Toril Brekke (born 24 June 1949) 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 ...

, writer of short stories, children's writer,

biographer Biographers are authors who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own biography. Biographers Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome ...

, translator and

literary critic A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...

Early and personal life

Brekke was 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 ...

as a daughter of the poet Paal Brekke and painter Bjørg Rasmussen. She was married to Martin Indregard from 1972 to 1982, and their son Kjetil Indregard is also a writer. She was married to professor Jon Bing from 1988 to 1998. She worked at a bread factory, and later as a typographer, and has been a full-time writer since 1982. She was a member of the Workers' Communist Party during the early 1970s, but later renounced communism.

Literary career

Brekke made her literary debut in 1976 with the novel ''Jenny har fått sparken'' ('Jenny Has Been Fired'), about factory women's fight against their employer. ''Den gylne tonen'' (1980) is about women's situation in the society, while ''Filmen om Chatilla'' (1983) is from the Lebanon conflicts. Her novel ''Granitt'' (1994) is a family chronicle, the novel ''Ibsens røde lykt'' (1996) is about sexual assault, while ''Sara'' (2001) and ''Brostein'' (2003) are historical novels. She has issued the short stories collections ''Jakarandablomsten'' (1985), ''Blindramme'' (1997)and ''Enkenes paradis'' (2000). Among her books for children and youth are ''Gutten i regnet'' (1978), ''Mannen som hatet fotball'' (1987) and ''Roser fra tribunene'' (2000). She has written a biography of her father, ''Paal Brekke. En kunstner. Et liv'' (2002). Brekke received the Mads Wiel Nygaards Endowment in 1999. She was awarded the

Riksmål Society Literature Prize The Riksmål Society Literature Prize (''Riksmålsforbundets litteraturpris'') is awarded annually by the '' Riksmålsforbundet'' for the outstanding publication in riksmål. The prize was awarded until 2002 by the ''Oslo and Bærum Riksmål League ...

in 2000. She was awarded the Amalie Skram Prize in 2004. She was leader of ''Nordnorsk Forfatterlag'' from 1979 to 1980, of the Norwegian Authors' Union from 1987 to 1991 and of the Norwegian branch of

International PEN PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internati ...

from 1992 to 1997. She was a board member for the National Theatre from 1990 to 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brekke, Toril 1949 births Living people 20th-century Norwegian novelists 21st-century Norwegian novelists Norwegian children's writers Norwegian biographers Norwegian literary critics Norwegian women non-fiction writers Writers from Oslo Norwegian women novelists Norwegian women biographers Norwegian women children's writers Norwegian women literary critics 21st-century Norwegian women writers 20th-century Norwegian women writers