Karl Stig-Erland "Stieg" Larsson was a Swedish journalist and writer. He is best known for writing the "Millennium trilogy" of crime novels, which were published posthumously. Larsson lived much of his life in Stockholm and worked there in the field of journalism and as an independent researcher of right-wing extremism.
He was the second best-selling author in the world for 2008, behind Khaled Hosseini. Sales for the series had reached 73 million copies worldwide by the end of 2012, and the books continue to sell well today. By December 2011, his "Millennium series" had sold 65 million copies; its last part, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, became the most sold book in the United States in 2010 according to Publishers Weekly.