Litteraturhuset: Ufred – Russland fra innsiden

On Wednesday, May 13, one of Norway's leading non-fiction authors, Åsne Seierstad, will be at Litteraturhuset in Skien In conversation with Alf van der Hagen, they will talk about her latest book Ufred – Russia from the Inside, which has received a brilliant reception and won the Booksellers Award for 2025.

With unique insight and rare access, Seierstad takes us up close to the people behind the headlines: soldiers, mothers, teachers, activists, city dwellers and those living their lives far out in the Siberian depths. Ufred opens with a dramatic escape across the Pasvik River and develops into a rare close portrait of a country at war – told by a journalist who still travels where others return home from.

This evening at the House of Literature is part of Alf van der Hagen's conversational interviews for the magazine Samtiden.

Åsne Seierstad (b. 1970) is one of Norway's most widely read and award-winning non-fiction authors. She had her international breakthrough with The Booksellers in Kabul (2002), and has since made a name for herself with strong documentary books such as One of Us (2014), Two Sisters (Brage Prize 2016) and The Afghans (2022).

Seierstad has received a number of Norwegian and international awards, and has reported from the world's conflict zones for decades. She is educated in Russian, Spanish and the history of ideas and began her career as a correspondent in Russia. Her latest book is Ufred – Russland fra innsiden (2025).

Alf van der Hagen (b. 1962) has had a central role in the public sphere of Norwegian literature for several decades: co-editor of Vagant, editor of NRK's ​​Kritikertorget and of De Norske Bokklubbene, as well as editor-in-chief and CEO of Morgenbladet. He has published a number of critically acclaimed interview books and conversation biographies with key Nordic authors, including Jon Fosse, Dag Solstad, Kjell Askildsen, Henning Hagerup, Suzanne Brøgger and Ingvar Ambjørnsen.

Book sale at Norli, Arkaden

Ticket prices:
Ordinary: 250
Members of Litteraturhuset in Skien : 200
Students: 150

Photo (Seierstad, Å.): Troll Toftenes / Cappelen