Roy Jacobsen

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Roy Jacobsen (26 December 1954 – 18 October 2025) was a Norwegian novelist and short-story writer. Born in Oslo, he made his publishing début in 1982 with the short-story collection Fangeliv (Prison Life), which won Tarjei Vesaas' debutantpris. He 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: 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 was twice shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award.

Life and career

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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 for 35 days. He was subsequently convicted of among other things weapons offences and theft, and given a six-month suspended sentence.[1]

He held a number of occupations, even after his debut as a writer in 1982. From 1990 he was a full-time author. Between 1979 and 1986 he lived at his mother's homestead at Solfjellsjøen in Dønna Municipality in the northern Norwegian county of Nordland, and both his mother's background and his own upbringing in Groruddalen were central themes of his breakthrough novel Seierherrene in 1991.[citation needed] He was a member of the Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature.[2]

Jacobsen lived in Oslo in the later decades of his life. He died from complications of surgery on 18 October 2025, at the age of 70.[3]

Bibliography

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  • 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

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References

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  1. ^ Nordseth, Pål (20 May 2015). "Var ungdomskriminell: Roy Jacobsen satt 35 døgn på enecelle som 16-åring". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Det Norske Akademi for Sprog og Litteratur" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2009.
  3. ^ Forfatter Roy Jacobsen er død. NRK
  4. ^ Iversen, Vidar. "Cappelenprisen". In Bolstad, Erik (ed.). Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  5. ^ "Gyldendalprisen til Hanne Ørstavik". Gyldendal. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  6. ^ "Awards: International IMPAC Dublin Literary; Melissa Nathan". Shelf Awareness. 12 June 2009. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  7. ^ "Israeli comic novel up for International Booker Prize". BBC. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  8. ^ "Awards: Graywolf Press Africa; International Dublin Literary". Shelf Awareness. 6 April 2018. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
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Awards
Preceded by Recipient of the Cappelen Prize
1987
(shared with Håvard Rem) 		Succeeded by