The stories take place in various places in northern Sweden, such as Umeå where Annika Norlin herself lives. Another recurring theme in the short story collection is the forest.

- I have been completely uninterested in the forest all my life even though I come from Jämtland. All of a sudden I became obsessed with being in the forest - I wanted to be there every day. You get a clear feeling that all things are equally worthwhile, says Annika Norlin and continues:

- The forest does not care about being human. A bird or a tree or an insect or a straw is equally worthwhile. You yourself are just a verb, you are not an adjective, but just exist.

See a longer interview in Babel, Sunday March 15 in SVT2 at 8 pm or on SVT Play.