In English
Bio
Dagmar Winther was born in 1980 and graduated from the Danish School of Journalism in 2004.
She has worked as an intern at the Birmingham Post & Mail and for the European Commission in Brussels
before settling down as a teacher of journalism at Rønde Højskole, a Danish Folk High School ( a very Danish phenomenon which is part of the non-formal education system in Denmark). She still does the occasional freelance job and is also a singer, mostly of classical music.
Kenneth Degnbol was born in 1972. He has a master’s degree in music and history from the University of Aarhus, and spent four years as an organization consultant before he began working at Rønde Højskole in 2004, alongside Dagmar, teaching philosophy and music. He is now a headmaster at Kalø Højskole. He is a skilled musician and pianist as well.
Dagmar and Kenneth were married in 2015 and live with their children in a small village in Djursland.
About "The Preacher"
The Preacher is our writing debut. Upon completing it, we submitted our manuscript in English, making us one of only a handful of non-native English speakers to do so successfully. It was picked up by top UK literary agent Ali Gunn and subsequently sold to Little, Brown Book Group for international publication in November 2013.
The Preacher is a story about two very different men’s efforts to find the person who has left them both bereaved. Thorkild is a small-town vicar. One morning he finds his wife Karen shot and killed. Her death sends him off on a journey of discovery in his late wife’s life – a life which he finds that he has lost touch with. Frank is a salesman who lives alone on his own terms when his sister, the loner Sanne, is shot and killed. Frank also dives into his sister’s life and discovers dimensions he had no idea she had. He is consumed by the thought of revenge. Thea Krogh is the female police investigator who tries to unravel the mystery of the two murders. What is the motive and the connection between the two women? Who is the master manipulator, playing a deadly game? Do we ever really know each other?
The Preacher explores love, guilt, shame and forgiveness, the Scandinavian small-town society, the community and the solitude. Mainly, the idea was generated from a fascination of how a narrative influences the human life: How do we see ourselves, how do others see us, can we ever really know each other and is it possible to lose touch with someone even when you see them every day?
The first english review:
“This really is a fantastic, brooding dark Scandi crime novel from this new writing duo and long may they continue with their efforts. I loved the characters and the atmosphere that has been created in this novel and it is easy to picture in your mind as you read. This is one of the best crime debut novels that I have read!”
-Paul Diggett, reviewer
Degnbol & Winther: Q&A
Writing can be like making music – why shouldn’t someone else join in? The new Danish writing duo on working together, plotting a novel in Romania, surviving motherhood and losing a contact lens on the most important day of your life.
How do you write two people together – isn’t that impossible?
No, it’s not. But I guess you’re very lucky to meet someone who brings something completely different to the table – that feeling that what you’re writing is improved by someone else. We usually say that Kenneth puts up the Christmas tree and Dagmar decorates it. Kenneth’s writing has pace, energy and drive – Dagmar likes to fine-tune the dialogue and details.
Some feel that writing duo’s are too calculated, too much of a concept. We don’t think that at all. You can compare it to making music. You can play the most beautiful tune on a piano – and then maybe someone will pick up a drum and join in. It will no longer be a solo performance – but is the music somehow less impressive?
Tell us about The Preacher – what’s it about?
Without revealing too much it’s about how we as people can lose touch completely with the ones we care about. It happens so subtly, maybe without us even realising that the people in our lives leave their fixed positions – and then the question is how we respond to that.
We love a blood-stained serial killer crime novel as much as anyone – but with The Preacher we wanted to examine what happens when completely ordinary people are placed under pressure. So we dialled down on the blood and turned up the psychological aspect.
What characters do we meet in The Preacher?
It takes place in the little, fictitious village in East Jutland, Roslinge – a small place with all the back-stabbing, gossip and peculiar people you find in such villages. The vicar Thorkild Christensen lives here peacefully with his wife Karen until one day she is found murdered. And Thorkild cannot understand who would want to hurt his anonymous, quiet wife.
We also meet Frank, who sells office supplies and leads a bachelor’s life in North Jutland. One day, his sister Sanne, a bit of a loner, is found shot. Frank is shocked as well – his sister didn’t know anyone and lived a secluded life.
The two men set out on a hunt for an explanation. So does detective Thea Krogh, who is a complicated character. She has chosen a life without a husband and children, but with a long-term affair with her married colleague Kristian. Together, they try to solve the mystery before someone else dies…
Tell us about yourselves and why you became writers
We are colleagues and teachers at Rønde Folk High School in the middle of the lovely Djursland, stuck in the same small-town environment we’ve used in The Preacher.
We play music together, Kenneth plays the piano and Dagmar is a singer.
We are complete couch potatoes and have our happiest moments in the sofa watching Breaking Bad. Except for when we’re writing, of course.
