Norwegian Critics' Association
Encyclopedia
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...
critics in the newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
and broadcast
Broadcast
Broadcast or Broadcasting may refer to:* Broadcasting, the transmission of audio and video signals* Broadcast, an individual television program or radio program* Broadcast , an English electronic music band...
ing professions.
Former independent critic teams merged into Norwegian Critics Association in 1998. The oldest team was founded in 1927 as the Norwegian Theatre and Music Critics Association (Norsk Teater- og Musikkritikerforening). Critics teams in literature and art were created respectively in 1946 (Norwegian Literature Critics) and 1949 (Norwegian Art Critics).
The association was initially created to promote a high standard of critical ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
.The association aims to safeguard the members' professional and economic interests while promoting quality in the arts and striving for quality and independence in criticism
Criticism
Criticism is the judgement of the merits and faults of the work or actions of an individual or group by another . To criticize does not necessarily imply to find fault, but the word is often taken to mean the simple expression of an objection against prejudice, or a disapproval.Another meaning of...
. This organization arranges seminars, meetings, open debates, and writing courses, which mark the critics role in public and creative environments.
One of their most significant contributions to Norwegian culture is the award of the Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature (Kritikerprisen for årets beste voksenbok or Kritikerprisen), which has been awarded every year since 1950. The prize is presented to a Norwegian author for a literary work as agreed to among the members.
Since 1978 they have also awarded Kritikerprisen for årets beste skjønnlitterære barne- eller ungdomsbok, a prize for the best work of children's literature. Since 1994, Prisen Årets litteraturkritiker, has been awarded for literature criticism. Starting during 2003, the Association introduced the Critics prize for the best translation (Kritikerprisen for beste oversettelse).
Sections of the organization
- Art: 80 members (2005)
- Literature: 176 members
- Theater, music and dance: 69 members