The Riverton Prize for crime fiction was awarded on Wednesday at 13:00 in Halden, with Jo Nesbø announced as the winner, according to reports. This ceremony marked the first time the prize has been held in Halden. The winning book, 'Minnesota', is described by the jury as a virtuoso novel and a seamlessly composed and broadly conceived, ambitious project.
The winner was announced on Wednesday afternoon without the author present, as he was traveling in Greece. The specific criteria used by the jury to select 'Minnesota' beyond this description have not been disclosed, and it is unclear how many nominees were in contention this year. The Riverton Prize was first awarded in 1973 and is named after Stein Riverton, the pseudonym of one of Norway's first crime writers, Sven Elvestad.
It is a collaboration between the Riverton Club, the Norwegian Publishers Association, and the Booksellers Association. Halden Library, where the prize was awarded, is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, and it recently acquired a complete collection of Stein Riverton's works. Jo Nesbø's first win of the Riverton Prize was for his debut novel 'Flaggermusmannen' in 1997, and his third win was for the Harry Hole crime novel 'Kniv' in 2019.
The novel's different realities, with the true crime dynamic, invite the reader along and lift and expand in a striking way the novel's pulse and area.
His career milestones include these previous victories, solidifying his status in Norwegian crime fiction. The ceremony took place at Halden Library, highlighting the local significance as the library marks its sesquicentennial. Among the nominees was author Eva Fretheim, who lives in Moss and won the prize last year.
The reaction from other nominees or the broader literary community to Nesbø's win has not been reported, and it is unknown if there are plans for him to receive the prize in person or make a statement about the win. NTB reported on Tuesday morning that Jo Nesbø had won the prize, but the news agency later issued a correction. According to NTB, they sent out the story about the Riverton Prize one day early by mistake, apologized, and asked customers to remove the story.
The impact of this early reporting on the prize's credibility or future announcements remains uncertain.