Johan Harstad
Encyclopedia
Johan Harstad is an Norwegian
short story writer, novelist and playwright.
Harstad was born in Stavanger
. He made his literary debut in 2001, with a collection of short prose entitled Herfra blir du bare eldre ('From here on in you only get older'). The following year he published a collection of short stories called Ambulanse
('Ambulance') and 2005 saw the publication of his first novel, Buzz Aldrin, hvor ble det av deg i alt mylderet?
('Buzz Aldrin
, What Happened to You in All the Confusion?'). In 2009 the novel was made into a television series, starring Chad Coleman
as well as other, well known Scandinavian actors. Rights to the book have been sold to USA, Australia
, Sweden
, Denmark
, Finland
, the Netherlands
, Germany
, the Faroe Islands
, Italy
, Russia
, South Korea
and France
. Demanding that the book be translated into English, an editor in the publishing house Simon & Schuster
likened Harstad's work with that of Jonathan Safran Foer
. The book will be published in English by Seven Stories Press
in New York in June 2011. Several of Harstad's short stories have also been translated to English and Hindi.
In 2007, Harstad published Hässelby
, a novel about the children's book character Alfie Atkins
' life as an adult, who ultimately is held responsible for the end of the world. The novel is influenced by David Lynch
's TV series Twin Peaks
, the theory of Synchronicity
and Arthur Koestler
's book The Roots of Coincidence
. In 2008 he published his first sci-fi / horror
novel, DARLAH
, a crossover between young adult fiction and adult fiction. The novel, dealing with a return to the moon in 2012, have many references to sci-fi and horror films from the 1970s and '80s. For DARLAH he was awarded the 2008 Brage Prize
in the category children's literature.
Harstad is also a playwright, and four of his works was published in 2008 as Bsider
('B-sides'). In late 2008 Harstad was hired as an in-house playwright at the National Theatre of Norway
, as the first to hold such a position. He currently lives in Oslo
.
In addition, Johan Harstad runs a project/label/organization by the name of LACKTR (sometimes also referred to as The Lacktr Prpgnda Community). Through LACKTR he produces graphic design, sound, film, photography and text that is not distributed through his publisher, Gyldendal Norsk Forlag
. Amongst the things produced, are a large variety of prints based on his books and the release of the album "Bring Out Your Life Vest", featuring music from the band The Kulta Beats and noise music
ians Bjørn Erik Haugen and Kelly Davis. The album was released in a limited edition of 1,000 copies and attached to the first thousand copies of the novel Buzz Aldrin, What Happened To You In All the Confusion?, for which all the music was written. LACKTR also co-produced the first production of the play Krasnoyarsk and members from the organization are involved in the musical group The Sell Out Space Girls, which is a mix between a experimental jazz group, dj-ing and noise music. Since 2002, LACKTR have been responsible for doing all artwork and book design for the Norwegian editions of Harstad's books. Two fairly large blogs are being kept by LACKTR, but addresses to the sites have not been made public. Harstad himself have asked that no one creates links to the sites and instead pass the address to others by word of mouth, so that he and LACKTR remain free to publish whatever he wants on the site without being worried that the press or others misuse the information and/or graphics posted. The blog sometimes sees the publication of new short stories, essays and short texts, though graphic design takes up most of the site. Information posted, such as updates on travels and projects are known to be notoriously untrustworthy, as it blends facts, fiction, deliberate misinformation with actual news. LACKTR is a non-profit organization and from time to time collaborates with other Norwegian authors, musicians and artists, usually contributing material simply by the name LACKTR.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
short story writer, novelist and playwright.
Harstad was born in Stavanger
Stavanger
Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...
. He made his literary debut in 2001, with a collection of short prose entitled Herfra blir du bare eldre ('From here on in you only get older'). The following year he published a collection of short stories called Ambulanse
Ambulanse
Ambulance is a collection of short stories by the Norwegian author Johan Harstad, published in 2002. The collection contains eleven short stories, all connected to each other. The main character in one of the stories shows up as an 'extra' in the next, and several stories are told from different...
('Ambulance') and 2005 saw the publication of his first novel, Buzz Aldrin, hvor ble det av deg i alt mylderet?
Buzz Aldrin, hvor ble det av deg i alt mylderet?
Buzz Aldrin, What Happened To You in All The Confusion? is a novel by the Norwegian author Johan Harstad, published in 2005. The book deals with a thirty year old gardener, Mattias, near obsessed with the thought of being second best, the greatest number two, much to his girlfriend's grievance...
('Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin is an American mechanical engineer, retired United States Air Force pilot and astronaut who was the Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing in history...
, What Happened to You in All the Confusion?'). In 2009 the novel was made into a television series, starring Chad Coleman
Chad Coleman
Chad Coleman is an American film and television actor. He is best known for playing the character Dennis "Cutty" Wise from The Wire.-Life and career:...
as well as other, well known Scandinavian actors. Rights to the book have been sold to USA, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Demanding that the book be translated into English, an editor in the publishing house Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
likened Harstad's work with that of Jonathan Safran Foer
Jonathan Safran Foer
Jonathan Safran Foer is an American author best known for his novels Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close...
