Kjell Askildsen

Kjell Askildsen studied at University of Oslo. The recorded working language is Norwegian and German. The field of work recorded is creative and professional writing and Norwegian literature. Franz Kafka, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Ernest Hemingway are recorded as an influence. Works named in the authority record are Thomas F’s Last Notes to the Public. Distinctions recorded are Mads Wiel Nygaard's Endowment, Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature, Riksmål Society Literature Prize and Aschehoug Prize.

• Born — 30 September 1929 • Birthplace — Mandal, Norway • Died — 23 September 2021 • Occupation — Writer • Language — Norwegian • Period — 1953–2021 • Genre — Short stories, novels • Notable Works — Thomas F's Last Notes to the Public • Spouse — Gina Giertsen • Awards — The Swedish Academy's Nordic Prize (2009) and others

Askildsen was born in Mandal as a son of bailiff and politician Arne Askildsen (1898–1982) and Aasta Håverstad (1898–1978). Before the Second World War, his father was the bailiff of the town of Mandal and the neighboring Halse og Harkmark Municipality from 1928, a board member of the Norwegian Lutheran Mission since 1939, and also a member of the school board and municipal council for Mandal Municipality. During the war and occupation of Norway, his father was imprisoned in Arkivet twice, before escaping to Sweden in 1944. Two older brothers of Kjell Askildsen were held captive in Grini concentration camp. After the war, Askildsen enrolled in the Independent Norwegian Brigade Group in Germany. He was married to a German woman for some time. From August 1951 to March 1968 he was married to Edith Dorothea Mathiessen, and from June 1992 he was married to Gina Giertsen. Askildsen died on 23 September 2021, at the age of 91.

His first book, the short story collection Heretter følger jeg deg helt hjem (1953), raised controversy, especially in Mandal, for its sexual content. After that book, Askildsen concentrated mainly on novels. He was awarded the Mads Wiel Nygaards Endowment in recognition of his novel, Omgivelser (1969), which was made into the 1973 movie Maria Marusjka, directed by Oddvar Bull Tuhus and starring Peter Lindgren. From 1982 on, all of Askildsen's published books have been short story collections. It is mainly these books that made him one of the most acclaimed modern writers in Norway. Thomas F's siste nedtegnelser til almenheten (1983) won him the Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature. In 2006, a jury appointed by the newspaper Dagbladet voted that collection the best prose book written in Norway during the last 25 years. He has won other awards as well, almost one for each new publication.

• 1955 - Herr Leonard Leonard (Mister Leonard Leonard) • 1957 - Davids bror (The brother of David) • 1969 - Omgivelser (Scenery) • 1974 - Kjære, kjære Oluf (Dear, dear Oluf) • 1976 - Hverdag (Everyday)