Marta Breen (born 11 April 1976) is a Norwegian non-fiction writer, journalist, and organizational leader. Her books often center on women history and feminism.

Early and personal life

Born on 11 April 1976, Breen is a granddaughter of writer Sigbjørn Hølmebakk. She spent part of her childhood in Groruddalen in Oslo, and later moved to

Larvik Larvik () is a List of cities in Norway, town and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. The municipality ...

, growing up in an environment of political activism of the era of

1970s feminism Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in the early 1960s and lasted roughly two decades. It took place throughout the Western world, and aimed to increase equality for women by building on previous feminist gains. Wh ...

, political demonstrations and summer camps for children. She graduated from Larvik secondary school in 1995, and is married to

Øyvind Holen Øyvind Holen (born 4 January 1973) is a Norwegian journalist, comics creator and non-fiction writer. Personal life Holen hails from Lindeberg, a district in Groruddalen, Oslo. He was born on 4 January 1973, and is married to Marta Breen. ...

Career

freelancer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

, Breen has worked as journalist or columnist for NRK, the newspapers '' Dagbladet'' and '' Dagsavisen'', and the women's magazine '' Kvinner og Klær''. She made her literary debut in 2006 with the book ''Piker, vin og sang. 50 år med jenter i norsk rock og pop'', on women and their challenges in the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

. In 2008 she wrote a jazz singer's biography, ''Radka Toneff – hennes korte liv og store stemme'' (" Radka Toneff – her short life and big voice"). In ''Rosa Streker, røde tall. Jakten på hva som feiler verdens beste helsevesen'' from 2011 she writes about pregnancy and birthcare. In 2014 she published ''Født feminist: hele Norge baker ikke'', and in 2015 the book ''F-ordet. 155 grunner til å være feminist'', together with

Jenny Jordahl Jenny may refer to: * Jenny (given name), a popular feminine name and list of real and fictional people * Jenny (surname), a family name Animals * Jenny (donkey), a female donkey * Jenny (gorilla), the oldest gorilla in captivity at the time of ...

and Madeleine Schultz, for which they received the award ''Fagbokprisen'' from the Ministry of Culture. She collaborated with Jordahl also in her next books: ''60 damer du skulle ha møtt. Norsk kvinnehistorie for deg som har det travelt'' (2016), ''Den store rumpefeiden'' (2016), ''Jeg trodde klitoris var en selskapsdans. Og 300 andre sitater fra kvinner'' (2017), and ''Hva vet du om damer? 500 spørsmål for feministiske quizkvelder'' (2017). Further, ''Kvinnekamp. Foreningen Skuld: Norges første bøllekurs'' (2018), on the women's discussion forum ''Skuld'' (a forerunner to the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights), and ''Kvinner i kamp. 150 års kamp for frihet, likhet, søsterskap!'' (2018). The latter was Breen's international breakthrough, and the book has been translated into twenty languages. In 2019 she issued the essays collection ''Om muser og menn'', and in 2020 a book on feminism, ''Hvordan bli (en skandinavisk) feminist. 20 veier til mer likestilling på jobben, i livet og i kjærligheten''. From 2013 to 2018 Breen chaired the Norwegian Non-Fiction Writers and Translators Association.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breen, Marta 1976 births Living people People from Larvik Norwegian journalists Norwegian non-fiction writers Norwegian women writers Norwegian feminists