The School of Night

Karl Ove Knausgård (born December 6, 1968, in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian author renowned for his six-volume autobiographical novel series My Struggle (Min kamp, 2009–2011), which became a massive bestseller and literary sensation, alongside earlier works like his debut Out of the World (1998) and A Time for Everything (2004). His major achievements include the Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature (1998, first for a debut novel), Brage Prize (2009), Jerusalem Prize (2017), and Swedish Academy Nordic Prize (2019), establishing him as one of the 21st century's greatest literary figures.

Martin Aitken is a translator of Danish and Norwegian fiction, including work by Karl Ove Knausgaard, Hanne Ørstavik, Olga Ravn, Peter Høeg, and Ida Jessen. He was a National Book Award Translated Literature finalist in 2018 for Love and longlisted in 2022 for The Employees. His translation of Knausgaard's The School of Night was longlisted for the 2026 National Book Award for Translated Literature.