Karsten Alnæs Explained

Karsten Alnæs (born 29 May 1938) is a Norwegian author, historian, and journalist, who has dual degrees in history and literature from the University of Oslo. He worked as a journalist and taught at the Norwegian School of Journalism. His bibliography includes 15 novels, 3 children’s books, a collection of novellas, and a number of non–fiction works.

Alnæs was awarded the Brage Prize in 1992 for the novel Trollbyen,^[1] and the honorary prize in 2003 for the cultural impact of his literary work.^[2] He received the Dobloug Prize in 1998.^[3]

His series The History of Norway (5 volumes; 1996–2000) received the Sverre Steen Prize of the Norwegian Historical Society and topped the bestseller list for non–fiction in Norway. It became the basis of a TV-series, with Alnæs as host and director. His book series The History of Europe (4 volumes; 2003–2006) has been translated into several languages.

Alnæs was twice elected president of the Norwegian Authors' Association 1985 - 1987 and 1999 - 2001,^[4] and has been active in PEN International. He is a speaker on the international lecture circuit and serves as the lone representative for the Scandinavian countries on the European Cultural Parliament.

He was born in Hønefoss, and is a cand.philol. by education.^[5]

Bibliography

• 1971 Roles and Patterns in Mass Media. Non–Fiction. Journalism. [Roller og mønstre in massemedia]*
• 1971 On Access to Language. Non–Fiction. Journalism. [Om språklig tilgjengelighet]
• 1973 Language and Mass Media. Non–Fiction. [Språk og massemedier]
• 1975 Wasps. Short Stories. [Veps – noveller]
• 1976 The Campaign. Historical Novel. [Felttoget]
• 1977 Gaia. Novel.
• 1978 Lord of the Ocean, Serf of the Sea. Historical Novel. [Havherre og sjøtrell]
• 1981 Big Bang and Blue Days. Novel. Kjempesmell og blå dager - roman
• 1982 The Retinue of Fleeing Kings. Novel [Flyktende kongers følge]
• 1983 Come Love. Novel. [Kom kjærlighet]
• 1984 The History of Norway and the World Before 1850. Non–Fiction. Textbook for upper secondary school. [Norges- og verdenshistorie før 1850.]
• 1985 Island. Novel. [Øy]
• 1986 The Sea Monster. A Narrative. [Sjøgossen]
• 1986 The Green Land. Children’s book. [Det grøne landet]
• 1989 The Boy From Duck River. Historical Novel. [Even 1814]
• 1992 The Magic City. Novel. [Trollbyen]
• 1993 A Peculiar City. Non–Fiction. Coauthor of Anthology on Oslo. [Den forunderlige by]
• 1994 Sabina. Novel.
• 1996 There is a Land. The History of Norway. Vol. 1. [Det ligger et land. Historien om Norge 1]
• 1997 Under Foreign Rule. The History of Norway. Vol. 2. [Under fremmed styre. Historien om Norge 2]
• 1998 Toward Modern Times. The History of Norway. Vol. 3. [Mot moderne tider. Historien om Norge 3]
• 1999 Toward a New Working Day. The History of Norway. Vol. 4. [En ny arbeidsdag. Historien om Norge 4]
• 2000 Barcelona. A Catalan Fireworks. A Cultural Guide. [Barcelona. Et katalansk fyrverkeri]
• 2000 Fifty Rich Years. The History of Norway. Vol. 5. [Femti rike år. Historien om Norge]
• 2001 The History of Norway in Story and Picture. [Historien om Norge i bilder og fortellinger]
• 2002 Lisbon. A Travel Diary.
• 2002 A Stranger. Novel. [En fremmed]
• 2003 The History of Norway. An Instructional Guide. [Historien om Norge – spørrebok]
• 2003 The History of Europe I, 1300–1600. [Historien om Europa 1 (1300–1600)]
• 2004 The History of Europe II, 1600–1800. [Historien om Europa 2 (1600–1800)]
• 2005 The History of Europe III, 1800–1900. [Historien om Europa 3 (1800–1900)]
• 2006 The History of Europe IV, 1900–1945. [Historien om Europa 4 (1900–1945)]
• 2007 Strapping My Skis. Cultural History. [Jeg spenner mine ski]
• 2008 Back Behind All Colors. Novel. [Bakenfor all farger]
• 2009 Sophie, Don’t Die! Historical Novel. [Ikke dø, Sophie!]

Note: Norwegian titles are given in brackets

Awards

• 1992 The Brage Prize for The Magic City [Trollbyen].^[4]
• 1992 The Norwegian Booksellers' Prize for The Magic City.^[4]
• 1998 The Dobloug Prize.^[3]
• 2000 The Sverre Steen Prize of the Norwegian Historical Association.^[5]
• 2003 The Honorary Brage Prize.^[4]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Tidligere vinnere av Brageprisen . no . 2008-10-14 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080610082646/http://www.brageprisen.no/tekster/tidligere.shtml . 2008-06-10 .
2. Web site: Brageprisen. Prisvinnere 2003. 2003. no. 2008-10-14. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20071010061205/http://www.brageprisen.no/tekster/vin_2003.shtml. 2007-10-10.
3. Encyclopedia: Doblougprisen . . Bolstad . Erik . Norsk nettleksikon . Oslo . no . 12 August 2018.
4. Encyclopedia: Karsten Alnæs . . Bolstad . Erik . Norsk nettleksikon . Oslo . no . 12 August 2018.
5. Encyclopedia: Karsten Alnæs . Norsk biografisk leksikon. Øystein . Rottem . Øystein Rottem . Helle, Knut. Kunnskapsforlaget . Oslo . no . 12 August 2018.