Danish Academy is an independent organisation founded in 1960 by a circle of Danish intellectuals "to promote Danish esprit and language, especially within the field of literature". It has up to 20 members, currently 18, and is based at Rungstedlund, the former home of author

Karen Blixen Baroness Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke (born Dinesen; 17 April 1885 – 7 September 1962) was a Danish author who wrote works in Danish and English. She is also known under her pen names Isak Dinesen, used in English-speaking countrie ...

who was one of the original members. The Academy runs a number of annual literary prizes including most notably its Grand Prize.

History

Danish Academy was founded on 28 November 1960 at the initiative of the author

Karl Bjarnhof Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austrian ...

and the art historian

Christian Elling Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

with originally 12 members. Apart from Bjarnhof and Elling, they were

Kjeld Abell Kjeld Abell (25 August 1901 – 5 March 1961) was a Danish playwright, screenwriter, and theatrical designer. Born in Ribe, Denmark, Abell's first designs were seen in ballets directed by George Balanchine at Copenhagen's Royal Danish Theatre an ...

, Hans Brix,

Thorkild Bjørnvig Thorkild Strange Bjørnvig (; 2 February 1918, Aarhus, Denmark – 5 March 2004, Samsø) was a Danish author and poet. Overview Bjørnvig studied literature at the University of Aarhus and his prize winning MA thesis (1947) was about Rainer Maria ...

, H.C. Branner,

Agnes Henningsen Agnes Kathinka Malling Henningsen (18 November 1868 – 21 April 1962) was a Danish writer and an activist for sexual freedom. Her writings were centred on love and sex, as was her own life. Biography Henningsen was born on the Skovsbo estate i ...

, Tom Kristensen,

Jacob Paludan Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jac ...

, Paul V. Rubow and

Knud Sønderby Knut (Norwegian and Swedish), Knud (Danish), or Knútur (Icelandic) is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is used whi ...

. On 28 February 1961 the number was increased to 16 and in 1964 it was changed to a maximum of 20.

Jens Smærup Sørensen Jens may refer to: * Jens (given name), a list of people with the name * Jens (surname), a list of people * Jens, Switzerland, a municipality * 1719 Jens, an asteroid See also * Jensen (disambiguation) * Jenssi Joensuu (; krl, Jovensuu; ) i ...

succeeded Jørn Lund as secretary in 2006.

Members

Current members

* Benny Andersen *

Torben Brostrøm Torben is a Danish variant of the given name Torbjörn. People named Torben include: *Torben Betts (born 1968), English playwright and screenwriter *Torben Boye (born 1966), Danish former footballer *Torben Frank (born 1968), Danish former footbal ...

Suzanne Brøgger Suzanne Preis Brøgger Zeruneith (born 18 November 1944 in open) is a Danish writer, a novelist, poet and journalist. Her first book ''Fri os fra kærligheden'' has been translated into c. 20 languages. Since 1997 she has been a member of the Danis ...

Klaus Høeck Klaus is a German, Dutch and Scandinavian given name and surname. It originated as a short form of Nikolaus, a German form of the Greek given name Nicholas. Notable persons whose family name is Klaus *Billy Klaus (1928–2006), American basebal ...

Ida Jessen Ida Jessen (born 25 September 1964 in Sønderjylland) is a Danish author and translator who writes in both Danish and Norwegian. Jessen was nominated for the Nordic Council's Literature Prize and has won several awards for her work. She is a membe ...

* Pia Juul *

Per Kirkeby Per Kirkeby (1 September 1938 – 9 May 2018) was a Danish painter, poet, film maker and sculptor. Biography By the time Kirkeby completed a masters degree in arctic geology at the University of Copenhagen in 1964, he was already part of the ...

Svend Åge Madsen Svend Åge Madsen ( born 2 November 1939) is a Danish novelist. He studied mathematics before he began writing fiction. His novels are generally philosophical and humorous. Several of his works have been made into films in Denmark. His writings ...

Peter Laugesen Peter Laugesen (born 5 March 1942 in Copenhagen) is a Danish poet and playwright and was member of the Situationist International. Peter Laugesen lives in Aarhus and he graduated from Aarhus Cathedral School in 1961 and trained as a typograph ...

* Jørn Lund * Astrid Saalbach *

* Frederik Stjernfelt *

Pia Tafdrup Pia Tafdrup (born 29 May 1952 in Copenhagen) is a Danish writer; primarily a poet, she has also written a novel and two plays, as well as works for radio. She made her literary debut in 1981 and has till now published 17 collections of poetry. ...

Søren Ulrik Thomsen Søren Ulrik Thomsen (born 8 May 1956) is a Danish poet. His debut was ''City Slang'', 1981. Life Søren Ulrik Thomsen was born in 1956 in Kalundborg. He grew up in Store Heddinge, Stevns, south of Copenhagen, where he went to school together ...

Poul Erik Tøjner Poul Erik Tøjner (born 25 February 1959) is a Danish museum director and art critic. Since 2000 he has been director of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark. Biography Tøjner studied philosophy (1981) and Nordic philology (19 ...

Per Øhrgaard Per is a Latin preposition which means "through" or "for each", as in per capita. Per or PER may also refer to: Places * IOC country code for Peru * Pér, a village in Hungary * Chapman code for Perthshire, historic county in Scotland Math ...

Former members

* F.J. Billeskov Jansen *

Jørgen Gustava Brandt Jørgen is a Danish, Norwegian, and Faroese masculine given name cognate to George People with the given name Jørgen * Jørgen Aall (1771–1833), Norwegian ship-owner and politician * Jørgen Andersen (1886–1973), Norwegian gymnast * Jørgen ...

