Torill Thorstad Hauger

From 1970 until 1975 she was employed at the University Museum of Antiquity and was responsible for the Viking Section, arranging exhibitions and guiding tours.

She published her first book in 1976, a documentrary novel from her childhood's Oslo, Vika. This was the start of a long and successful writing career: today her oevre counts three documentaries, ten historical novels for young readers and one novel dealing with our own time.

She has been rewarded with numerous awards, among them

The Literary Critics' Award (1980),

The Ministry of Culture's Award (1980),

The Booksellers' Award 1984,)

The Norwegian School Librarians' Award (1988).

The Nordic School Librarians' Award 1994

Torill Thorstad Hauger's great asset as a writer is her ability to make history alive: portraying lives belonging to the past, giving a deep insight and understanding of our forefathers. An understanding of our ancestral roots and place in history is meaningful enough, but it may be just as important that her books, whether dealing with the Viking Age or emigration to North America, give the reader a chance to participate in historic perspective. The historic framework varies, but human emotions remain the same, regardsless of time and place. It may be this broad historical context that allows us to relate so strongly to people who lived a thousand years ago.