Roy Jacobsen (b. 1954) is regarded as one of our the most influential contemporary authors in Norway. His books have been translated into 36 languages, and was the first Norwegian author to be nominated to the Man Booker International Prize in 2017. Last week the Royal Palace announced that for his distinguised authorship, Roy Jacobsen is appointed to the Order of St. Olav. The Order was established by King Oscar in 1847, and is one of the greatest honours that can be bestowed upon a Norwegian.

Roy Jacobsen's career started in 1982, with his sensational debut Prison Life. a short story collection, which won him the prestigious Tarjei Vesaas’ Debutant Prize, developed into an original and daring author with a special interest in the underlying psychological interplay in human relationships. He has been nominated three times for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and twice for the Nordic Council Literature Prize. In 2017 he was shortlisted for both the Man Booker International Prize, as the first Norwegian author ever, and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, for The Unseen.

In 2013 Jacobsen’s authorship reached a new milestone with the publication of The Unseen, book one in his now completed Barrøy trilogy. It is set in the first half of the 20th century on an island on the North-Western coast of Norway, and is a monument over human courage and life-saving practical and social knowledge. White Shadow followed in 2015, The Eyes of Rigel in 2017 and Just a Mother in 2020. The Barrøy quartet became an immediate critically acclaimed sales success.