Gretelise Holm (born 22 March 1946 in Tønder) is a Danish journalist and a writer of both fiction and non-fiction. After working as a columnist for the Danish newspapers '' Berlingske'' and '' Politiken'', she taught at the Danish School of Media and Journalism in Aarhus (1983–87). The four years she spent with her husband in Zimbabwe (1993–97) significantly influenced her writing, increasing her interest in women's rights and gender disparities. She has been particularly successful as a novelist, embarking on her Karin Sommer crime series in 2002 with ''Paranoia''.

Early life

Born on 22 March 1946 at Tønder in the south of Jutland, Gretelise Holm was the second-oldest child of the family's eight children. She was brought up in a poverty-stricken home by a deeply religious mother, who nevertheless was successful in having the municipality cover her daughter's educational expenses. As a result, on leaving the

realskole ''Realschule'' () is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola' ...

in Kolding at the age of 14, Holm was able to earn her own living.

Career

When she was 17, Holm trained as a journalist at the ''Kolding Folkeblad''. She then moved to Copenhagen, where she worked for '' Berlingske'' and ''

Børsen Børsen (Danish for "the Exchange"), also known as Børsbygningen ("The (Stock) Exchange building" in English), is a 17th-century stock exchange in the center of Copenhagen. The historic building is situated next to Christiansborg Palace, the seat ...

'', after which she spent 12 years as a columnist with '' Politiken''. From 1883, she taught at the Danish School of Media and Journalism in Aarhus until 1987. In 1981, she published her first book, ''Ud går du nu på livets vej: om at være ung'' (). This initial publication was followed by many more non-fiction works, as well as short stories. From 1993 to 1997, Holm lived in Zimbabwe with her husband, which significantly influenced her writing and increased her interest in women's rights and gender disparities. After returning from Zimbabwe, she worked for a few years as a journalist for the journal ''Sygeplejersken'' (The Nurse). She then turned full time to writing as a novelist. She published her first crime novel, ''Mercedes-Benz Syndromet'' (1998), which won the debut crime novel award from Det Danske Kriminalakademi (Danish Criminal Academy). This was later followed by ''Paranoia'' (2002), the first book in a series about the journalist Karen Sommer. In support of her feminist interests, in 2008 she published ''Hvorfor er feminister så snerpede?'' (Why are feminists so snarky?).

Marriage

Gretelise Holm was happily married for 44 years to the clinical immunologist Knut Wallevik (1933–2015). The couple had two daughters together.

Awards and honours

*1980: Holm received the PH Prize, reflecting the interests of Poul Henningsen. *1998: ''Mercedes-Benz Syndromet'' won the debut crime novel award from Det Danske Kriminalakademi (Danish Criminal Academy). *2020: Holm was awarded the Harald Mogensen Prize for ''Dødfunden''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holm, Gretelise 1946 births Living people People from Tønder Municipality 20th-century Danish non-fiction writers 21st-century Danish non-fiction writers 20th-century Danish journalists Danish women journalists Danish crime fiction writers Danish women novelists Danish feminists