Sigbjørn Skåden

“Listener, 
do you want the full story? 
do you want the misery? 
do you want all the heart? 
do you want the inexplicabilities?” 
_{- from: The King of Shoemakers} 

Sigbjørn Skåden is a Sámi writer, translator, editor, cultural worker and poet residing in Tromsø. 

He writes within the Sámi tradition and concerns himself with the preservation and the description of the Sámi culture, as the Sámi people have been pressured to assimilate to Norwegian culture for a long time. He wittily handles this topic in his sometimes timeless but inevitably modern epics. He writes in Sámi and Norwegian, sometimes making use of other languages, such as French and German. 

Skåden’s debut poetry collection and first publication Skuovvadeddjiid gonagas (2004) was nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize and was translated into English (The King of Shoemakers). His latest novel Fugl (2019) has been called the first Sámi science fiction novel and has been described by the author himself as his most Sámi work yet. Furthermore, Skåden has received the Havmann Award and has been nominated for the Norwegian Broadcasting Listeners’ Award. Skåden has been the Young Artist Of the Year at Riddu Riđđu indigenous festival and the prologue writer for the Arctic Arts Festival. 

He also writes children’s books, as well as scripts for the stage and art installation projects.