Nils Johan Rud (24 July 1908 – 7 June 1993) was a Norwegian novelist, writer of

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

children's writer Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

, and a magazine editor. He is particularly known for his long-term period as editor of the magazine ''Arbeidermagasinet'' / ''Magasinet For Alle''.

Personal life

Nils Johan Rud was born in

Ringsaker Ringsaker () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Hedmarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Br ...

as the son of Mons Nilsen Rud and Emma Johanne Nergaard. He married Aase Gudlaug Hellum in 1934, and is the father of Jazz drummer Espen Rud. He died in

Asker Asker (), also called Asker proper (''Askerbygda'' or ''gamle Asker'' in Norwegian), is a district and former Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus, Norway, located approximately 20km southwest of Oslo. From 2020 it is part of the ...

in 1993.

Career

Rud published the children's book ''Gutter på skoggang'' in 1928, and continued writing children's books. In 1930 came ''Karsemne'', in 1931 ''Skaugumtrollet'', and ''Tusser og troll'' in 1934. He wrote ''Stifinner'' in 1935, and ''Et riktig mannfolk'' in 1936, all books for children. The book ''Alle tiders største'' was about sports, and Rud was involved as an administrator in the club IF Frisk Asker. His first novel was ''Vi skal ha et barn'' from 1933, while his breakthrough was ''Jeg er ingen proletar'' from 1935. Among his other novels were ''Oppfordring til dans'' (1957) and ''Eirene'' (1966). He wrote more than forty books during his career. His novel ''Ekko i det gamle tun'' from 1982 won first prize in a novel competition. His last book was the novel ''En fremmed i speilet'' from 1993. In addition to his novels Rud wrote a large number of short stories. Among his short story collections were ''Fri Jord'' from 1945, and ''Det var en lørdag aften'' from 1959. he was a recognized author, being a board member of the

Norwegian Authors' Union The Norwegian Authors' Union (, DnF) is an association of Norwegian authors. It was established in 1893 to promote Norwegian literature and protect Norwegian authors' professional and economic interests. DnF also works in solidarity with persecu ...

from 1936 to 1945. Before working in the press, Rud had a number of other jobs. He worked as an apprentice at a soda factory and a tailor's workshop, and as a gardener and salesman. From 1931 to 1932 he edited the local newspaper ''Asker Blad''. Rud then edited the magazine '' Arbeidermagasinet'' (later renamed ''Magasinet for Alle'') from 1932 to 1970. The magazine was especially noted for its literary quality and its promotion of the short story. As an editor of this magazine Rud read and commented on more than 100,000 manuscripts. Rud was awarded

Gyldendal's Endowment The Gyldendal Prize, formerly Gyldendal's Endowment, is a Norwegian literary prize awarded by the Norway, Norwegian publisher Gyldendal Norsk Forlag. Gyldendal's Endowment was awarded from 1934 to 1995. It was superseded by the Gyldendal Prize in ...

in 1947, and again in 1974. From 1961 he was given the state grant for artists. He received the

Dobloug Prize The Dobloug Prize (, ) is a literature prize awarded for Swedish and Norwegian fiction. The prize is named after Norwegian businessman and philanthropist Birger Dobloug (1881–1944) pursuant to his bequest. The prize sum is 4 * 150,000 Swedish crow ...

in 1979. He received the Arts Council Norway Honorary Award in 1987 and the Alf Prøysen memorial fund in 1988. He was decorated Knight, First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1971.

Selected works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rud, Nils Johan 1908 births 1993 deaths People from Ringsaker People from Asker Norwegian magazine editors Norwegian short story writers Norwegian children's writers Dobloug Prize winners 20th-century Norwegian novelists 20th-century Norwegian male writers