Åsne Seierstad

Åsne Seierstad (b. 1970) is one of Norway’s most widely read and critically acclaimed non-fiction writers. She made her literary debut with Med ryggen mot verden: Portretter fra Serbia (2000) and achieved international breakthrough with The Bookseller of Kabul (2002). The book spent more than a year on the bestseller lists of The New York Times in the United States and The Sunday Times in the United Kingdom.

De krenkede – historier fra Tsjetsjenia om Putins første store krig was published in 2007. One of Us (2013), about the 22 July terrorist attacks in Norway, received outstanding reviews both nationally and internationally. Seierstad was awarded the Brage Prize for To søstre (2016), which sold 200,000 copies in Norway alone. She was also nominated for the Brage Prize in the category of Best Non-Fiction Book for Afghanerne (2022). Seierstad has received several major awards, including the Norwegian Grand Prize for Journalism, the Norwegian Booksellers’ Prize, and the Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding.

Åsne Seierstad holds a Cand.mag. degree from the University of Oslo, where she studied Russian, Spanish, and the history of ideas. Her first articles were written from Russia, where she worked as a correspondent for Arbeiderbladet from 1993 to 1996. She has covered conflicts in Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria for Norwegian and international media. Her ninth book, Ufred – Russland fra innsiden, was published in September 2025.