The idea of writing together came up during a trip to Romania in 2007. We had to do something on the long, boring bus rides. And suddenly we found ourselves plotting a crime novel. Not the one that turned in to The Preacher, though…but when we got back to Denmark we decided to try and write together.
How did the idea for The Preacher come about?
That’s a good question! We had puzzled with different scenarios when all of a sudden we came across the Danish newspaper Politiken’s crime novel contest. And suddenly the idea was there, and we spent a hectic day sketching it. And then we just carried on. Dagmar had just become a mum and was bored like crazy on maternity leave, so she was happy to bury herself in a new world while the baby sat in her bouncy chair.
Why did you decide to publish in the UK first?
The Danish book market is tiny and very competitive. So somehow we found the energy to try something completely crazy: translate the novel into English and try to get a UK publisher. And then we succeeded! We were just ecstatic standing in front of Little, Brown’s impressive offices in London and realising that our wildest dream was coming true. We felt like superstars – until we found ourselves on the Ryanair flight back home and Dagmar had dropped a contact lens and looked like a raccoon with mascara running down her face. Less glamorous.
Which crime writers inspire you?
Many, and very different ones! We devour crime novel ourselves: the great Danes like Sara Blaedel, Peter Høegh and Jussi Adler Olsen, and many international ones: the French Jean-Christophe Grangé and Fred Vargas, the Americans Patricia Cornwell, Michael Connelly and Karin Slaughter, and our English colleagues Mark Billingham, Val McDermid and Robert Galbraith ( JK. Rowling).
Why has Scandinavian crime fiction become so popular?
Many reasons for that. First of all, it’s really good! We have so many great crime writers in Scandinavia who have paved the way for us and established Denmark as a strong crime brand. We are so very grateful for that. And then the Danes make great TV, and shows like The Killing and Borgen have helped more people discover this beautiful, gloomy and intense Nordic Noir genre
A tribute to Ali Gunn
Agent extraordinaire
February 2014
We are absolutely devastated to learn of the death of our amazingly brilliant literary agent Ali Gunn, who passed away on February 20th while vacationing in Switzerland.
And I try to imagine her there, in Switzerland.
I do not know who she was with, but knowing her I feel certain that she was in the company of friends, that she was laughing, drinking wine, that she was having a good time. I have never been around Ali when she wasn’t having a good time. Beautiful, with red lipstick, entering every room with confidence and the natural authority that comes with really knowing your trade and your strengths. And we would follow her, into taxis, into restaurants, into the fabulous offices of our dream publisher, with whom she secured us a contract, completely in awe.
Many of her authors had known her for many years. That was not the case for us. We only began our working relationship in 2011 when we were in the market for an agent. We were making enquiries, getting letters of rejection, letters of vague interest, requests for more chapters…and then the email from Ali, reading simply “ LOVE IT! Can you call me? Best and thanks, Ali.”
Those who knew her will know that for Ali, this was a relatively long email.
She had left a message on my voicemail as well. That enthusiastic voice, razor sharp, full of promise. That frightening energy. And the overwhelming kindness with which she treated us, complete newbies, explaining every detail of this new world we were entering.
I had hoped to know her for a lot longer. After all, when I asked how long you would normally stay with an agent, she said to me: “Oh, for life, darling.”
She flew us to London; we signed the contracts. I was so curious to see what she looked like. I had imagined her older, somehow, as if that level of clout, experience and connectedness belonged in an older woman. Google had not revealed much; she was also private, even secretive in a sense. And then she turned out to be young, fashionable, gorgeous, a strange mix of down-to-earth and high up in the skies.
I realise there are so many things I don’t know about her. But what she showed me was unlike any person I’ve ever met.
I tried to impress her with some literary quotes, it didn’t work. She was not easily impressed. (Before we met, I asked her if I should send photographs. “Sweetheart, it’s not a beauty contest,” she said.) She would talk about the literary scene that surrounded her with such humour, wit and sarcasm – but her love of literature, of the actual books was so present in everything she said. “I don’t care about intellect,” she said to me once. “I guess I just like the thought of some girl sitting on a bus, on her way to work, and getting out a book to read on the way. Just because she likes it and she likes to read.”
Ali made our dreams come true. She was wonderful and inspiring to work with, and she made us feel like royalty. For all her glamour, I will never forget the way she treated us – complete nobodies flying in from Denmark – and our book, and the way she spoke of her other authors with such pride.
She fought like a lion on our behalf and got us and our debut novel further than we could have ever imagined. She was a whirlwind experience and offered us one as well.
I would wish for every writer that they come across an agent like Ali. I am so sad that I don’t get to work with her any more. She was so talented and capable, and there was such a sense of adventure surrounding her; that anything was possible and she just might get you wherever you wanted to go.
Our thoughts are with her friends and family.