Danish author Sara Omar turns 40 on Friday, August 21, 2026. She is writing the next installment in her novel series about the girl Frmesk, while the legal fight over documentary footage of her continues on appeal.
Omar marks her 40th birthday on Friday, according to Avisen Danmark, in a report distributed by the news agency Ritzau. The outlet states that she is currently working on the next book about the character Frmesk and her upbringing.
Omar established her name with the novels “Dødevaskeren” and “Skyggedanseren”. Both contain harsh depictions of violence against women and social control in patriarchal Kurdish settings. Per Avisen Danmark, she has described her writing as a way to speak out about conditions for women in strongly religious Muslim communities.
She received Læsernes Bogpris for her debut and De Gyldne Laurbær for “Skyggedanseren”. She has also been awarded the Danish human rights prize Menneskerettighedsprisen and the Norwegian Bjørnson Prize. The reporting notes that her books have also brought condemnation from parts of Muslim circles and threats against her life.
Omar was born in the Kurdish part of Iraq and fled with her family because of war, spending part of her childhood in refugee camps. She arrived in Denmark at the age of 15, went to school and later began studies in political science. According to Avisen Danmark, she has broken with parts of her family.
Court dispute over documentary footage
After her first book, Omar began working with director Manyar Parwani, who wanted to make a documentary about her path to becoming a prize-winning author. The relationship turned into a dispute over the rights to the recordings. Omar says she was manipulated, while Parwani and producer Omar Marzouk accuse her of lying about her past.
Omar has won three times in court on the question of publication. Two temporary injunctions were issued, and in April 2026 the court in Frederiksberg made the ban permanent. Her claim for 500,000 kroner in damages was rejected.
Filmmagasinet Ekko reported on April 17, 2026 that the ruling covered film and audio recordings made in 2018 and 2019. Politiken reported from the courtroom on January 16, 2026 that the case concerned roughly 300 hours of footage.
Material distributed through Ritzau in January 2026 stated that the case confirmed earlier temporary bans from 2022 and 2023. Court hearings have shown that the conflict affected Omar psychologically and that she has been on sick leave.
Parwani has appealed the April ruling to the High Court. Through her lawyer, Omar said at the time that she most of all wanted to return to her writing.