* Mogens Brøndsted *

Inger Christensen Inger Christensen (16 January 1935 – 2 January 2009) was a Danish poet, novelist, essayist and editor. She is considered the foremost Danish poetic experimentalist of her generation. Life and work Born in the town of Vejle, on the eastern J ...

* Paul Diderichsen *

Otto Gelsted Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

Elsa Gress Elsa Judith Elisa Gress (17 January 1919 – 18 July 1988) was a Danish essayist, novelist and dramatist. In Denmark, she is remembered above all for her essays. Biography Born in Frederikshavn, Gress was brought up in Ordrup where her father lost ...

Uffe Harder Uffe may refer to: * Uffe (given name), a list of people with the given name * Klettenberger Mühlgraben, formerly also called Uffe, a river of Thuringia, Germany * Uffe (Wieda) The Uffe is a river in the states Lower Saxony and Thuringia, Germa ...

William Heinesen Andreas William Heinesen (15 January 1900 – 12 March 1991) was a poet, novel writer, short story writer, children's book writer, composer and painter from the Faroe Islands. His writing The Faroese capital Tórshavn is always the centre o ...

Poul Henningsen Poul Henningsen (9 September 1894 – 31 January 1967) was a Danish author, critic, architect, and designer. In Denmark, where he often is referred to simply as PH, he was one of the leading figures of the cultural life of Denmark between the Worl ...

Sven Holm Sven Holm (13 April 1940 – 11 May 2019) was a Danish author and playwright. Holm graduated from Herlufsholm School in 1958. His first short story collection, ''Den store fjende'', was published in 1961. In 1974, Holm was awarded the Grand Prize ...

* Erik Knudsen * Sven Møller Kristensen * K.E. Løgstrup *

Leif Panduro Leif Thormod Panduro (18 April 1923 – 16 January 1977) was a Danish writer, novelist, short story writer, and dramatist. Life A dentist by profession, he began in his thirties to write stories about people who can't conform to society's rule ...

Steen Eiler Rasmussen Steen Eiler Rasmussen, Hon. FAIA (9 January 1898 – 19 June 1990) was a Danish architect and urban planner who was a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, and a prolific writer of books and poetry. He was made a Royal Designer ...

Klaus Rifbjerg Klaus Rifbjerg (15 December 1931 – 4 April 2015) was a Danish writer. He authored more than 170 novels, books and essays. In 1965 he co-produced the film '' 4x4'' which was entered into the 4th Moscow International Film Festival. Biography Ri ...

* Ole Sarvig *

Tage Skou-Hansen Tage Skou-Hansen (12 February 1925 – 11 November 2015) was a Danish writer, editor and scholar. Overview Born in the town of Fredericia, Tage Skou-Hansen graduated from Marselisborg Gymnasium in Aarhus and became a student of history of liter ...

* Villy Sørensen * Ole Wivel *

Erik Aalbæk Jensen Erik Aalbæk Jensen (19 August 1923, Thy, Denmark – 30 September 1997) was a Danish writer and Lutheran minister who was awarded both the Danish Critics Prize for Literature and the Søren Gyldendal Prize for his works, most notably '' ...

Awards

* Grand Prize of the Danish Academy (Akademiets store Pris) – First time given in 1961. Currently (2012) DKK 300,000 *Selskabet for de skiønne og nyttige Videnskabers Pris – First time given in 1968. Currently (2012) DKK 10,000. * Otto Gelsted Prize – First time given in 1972. Currently (2012) DDK 65,000. *

Kjeld Abell Prize The Kjeld Abell Prize is a Danish cultural award which is handed every second or third year to a person, who has made a great effort for Danish theatre or film. The prize is handed by the Danish Academy, who runs the Kjeld Abell Memorial Foundat ...

– First time given in 1976, handed every second or third year. , DKK 50,000. *

Klaus Rifbjerg's Debutant Prize Klaus Rifbjerg's Debutant Prize (Danish: Klaus Rifbjergs debutantpris for lyrik) was founded in 1983 by Danish author Klaus Rifbjerg, it is awarded every second year to a poet debutant, who has published his or her first collection with poems withi ...

– Founded in 1983 by the writer

. Given for the first time in 1984. It is handed every second year to a poet who has published his or her first collection with the last two years, written in Danish, Faroese or Greenlandic. Currently DDK. 10,000. *

Beatrice Prize The Beatrice Prisen was founded in 1983 by Birthe and Paul Beckett. The prize is awarded annually by the Danish Academy, it is currently DKK 50,000. The prize is handed to an author who writes either lyrics or prose, and whose "published books alr ...

(Beatrice-prisen) - Founded in 1983 by Birthe and Paul Beckett. First time handed in 1984. Currently DDK. 50,000. *Translator's Prize of the Danish Academy (Akademiets oversætterprisen) - First time handed in 1988. Currently DKK. 50,000. * Hvass Prize (Hvass-prisen) - Has been handed three times: 1997, 1999 and 2001 after agreement with the Hvass Foundation. The prize was DKK. 50,000. * Silas Prize (Silas-prisen) - Founded in 1999 by author Cecil Bødker. Handed for the first time in 2001. It is to be handed to a notable children's book writer every second year. The prize is currently 100,000. *The Foundation's Medal (Selskabets Medalje) - Can be given from time to time for a special acknowledgement by the Selskabet til de skønne og nyttige Videnskabers Forfremmelse. It has been handed five times from 1968 to 2006. * Karen Blixen Medal (Karen Blixen Medaljen) - Founded in 1984, to be handed for the first time on the 100-year birthday of Karen Blixen. It has been handed to seven (from 1985–2012) non-Danish writers as a special acknowledgement.Danskeakademi.dk
BLIXEN-MEDALJEN

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Cultural organizations based in Denmark Organizations established in 1960 1960 establishments in Denmark Danish culture