. The book will be published in English by Seven Stories Press
Seven Stories Press
Seven Stories Press is an independent publishing company. Located in New York City, the company was founded by editor Dan Simon in 1995 after he parted company with Four Walls Eight Windows. The company was named for its seven founding authors: Annie Ernaux, Gary Null, the estate of Nelson Algren,...
in New York in June 2011. Several of Harstad's short stories have also been translated to English and Hindi.
In 2007, Harstad published Hässelby
Hässelby
Hässelby is a part of Hässelby-Vällingby in the City of Stockholm in Sweden, comprising the suburban areas Hässelby Gård, Hässelby Strand and Hässelby Villastad.-Hässelby in literature:...
, a novel about the children's book character Alfie Atkins
Alfie Atkins
Alfie Atkins is a fictional character created by the author Gunilla Bergström from Sweden in 1972. Alfie Atkins appears in books and animated cartoons. In Swedish, he is known as Alfons Åberg....
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
's TV series Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
, the theory of Synchronicity
Synchronicity
Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events that are apparently causally unrelated or unlikely to occur together by chance and that are observed to occur together in a meaningful manner...
and Arthur Koestler
Arthur Koestler
Arthur Koestler CBE was a Hungarian author and journalist. Koestler was born in Budapest and, apart from his early school years, was educated in Austria...
's book The Roots of Coincidence
The Roots of Coincidence
The Roots of Coincidence, written by Arthur Koestler, is an accessible introduction to theories of parapsychology, including extra-sensory perception and psychokinesis. It postulates links between elements of quantum mechanics, such as the behaviour of neutrinos and their interaction with time, and...
. In 2008 he published his first sci-fi / horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
novel, DARLAH
DARLAH
DARLAH is a sci-fi / horror novel by the Norwegian author Johan Harstad, published in 2008. The plot starts in 2012, when NASA decides to launch another mission to the moon and as a mean of gaining public interest and announces a lottery in which three teenagers will be allowed to go on the...
, a crossover between young adult fiction and adult fiction. The novel, dealing with a return to the moon in 2012, have many references to sci-fi and horror films from the 1970s and '80s. For DARLAH he was awarded the 2008 Brage Prize
Brage Prize
The Brage Prize is a Norwegian literature prize that is awarded annually by the Norwegian Book Prize foundation...
in the category children's literature.
Harstad is also a playwright, and four of his works was published in 2008 as Bsider
Bsider
B-sides is a collection of stageplays by the Norwegian author Johan Harstad, published in 2008. It contains four plays, and with the exception of Washingtin focus on the serial monologue rather than the dialogue. The Memoirs Of a Breadman contains 21 diary entries as well as the main story, told...
('B-sides'). In late 2008 Harstad was hired as an in-house playwright at the National Theatre of Norway
Nationaltheatret
The National Theatre in Oslo is one of Norway's largest and most prominent venues for performance of dramatic arts.The theatre had its first performance on 1 September 1899 but can trace its origins to Christiania Theatre, which was founded in 1829...
, as the first to hold such a position. He currently lives in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
.
In addition, Johan Harstad runs a project/label/organization by the name of LACKTR (sometimes also referred to as The Lacktr Prpgnda Community). Through LACKTR he produces graphic design, sound, film, photography and text that is not distributed through his publisher, Gyldendal Norsk Forlag
Gyldendal Norsk Forlag
Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, commonly referred to as Gyldendal, is one of the largest Norwegian publishing houses .-Gyldendal Norsk Forlag AS:Gyldendal Norsk Forlag AS was founded in 1925...
. Amongst the things produced, are a large variety of prints based on his books and the release of the album "Bring Out Your Life Vest", featuring music from the band The Kulta Beats and noise music
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
ians Bjørn Erik Haugen and Kelly Davis. The album was released in a limited edition of 1,000 copies and attached to the first thousand copies of the novel Buzz Aldrin, What Happened To You In All the Confusion?, for which all the music was written. LACKTR also co-produced the first production of the play Krasnoyarsk and members from the organization are involved in the musical group The Sell Out Space Girls, which is a mix between a experimental jazz group, dj-ing and noise music. Since 2002, LACKTR have been responsible for doing all artwork and book design for the Norwegian editions of Harstad's books. Two fairly large blogs are being kept by LACKTR, but addresses to the sites have not been made public. Harstad himself have asked that no one creates links to the sites and instead pass the address to others by word of mouth, so that he and LACKTR remain free to publish whatever he wants on the site without being worried that the press or others misuse the information and/or graphics posted. The blog sometimes sees the publication of new short stories, essays and short texts, though graphic design takes up most of the site. Information posted, such as updates on travels and projects are known to be notoriously untrustworthy, as it blends facts, fiction, deliberate misinformation with actual news. LACKTR is a non-profit organization and from time to time collaborates with other Norwegian authors, musicians and artists, usually contributing material simply by the name LACKTR.
Plays
- Krasnoyarsk (2008)
- Washingtin (2007)
- Degrees Of White (2007)
- Memoirs of A Breadman, vol. 1: Akapulco (2007)
- Memoirs of A Breadman, vol. 2: Ellis Iland (2009)
- Memoirs of A Breadman, vol. 3: Mattrhorn (2009)
- Etc. (2010)