Name: Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs
Born: 1974, Tórshavn
Selected work: Karmageitin and Gentukamarið - English sample translation available of Karmageitin: The Karma Goat.
Awards and recognition: 1st prize in short story competition from Faroese newspaper, Dimmalætting (2000), 2nd prize (2001) and 1st prize (2002) at Listastevna Føroya, grant from the foundation of Thorvald Poulsens av Steinum (2004), Faroese Children’s Literature Award (2008), 1st prize in Faroese short story competition (2008), White Raven Special Mention for YA-novel ‘Skriva í sandin’ (2011), Nordic Children’s Literature Prize (2011), nominated for the Children’s and Young People’s Literature Prize awarded by the Nordic Council (2013). She won the first novel competition in 2015 for the novel “Óendaliga vera”, and best song lyrics for “Verð mín” at the Faroese Music Awards in 2017. Nominated for Nordic Council Literature prize in 2023 for the dual work “Karmageitin” and “Gentukamarið”.
Bio: Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs is a versatile award winning Faroese author born in 1974. She has published poetry collections, short stories, novels, song lyrics and childrens books, as well as written manuscripts for film and theatre. In 2016 she published the novel "Óendaliga Vera", that won the Faroese bookseller prize, and her latest novel “Sum rótskot”, a YA novel about environmental topics, has been nominated for the Nordic Council prize for litterature in 2021. This is a story about being young in a wide, weird and complex world. It addresses the most critical topic of our time: climate change and climate activism. This is a timely book for what we might term the Greta Thunberg generation. And, as in her earlier YA novel Skriva í sandin (Written in sand), the author also touches on other issues that are relevant to young people like friendship, family and sexuality. An engrossing and thought-provoking read!
Kjelnæs is a trained nurse, holds a bachelor degree in language and literature and has worked as a full-time writer for some years now.
Works
2022 Karmageitin, poetry, Ungu Føroyar
2022 Gentukamarið, drama, Ungu Føroyar
2020 Sum rótskot, YA novel, BFL
2017 Dreymar við havið, film manuscript
2016 Óendaliga vera, novel, BFL
2016 At the Heart of a Selkie, song lyrics cycle
2016 Opna, poetry collection, Sprotin
2013 Tóm rúm, theatre play, Sprotin
2012 Rót Tripp – Orð en route, poetry collection, Sprotin
2010 Skriva í sandin, YA novel, BFL
2009 Hvør fjalir seg í smúkkuskríninum?, children book, BFL
2008 Hvør fjalir seg í ferðataskuni?, children book, BFL
2007 Hvør fjalir seg í postkassanum?, children book, BFL
2004 Ein farri av kolvetni , short stories, BFL
2001 “Kópakona“ , short story published in anthology Mjørki í heilum, BFL
Translations
2022 Jenterommet, Orkana.
2023 Karmageita, Orkana
2022 Rodskud, Vild Maskine.
2015 Rót trip - ord en route, Bokbyen Forlaget.
2015 Skrifa í sandinn, Bókaormurin bókaútgáfa
2013 Skriv i sandet, Det norske samlaget.
2013 Poem from Rót Tripp published in Reception – tidsskrift for nordisk litteratur Vol. 71
2012 Skriv i sandet, Forlaget Torgard (transl. Hugin Eide)
2012 Title story of Skriva ísandin,“Ecrire dans le sable”, published in short story anthology Nouvelles Pays Nordiques
2010 Title story of Skriva í sandin published in a Nordic short story anthology, Elskar – elskar ikki, published in 8 languages.
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