Jan Kjaerstad at 192 Books

Meet the Norwegian author Jan Kjærstad at 192 Books as he presents his latest novel, “The Conqueror”, with his American editor, E.J. Van Lanen.

Jan Kjærstad is one of Scandinavia’s most prominent contemporary authors. He made his debut in 1980 with a collection of short stories titled, “The Earth Turns Quietly.” Over the years, he has written a number of novels, short stories, and essays and received numerous prizes. He was awarded the Norwegian Literary Critics Association’s Prize in 1984 for “Homo Falsus” (“The Perfect Murder”). Kjærstad was also honored with the prestigious Henrik Steffens Prize in 1998, given to Scandinavians who have significantly enriched Europe’s artistic and intellectual life. In 2001, he won the Nordic Council’s Prize for Literature for “The Discoverer,” the last book in the Wergeland trilogy, which will be published in the United States in 2009 by Open Letter Books.

E.J. Van Lanen is editor at Open Letter Books in Rochester, NY and a contributor to Three Percent, a weblog dedicated to literature in translation.