World Literary Awards

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Roy Jacobsen

ロイ・ヤコブセン

Roi Yakobusen

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1954-12-26 (Oslo)
Died
2025-10-18 (Oslo) age 70
Nationality
Norway
Languages
Norwegian
Residence History
Oslo suburb (Groruddalen) → Solfjellsjøen, Dønna Municipality, Nordland county → Oslo

Career

Occupations
novelist, short-story writer
Active Years
1982-2025
Memberships
Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature
Nominations
Nordic Council's Literature Prize nomination (Seierherrene, 1991), Nordic Council's Literature Prize nomination (Frost, 2004), International Booker Prize shortlist (The Unseen, 2017), International Dublin Literary Award shortlist (The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles, 2009), International Dublin Literary Award shortlist (The Unseen, 2018)

Awards

Tarjei Vesaas' debutantpris
1982
Work: Prison Life
Result: 受賞
Cappelen Prize
1987
Result: 受賞
Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature
1989
Result: 受賞
Bokhandlerprisen
1991
Work: The Conquerors
Result: 受賞
Gyldendal Prize
2005
Organization: Gyldendal
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Conquerors

1991 novel

Breakthrough novel about Oslo suburb and mother's background

suburban lifefamily
Translations
  • English translation available

Frost

2003 novel

Nominated for Nordic Council Literature Prize

The Unseen

2013 novel

Story of a family on a remote island. Shortlisted for International Booker Prize

isolationsurvival
Translations
  • English translation (Don Bartlett, Don Shaw)

Bibliography

  • Prison Life
  • The New Water
  • The Conquerors
  • Borders
  • Frost
  • The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles
  • Child Wonder
  • The Unseen
  • White Shadow
  • Eyes of the Rigel
  • Just a Mother

Translations of Works

  • Translated into English and several other languages

Style & Themes

Literary Style
realismdetailed psychological portrayal
Recurring Motifs
suburban lifefamily relationsisolation

Health

  • complications of surgery
    2025
    cause of death
  • solitary confinement
    16歳時 (35日間)
    related to juvenile criminal history

Legacy

Important Norwegian author with multiple awards and international recognition

Trivia

  • Member of Årvoll gang as teen, arrested and solitary confinement 35 days at 16
  • Convicted of weapons offenses and theft, 6-month suspended sentence
  • Full-time author from 1990