Johan Egerkrans

Johan Egerkrans (born 1978^[1]) is a Swedish illustrator and author, mainly of Fantasy, folklore, and Palaeontology. Having worked as a children's book illustrator since 2005, he achieved great success with his debut as a writer, Nordiska väsen, in 2013. He has been called "a John Bauer in the 21st century".^[2][3]

Johan Egerkrans
Johan Egerkrans during the Göteborg Book Fair in September 2014
Born	22 March 1978
Website	https://www.johanegerkrans.com

Egerkrans has described himself as interested in mythology and animals from a young age.^[2]

His first book as writer and illustrator, Nordiska Väsen, was published in 2013, and describes creatures from Nordic folklore. He has subsequently released other books, including Nordiska gudar,^[1] De odöda,^[4] and Drakar.^[3][5] He has also illustrated books by J. R. R. Tolkien,^[6][7] Astrid Lindgren,^[8] and Isaac Bashevis Singer.

In 2020, Vaesen was adapted into a table-top roleplaying game^[9] by Free League Publishing. Egerkrans won awards for Best Cover Art, Best Interior Art, and Best Monster at the 2021 ENNIE Awards.^[10] Egerkrans also illustrated the new edition of the Swedish classic roleplaying game Drakar & Demoner/Dragonbane.^[11]

In 2021, Egerkrans was awarded the Elsa Beskow Plaque for his body of work.^[2][12]

Select bibliography

• Nordiska Väsen, 2013, ISBN 978-91-32-16143-8 ; translated into English as Vaesen : spirits and monsters of Scandinavian folklore, 2017, ISBN 978-91-32-18194-8
• Nordiska gudar, 2016, ISBN 9789132164118 ; translated into English as Norse gods, 2017, ISBN 978-91-32-19814-4
• De Odöda, 2018, ISBN 9789132201776 ; translated into English as The Undead, 2018, ISBN 978-91-32-20801-0
• Drakar, 2021, ISBN 9789132213427 ; translated into English as Dragons, 2021, ISBN 978-91-32-21474-5

References

1. Harrison, Dick (27 August 2016). "Nordiska gudar – En coffee table-bok som hade glatt Nordens vikingar". Svenska Dagbladet. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
2. Zandi, Elza (2021-09-09). "Grattis Johan Egerkrans som tilldelas Elsa Beskow-plaketten". Svensk biblioteksförening (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-01-19.
3. Paulsson, Johanna (20 November 2021). "Johan Egerkrans tar drakarna på allvar". Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
4. "Tecknaren Johan Egerkrans har samlat världens odöda i den hiskeliga faktaboken "De odöda"". Kulturnytt. Sveriges Radio. 30 October 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
5. Mellqvist, Gabriel (9 December 2021). "Johan Egerkrans: »Jag dras alltid till det läskiga«". Dagens Industri. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
6. "Tolkiens klassiker får nya omslag – Norstedts bokförlag". Norstedts.se (in Swedish). 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
7. "Tolkien Collector's Guide, Artist Profile – Johan Egerkrans". Retrieved 3 April 2023.
8. Hallhagen, Erika (11 October 2020). "Monstertecknare ger nytt liv åt "Mio min Mio"". Svenska Dagbladet. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
9. "The Haunting Beauty Of Johan Egerkrans' Art".
10. "Congratulations to all of the 2021 ENNIE Award Nominees and Winners!". ennie-awards.com. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
11. "Free League Announces Dragonbane RPG at Gen Con".
12. "Johan Egerkrans får Elsa Beskow-plaketten".