Thorvald Steen (born 9 January 1954) is a Norwegian writer and

government scholar Government scholar (Norwegian, ''statsstipendiat'') is a position awarded by the Parliament of Norway upon the recommendation of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Research and funded directly over the State budget of Nor ...

. He made his literary debut in 1983, and has subsequently published a wide range of novels, plays, collections of poems, books of short stories, children's books and essays. He has distinguished himself as one of Norway's leading internationally oriented writers. His Norwegian breakthrough came in 1992 with a cycle of poems, ''Ilden'' (''The Fire'') and shortly afterward he achieved international recognition with his creative historical novels ''Don Carlos'' (1993), ''Giovanni'' (1995), ''Constantinople'' (1999), ''The Little Horse'' (2002), ''Camel Clouds'' (2004) and ''Lionheart'' (2010). In 2006 Steen wrote the

coming-of-age novel In literary criticism, a ''Bildungsroman'' (, plural ''Bildungsromane'', ) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood ( coming of age), in which character change is imp ...

''The Weight of Snow Crystals'', which was followed in 2008 with the freestanding sequel ''The Longest Leap''. Steen's work is translated into 26 languages and published in 46 countries. He has received several literary prizes, both at home and abroad. In 1993 he received Gyldendals legat (

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 ...

). The Belgian newspaper Le Soir declared ''Don Carlos'' one of the five best novels translated into French in 1996. The newspaper Clarin in Argentina chose Steen as “Best new writer” for ''Don Carlos'' the same year. In 2001 he received the Norwegian

Dobloug Prize The Dobloug Prize ( sv, Doblougska priset, no, Doblougprisen) is a literature prize awarded for Swedish and Norwegian fiction. The prize is named after Norwegian businessman and philanthropist Birger Dobloug (1881–1944) pursuant to his bequest. T ...

for his entire work. The novel ''Camel Clouds'' was elected novel of the year by the Turkish newspaper Bir Gun in 2006 and won the Slovak Jan Holly Award in 2007. In 2006 Steen received the Comenius Medal from the University of Bratislava for his historical novels, and in 2010 he received the Thomsen Prize. Steen was the chairman of The

Norwegian Authors' Union The Norwegian Authors' Union ( no, Den norske Forfatterforening, DnF) is an association of Norwegian authors. It was established in 1893 to promote Norwegian literature and protect Norwegian authors' professional and economic interests. DnF also w ...

(1991–97) and he has been an honorary member of the union since 1997. He has also been chairman of the board i
Norla (Norwegian Literature Abroad)
since 1997 and a member of the board of PEN since 2003. In 2004 he received a Governmental Stipend from the Norwegian Minister of Culture.

Background and authorship

Bibliography

Novels/Short Stories

The Invisible Library
2014
Balance
2012 *
Lionheart
(Løvehjerte)'' (novel) 2010 *
The Longest Leap
'' 2008 *
The Weight of Snow Crystals
'' 2006 * Bare en siste gang (Just one Last Time), 2005 and 2009 *
Camel Clouds
'' 2004 *
The Little Horse
'' 2002 *
Constantinople
'' 1999 * ''Kongen av Sahara'' (King of Sahara)'','' 1997 *
Giovanni
'' 1995 *
Don Carlos
'' 1993 * ''Tungen'' (The Tongue)'','' 1991

Poems

* ''Under sol og måne'' (Under Sun and Moon. Photographies by Victor Dimola), 2001 * ''Alexandrias aske'' (The Ashes of Alexandria. Poems by

Lars Saabye Christensen Lars Saabye Christensen (born 21 September 1953 in Oslo) is a Norwegian/Danish author. Saabye Christensen was raised in the Skillebekk neighbourhood of Oslo, but lived for many years in Sortland in northern Norway; both places play a major r ...

Gro Dahle Gro Dahle (born 15 May 1962) is a Norwegian poet and writer. Early life Dahle was born in Oslo, and is the daughter of businessman Øystein Dahle. She grew up in Tønsberg, Aruba and New Jersey. She began studying psychology and English literat ...

Paal-Helge Haugen Paal-Helge Haugen (born 26 April 1945) is a Norwegian poet, novelist, dramatist and children's writer who has published over 30 books. His titles have been translated into at least 20 languages. His 1968 "punktroman" or "pointillist novel," ''Anne ...

and Thorvald Steen) 1993 * ''The Fire'', 1992 * ''Månekisten'' (The Moon Casket), 1987 * ''Neonulvene'' (Neonwolfs), 1987 * ''Vindkommoden'' (The Wind Chest. Photographies b
Per Maning
, 1985 * ''Gjerrige fallskjermer'' (Stingy Parachutes)'','' 1985 * ''Hemmeligstemplede roser'' (Classified Roses), 1983

Essays

* ''Den besværlige historien'' (The Cumbersome History)'', 2014'' *
Stories of Istanbul
'' 2008 * ''Fra Reykholt til Bosporus'' (From Reykholt to Bosporus) 2003 * ''Luftskipet'' (Airship) 2000 * ''Jungel. Essays om litteratur og politikk'' (Jungle. Essays about Literature and Politics)'', 1996'' * ''En fallskjerm til folket'' (Parachutes to The People)'', 1995''

Children's books

Sometimes You're Absolutely Right
illustrated book), 2015, with Hilde Kramer * ''Da pinnsvinet gjorde reven en tjeneste'' (illustrated book), 2002 * ''Frosken og sjiraffen og stillheten'' (illustrated book), 1995 * Da frosken og sjiraffen skulle stupe kråke (illustrated book), 1993 * ''Frosken og sjiraffen'' (The Frog and The Giraffe)'','' 1993, illustrated by Marek Woloszyn * ''Milli Meter og regnbuen'' (Milli Meter and The Rainbow) 1992, illustrated by Malgorzata Piotrowska * ''Jeg er kanskje en fugl, sa Milli Meter'' (I Might Be a Bird, said Milli Meter) 1991, illustrated by Malgorzata Piotrowska * ''Milli Meter og delfinene'' (Milli Meter and the Dolphines) 1990, illustrated by Malgorzata Piotrowska

Plays

* Nidaros, 2013, (music by

Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; french: Tombouctou; Koyra Chiini: ); tmh, label=Tuareg, script=Tfng, ⵜⵏⴱⴾⵜ, Tin Buqt a city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. The town is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrativ ...

(Jason Dikaité) *
Desert Storms
'' 2010, with

Tariq Ali Tariq Ali (; born 21 October 1943) is a Pakistani-British political activist, writer, journalist, historian, filmmaker, and public intellectual. He is a member of the editorial committee of the ''New Left Review'' and ''Sin Permiso'', and con ...

* ''De tålmodige,'' 1997

Other

* ''Asylet. Gaustad sykehus 150 år'' (anniversary book) 2005 (ed.)

External links

Thorvald Steen
s biography and bibliography a
Aschehoug AgencyThorvald Steen
s biography and complete bibliography (in Norwegian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Steen, Thorvald 1954 births Living people Dobloug Prize winners 20th-century Norwegian poets Norwegian male poets 20th-century Norwegian novelists 21st-century Norwegian novelists Norwegian male novelists 21st-century Norwegian poets 20th-century Norwegian male writers 21st-century Norwegian male writers