Jo Nesbο

Jo Nesbo was born on 29 March 1960 in Oslo, where he still lives. He studied economics and worked as a stockbroker and a journalist. His first novel was published in 1997. Entitled “The Bat”, it would be the first in the series featuring the detective Harry Hole. It was followed by the novels (all featuring the detective Harry Hole) “The Cockroaches” (1998), “The Redbreast” (2000), “Nemesis” (2002), “The Devil’s star” (2003), “The Redeemer” (2005), “The Snowman” (2007), “The Leopard” (2009), “Phantom” (2011), “Police” (2013) and “The Thirst” (2017). In addition to the Hole books, he has also written the novels “Headhunters” (2008), “The Son” (2014), “Blood on snow” (2014) and “Midnight Sun” (2015); a series of children's novels featuring Doctor Proctor (2007, 2008. 2010, 2012); and screenplays for films and television series.

He has won a number of important awards including the Riverton Prize (1997), the Glass Key Award (1998), the Norwegian Booksellers’ Prize (2000) and the highest distinctions awarded by his country. His novel “Nemesis” was nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe award (2010). Nesbo is part of the Hogarth Shakespeare Project, in which the best-loved works of the greatest playwright the world has ever seen are rewritten by celebrated writers from around the globe. He got to rewrite the bloody “Macbeth”, which he turned it into a psychological thriller (it’s due for publication in 2018).

Now every bit as famous as his cult detective, Nesbo is considered the king of Scandinavian crime fiction and one of the finest exponents of the genre anywhere. His books have sold over 36 million copies worldwide and are published in over 50 countries. In 2011, in Great Britain, one of his books was sold every 27 seconds. And yet not even he can explain the scale of his success. He thinks it may be the result of hard work, his passion for storytelling, a little luck, of course, and—he hopes—a touch of talent.