Peter Fogtdal: Reading and book signing for The Tsar's Dwarf February 17, 2009

Having written 12 novels in Danish, The Tsar's Dwarf is Peter Fogtdal's first book to be translated in English. In the novel, Soerine, a deformed female dwarf from Denmark, is given as a gift to Tsar Peter the Great, who is smitten by her freakishness and intellect. Against her will, the Tsar takes Soerine to St. Petersburg, where she becomes a jester in his court. There, she lives a life that both compels and repels her. The Tsar's Dwarf is a masterfully told and brilliantly translated novel about aberration, endurance, and the human condition.

Born in Copenhagen, Denmark May 22, 1956, Peter Fogtdal had an obscene amount of pimples as a teenager. He studied in the US from 1977-82 at University of Florida and Cal State Fullerton, and decided that he wanted to be a writer and get laid. He succeeded on the first account. Returning to Denmark in 1982, Fogtdal worked as a freelancer for Denmark's national radio as a DJ and a satirical writer. He has written twelve novels in Danish, and in 2005, won the Francophone Literature Prize for Le Front Chantilly (Flødeskumsfronten). Fogtdal shares his time between Copenhagen, Denmark and teaching literature and writing at Portland State University in Oregon.

Official Website: http://www.booksmith.com