It became a best-seller in Sweden and was subsequently translated into 30 languages[2] and made into a film in 2004 by Reza Bagher.

Niemi was born in Tärnaby but grew up in the bilingual town of Pajala in the Torne valley (Tornedal), part of Lapland, inside the Arctic Circle and on the Finnish border.

He moved to Luleå to train in engineering and telecommunications, and stayed there for twenty years until returning to Pajala.

He worked for some time as a supply teacher, and made his publishing debut with the poetry book 'Näsblod under högmässan' (Nosebleed during High Mass)' in 1988.

He has also written Svålhålet (Astro truckers), Kyrkdjävulen (The church devil), Mannen som dog som en lax (The man who died like a salmon), Blodsugarna (The bloodsuckers), and Koka Björn (To Cook a Bear) which has been sold for translation to fifteen territories.