VIGDIS HJORTH

Vigdis Hjorth (b. 1959) writes existential books about people’s lives and choices, and she has a keen eye for current issues in contemporary society.

She made her debut in 1983 with the children's book Pelle-Ragnar i den gule gården (Pelle-Ragnar in the Yellow House), for which she received the Norwegian Cultural Council's debutant prize. Her second book, Jørgen + Anne er sant (Jørgen + Anne Forever), earned her the Critics' Prize. Her breakthrough as an adult fiction author came with the novel Drama med Hilde (Drama with Hilde) in 1987. In the summer of 2006, readers of Dagbladet voted Om bare (If Only) from 2001 as one of the most important novels of the past 25 years.

With Hjulskift (Wheel Change) in 2007, Snakk til meg (Talk to Me) in 2010, Tredve dager i Sandefjord (Thirty Days in Sandefjord) in 2011, Leve posthornet! (Long Live the Posthorn!) in 2012, and Et norsk hus (A House in Norway) in 2014, she has firmly established herself as a fearless political author.

Her major breakthrough came with Arv og miljø (Will and Testament) in 2016, which became both a favorite among critics and a major commercial success. The book was nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize, the National Book Award (USA), and the Millions Best Translated Book Award (UK), and won the Bookseller's Prize and the Critics' Prize in Norway.

Er mor død (Is Mother Dead) in 2020 received sparkling reviews and was nominated for the Brage Prize and the Subjekt Prize. The novel was also nominated for the Critics' Prize, the Youth Critics' Prize, and the Nordic Council Literature Prize. In 2023, Is Mother Dead was nominated for the prestigious Booker International Prize. Hjorth then became the third Norwegian author ever to be nominated for the Booker Prize. The prize is one of the most prestigious literary awards in the English-speaking world. In 2023, Gjentakelsen (The Repetition) was published, which was nominated for the Brage Prize and the Bookseller's Prize in the same year.