Ingvar Even Ambjørnsen-Haefs (born 20 May 1956) is a Norwegian writer. He is best known for his "Elling" tetralogy: ''Utsikt til paradiset'' (1993), ''Fugledansen'' (1995), ''Brødre i blodet'' (1996), and ''Elsk meg i morgen'' (1999). ''Brødre i blodet'' ("Blood brothers") was turned into a successful movie, entitled '' Elling'', which received an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

nomination in the Best Foreign Film category in 2001. The English translation of the novel is called ''Beyond the Great Indoors''. Born in

Tønsberg Tønsberg , historically Tunsberg, is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, eastern Norway, located around south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The administrative c ...

and raised in

Larvik Larvik () is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. The municipality of Larvik has about 46,364 inhabitants. The municipality has a 110&nbs ...

, his semi-autobiographical

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to ...

''23-salen'' ("The 23rd Row"), criticized mental health care in Norway. All of his novels take the side of the outsider, including his break-through novel ''Hvite Niggere'' ("White Niggers", 1986). The novel is about a young man who leads a life somewhat on the edges of normal society. He is also known for his series for young people "

Pelle og Proffen ''Pelle og Proffen'' is Norwegian writer Ingvar Ambjørnsen's youth series about Pelle and Proffen, two fictional detective teenage boys from Oslo, getting involved in all kinds of crimes or mysteries involving such things as drugs, pollution and ...

" which focuses on two teenage detectives who get involved in many mysteries and crimes involving drugs, pollution and neo-Nazism among other things. He started this project after reading some of Franklin W. Dixon's books about

The Hardy Boys The Hardy Boys, brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in several mystery series for children and teens. The series revolves around teenagers who are amateur sleuths, solving cases that stumped their adult counterp ...

. The books ''

Døden på Oslo S ''Døden på Oslo S'' (meaning "''The death at Oslo Central Station"'') is a Norwegian film released in 1990. Set in Oslo in the late eighties, it is based on a book by Ingvar Ambjørnsen from his series '' Pelle og Proffen''. It was the highest-g ...

'', ''Giftige Løgner'', and ''De Blå Ulvene'' of this series were also turned into successful movies. In 2005 the book ''Drapene i Barkvik'' ("The murders in Barkvik") appeared, about the teenager Fillip Moberg attempting to solve an axe murder in a small Norwegian village. In 2010 Ambjørnsen stopped writing novels; ''Farvel til romanen. 24 timer i grenseland'', published in 2014, is about that decision and about how he came to write his novels. Ambjørnsen has received many prizes for his writing. Among them are the

Norwegian Booksellers Association The Norwegian Booksellers Association ( no, Den norske Bokhandlerforening) is a Norwegian interest group. Its purpose is "looking after the interests of the booksellers and working to strengthen the position of literature and books in society". It ...

's prize for the best book of the 1980s for children and young adults (Pelle and Proffen books), the Tabu prize in 2001, the

Telenor Culture Award Telenor Culture Prize, titled 'Boundless Communication', is given annually to performing artists or organizations that have made an extraordinary contribution within culture in Scandinavia, but who also are established internationally. The prize w ...

in 2002, and the

Brage Prize The Brage Prize (Norwegian: ''Brageprisen'') is a Norwegian literature prize that is awarded annually by the Norwegian Book Prize foundation (''Den norske bokprisen''). The prize recognizes recently published Norwegian literature. The Brage Pri ...

in 1995. His three ''Samson and Roberto'' books have become particularly popular in Russia, in part due to the illustrations by Nikolay Vorontsov, which also contribute carefully orchestrated local Russian-related colloquialisms to the stories. Until 2014, Ambjørnsen frequently reviewed books for the Norwegian newspaper '' VG''. Since 1985 he has lived in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

with his German wife and translator, Gabriele Haefs. In 2009 he was made an honorary citizen of Larvik.

Bibliography

Novels

*''23-salen'' (1981) *''Den siste revejakta'' (1983, crime novel) *' (1987) *'' Brødre i blodet'' (1996)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ambjornsen, Ingvar 1956 births Living people 20th-century Norwegian novelists 21st-century Norwegian novelists Norwegian children's writers Norwegian crime fiction writers People from Larvik Writers from Tønsberg Norwegian expatriates in Germany