A Memoir on Life with Stieg Larsson

Last week, Publishers Weekly reported that an independent publisher, Seven Stories Press, has signed Eva Gabrielsson, the long-time companion of author Stieg Larsson, to a book contract.

Larsson who died six years ago last month was the best-selling author of the Millennium Trilogy which included The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.

Larsson and Gabrielsson had been together for 32 years, but never married. Six months before he died, he was offered a three-book contract with a Swedish publisher. When he died, because he and Gabrielsson had never married and he did not have a valid will, his estate--now estimated at $30 million--went to his father and brother.

Gabrielsson's relationship with her lover's family has been stormy. After Larsson's death, they offered to give her Stieg's half of their apartment if she would turn over his laptop, which supposedly held an unfinished fourth novel. She refused to give in to what she called "extortion." Bad press led to the family finally signing over Larsson's half of the apartment.

According to Publishers Weekly:

The memoir, which will be published in French, Swedish and Norwegian in January 2011, recounts Larsson and Gabrielsson’s 30-years together, traces sources of episodes and characters in [Larsson's books], discusses Larsson’s sudden death in 2004, and describes the ongoing saga of the lost fourth book. It’s sure to be a huge seller among ravenous Larsson fans.