Niels Krause-Kjær: Ude for uden

Niels Krause-Kjær is known for his political thrillers Kongekabale and Mørkeland, but with the novel Ude for uden he took a completely different direction in 2026.

The novel follows Svend, whose childhood farm in Jutland is to be demolished. In rubble and dust, a box emerges containing letters and a travel journal addressed to him - and in it he finds the answer to the question that has haunted him his whole life: why did his father sell the farm? The background is the author's own family history: Krause-Kjær's father wrote for many years in a shared travel journal with a group of friends, and that journal frames the story of Svend, his father Erik, and life as a farmer. It is at once a family history, a Danish history, and a farming epic about agriculture, politics, gender, and the changes that have shaped our society. The novel won Krause-Kjær the Golden Laurels in 2026.

When he visits Bispen, he talks about the work behind Ude for uden, his own paternal heritage, and an authorship that can be both politically sharp and deeply personal.