Ernst Orvil (née Ernst Richard Nilsen; 12 April 1898 – 16 June 1985) was a Norwegian novelist, short story writer, poet and playwright.

Biography

Ernst Richard Orvil was born in Kristiania (now

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

), Norway. His parents Johan Nilsen (Rev. Nilsson) (1859-1957) and Sara-Lisa Pettersson (1864-1940), were both from Värmland, Sweden. He graduated artium at the Kristiania cathedral school in 1917. Later he was an engineering student at the

Norwegian Institute of Technology The Norwegian Institute of Technology (Norwegian: ''Norges tekniske høgskole'', NTH) was a science institute in Trondheim, Norway. It was established in 1910, and existed as an independent technical university for 58 years, after which it was m ...

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. He made his literary debut with the novel ''Birger'' in 1932, followed by six annual releases in this same genre. His first poetry collection was ''Bølgeslag'' (1940). His more notable works include ''Menneskebråk (1936), ''Hvit ur (1937) and ''Synøve selv '' (1946). Orvil was awarded

Gyldendal's Endowment Gyldendal's Endowment was a literature prize which was awarded in the period 1934–1995 by the Norwegian publisher Gyldendal Norsk Forlag. The prize was awarded to significant authors, regardless of which publisher the author was associated wi ...

in 1946. He received the

Aschehoug Prize The Aschehoug Prize is published annually by the Norwegian publishing house Aschehoug. The Aschehoug Prize is awarded to Norwegian authors on the basis of the merit of a recent publication. It is awarded on merit, irrespective of the publisher, bas ...

in 1979. He was awarded the

Riksmål Society Literature Prize The Riksmål Society Literature Prize (''Riksmålsforbundets litteraturpris'') is awarded annually by the '' Riksmålsforbundet'' for the outstanding publication in riksmål. The prize was awarded until 2002 by the ''Oslo and Bærum Riksmål Leagu ...

in 1984.

References

1898 births 1985 deaths Writers from Oslo People educated at Oslo Cathedral School Norwegian Institute of Technology alumni Norwegian male poets Norwegian male novelists Norwegian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Norwegian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Norwegian male writers 20th-century Norwegian novelists 20th-century Norwegian poets {{Norway-writer-stub