Roy Jacobsen (born 26 December 1954) is a Norwegian

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and short-story writer. Born in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, he made his publishing début in 1982 with the short-story collection ''Fangeliv'' (Prison Life), which won Tarjei Vesaas' debutantpris. He has won the Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature and the Gyldendal Prize. Two of his novels have been nominated for The

Nordic Council's Literature Prize The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries, that meets "high literary and artistic standards". Established in 1962, the prize is awarded every year, and is worth ...

: ''Seierherrene'' (The Conquerors) in 1991 and ''Frost'' in 2004. Several of his books have been translated into English. ''The Unseen'' was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2017 and he has twice been shortlisted for the

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award (), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely ...

Life and career

Jacobsen grew up in a suburb of Oslo located in the Groruddalen valley. In his teens, Jacobsen was a member of the criminal " Årvoll gang". At age 16 he was arrested by the police and kept in

solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...

for 35 days. He was subsequently convicted of among other things weapons offences and theft, and given a six-month suspended sentence. He has held a number of occupations, even after his debut as a novelist in 1982. Since 1990 he has been a full-time author. From 1979 to 1986 he lived at his mother's homestead at Solfjellsjøen in Dønna Municipality in the northern Norwegian county of

Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...

, and both the background of his mother as well as his upbringing in Groruddalen were central themes of his breakthrough novel ''Seierherrene'' from 1991. He is a member of the

Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature The Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature (), commonly known as the Norwegian Academy, is a Norwegian learned body on matters pertaining to the modern Norwegian language in its Dano-Norwegian variety, now commonly known as Riksmål and Bo ...

. Jacobsen lives in

Bibliography

*''Fangeliv'' – short stories (1982) *''Hjertetrøbbel'' – novel (1984) *''Tommy'' – novel (1985) *''Det nye vannet'' – novel (1987) (English 1997: ''The new water'') *''Virgo'' – novel (1988) *''Det kan komme noen'' – short stories (1989) *''Ursula'' – barnebok (1990) *''Seierherrene'' – novel (1991) *''Fata Morgana'' – novel (1992) *''Den høyre armen'' – short stories (1994) *''Trygve Bratteli. En fortelling'' – biography of Trygve Bratteli (1995) *''Ismael'' – novel (1998) *''Grenser'' – novel (1999) (English 2015: ''Borders'') *''Fugler og soldater'' – short stories (2001) *''Det nye vinduet'' – short stories (2002) *''Frost'' – novel (2003) *''Hoggerne'' – novel (2005) (English 2007: ''The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles'') *''Marions slør'' – novel (2007) *''Vidunderbarn'' – novel (2009) (English 2011: ''Child Wonder'') *''De Usynlige'' – novel (2013) (English 2016: ''The Unseen'') *''Hvitt hav'' – novel (2015) (English 2019: ''White Shadow'') *''Rigels øyne'' – novel (2017) (English 2020: ''Eyes of the Rigel'') *''På randen av Vigeland'' – autobiography (2019) *''Mannen som elsket Sibir'' – novel (2019) *''Bare en mor'' – novel (2020) (English 2022: ''Just a Mother'') *''De uverdige'' – novel (2022)

Prizes

* Tarjei Vesaas' debutantpris 1982, for ''Fangeliv'' * Cappelen Prize 1987 * Notabeneprisen 1988 * Kritikerprisen 1989, for ''Det kan komme noen'' * Bokhandlerprisen 1991, for ''Seierherrene'' * Scheiblers legat 1991 * Ivar Lo-prisen 1994 * Oslo bys kunstnerpris 1994 * Riksmålsforbundets litteraturpris 2003 * Gyldendalprisen 2005 * Ungdommens kritikerpris 2006 *

shortlist 2009 for ''The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles'' * International Booker Prize shortlist 2017 (with translators Don Bartlett and Don Shaw) for ''The Unseen'' *

shortlist 2018 for ''The Unseen''

References

External links

Publisher's profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobsen, Roy 1954 births Living people Writers from Oslo 20th-century Norwegian novelists 21st-century Norwegian novelists Norwegian biographers Norwegian male biographers Gang members Norwegian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Norway Members of the Norwegian Academy Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature winners Norwegian male novelists 20th-century Norwegian male writers 21st-century Norwegian male writers