Jo Nesbø

Jo Nesbø (b. 1960) is a musician, songwriter, screenwriter, and economist, as well as one of the leading crime writers in the world. He is recognized for having widened the scope of the thriller with his unusual literary qualities and ambitions, his psychological insights and his in-depth knowledge of life in a modern, globalized world. His books have garnered countless international awards, sold more than 55 million copies, and been translated into 50 languages. In addition to the Harry Hole series he is the author of stand-alone novels Headhunters, The Son, Blood on Snow, Midnight Sun, Macbeth and The Kingdom, as well as several children’s books in the Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder series.

“Jo Nesbo is my new favorite thriller writer and Harry Hole my new hero.”
Michael Connelly

“I am the world’s greatest living crime writer. [Jo Nesbø] is a man who is snapping at my heels like a rabid pitbull poised to take over my mantle when I dramatically pre-decease him.”
James Ellroy

“Many authors know how to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Jo Nesbo’s one of the few who keeps them there.”
Linwood Barclay

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo is relentless. His terrifying transformation of a childhood icon permeated my sleep. I started Redbreast but it was too much. I gave it to my guitarist Lenny Kaye and he was hooked. Now my band is reading Nesbo but I am too petrified to crack open the Phantom….”
Patti Smith

“Jo Nesbø is one of today’s most interesting thriller writers, and Harry Hole is an all-time great character – for me, a 100% buy-today-read-tonight delight.”
– Lee Child

“Norway boasts Henrik Ibsen, Edvard Munch and the best-selling thriller writer Jo Nesbø as native sons.”
New York Times

“The next Munch or Ibsen could be Jo Nesbø … And, if there’s any justice, one day Harry Hole will be just as big as Harry Potter.”
CNN

Awards

The Pepe Carvalho Award (for his entire literary work) Spain 2024
Shortlisted for Grand Prix des lectrices de ELLE France – Blodmåne Killing Moon 2024
Shortlisted for the Storytel Awards (Best Suspense) Sweden – Blodmåne Killing Moon 2024
Shortlisted for the Mofibo Awards (Best Translated Fiction of the Year) Denmark – Blodmåne Killing Moon 2024
Shortlisted for the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers’ Award (Best Translated Crime Novel of the Year) Sweden – Blodmåne Killing Moon 2023
Honorary Doctorate of the University of West Attica (for his rich body of work, his contribution to literature, and the promotion of reading) Greece 2023
Francisco Gonzalez Ledesma Award (for his entire literary work) Spain 2023
‘London’ Shortlisted for the CWA Short Story Dagger UK – Sjalusimannen og andre fortellinger The Jealousy Man and Other Stories 2022
Longlisted for the CWA Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger Award UK – Kongeriket The Kingdom 2021
Shortlisted for the Mofibo Awards (Best Crime & Suspense) Denmark – Kongeriket The Kingdom 2021
Shortlisted for Lubimy Czytać’s Best Book of the Year (Best Crime Fiction) Poland – Kongeriket The Kingdom 2020
Shortlisted for the Adlibris Awards (Best Crime Fiction) Sweden – Kongeriket The Kingdom 2020
CoScan’s Nordic Person of the Year Award UK 2020
Shortlisted for the Ozon Book Award (Best Fiction) Russia – Kniv Knife 2020
The Riverton Prize (Best Norwegian Crime Novel of the Year) Norway – Kniv Knife 2020
Shortlisted for the Storytel Awards (Best Suspense) Sweden – Kniv Knife 2019
Shortlisted for the Public Book Awards (Best Translated Novel) Greece – Macbeth Macbeth 2019
Shortlisted for the British Book Awards (Book of the Year, Crime & Thriller) UK – Macbeth Macbeth 2019
The Icepick Award (Best Translated Crime Novel of the Year) Iceland – Sønnen The Son 2018
Shortlisted for the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers’ Award (Best Translated Crime Novel) Sweden – Macbeth Macbeth 2018
The Raymond Chandler Award (Lifetime Achievement) 2018
Shortlisted for LovelyBooks’ Der Leserpreis (Best Crime & Thriller of 2017) Germany – Tørst The Thirst 2017
Nordic Noir Thriller of the Year Award Sweden – Tørst The Thirst 2017
Shortlisted for the Book of the Year Award Sweden – Tørst The Thirst 2017
Best Translated Mystery – Reader’s Choice Award Japan – Blod på snø Blood on Snow 2017
Best Translated Mystery Award Japan – Blod på snø Blood on Snow 2017
Shortlisted for the Brage Prize (Best Crime Novel) Norway – Mere Blod Midnight Sun 2017
Boréales Honorary Award (for his entire literary work) France 2017
Honyaku Mystery Award Japan – Blod på snø Blood on Snow 2017
Shortlisted for The European Crime Fiction Star Award Germany 2016
The Riverton Honor Prize Norway 2016
Shortlisted for the Ark’s Book of the Year Award – Mere Blod Midnight Sun 2015
The IcePick Award (Best Translated Crime Novel) Iceland – Blod på snø Blood on Snow 2015
Shortlisted for LovelyBooks’ Der Leserpreis (Best Crime & Thriller of 2015) Germany – Sønnen The Son 2015
St. Petersburg Reads Award (Best International Author of the Year) Russia 2014
Shortlisted for The IcePick Award (Best Translated Crime Novel of the Year) Iceland – Panserhjerte The Leopard 2014
Martinus Readers’ Choice Award (Best Foreign Author of the Year) Slovakia 2014
Martinus Readers’ Choice Award (Best Novel of the Year) Slovakia – Politi Police 2014
The Peer Gynt Prize (for his international success and for putting Norway on the map of international literature) Norway 2013
Shortlisted for the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards (The Bestseller Dagger) UK 2012
Shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger (Best Translated Crime Novel of the Year) UK – Gjenferd Phantom 2012
Shortlisted for the Edgar Award (Best Novel of the Year) US – Sorgenfri Nemesis 2010
Shortlisted for the Macavity Awards (Best Mystery Novel) US – Sorgenfri Nemesis 2010
The Great Caliber Award of Honour (for his entire authorship) Poland 2010
The Danish Academy of Crime Writers’ Award (Best Crime Novel of the Year) Denmark – Panserhjerte The Leopard 2009
Shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger UK – Frelseren The Redeemer 2009
The Norwegian Book Club Prize (Best Novel of the Year) Norway – Hodejegerne Headhunters 2008
Shortlisted for the Ark’s Children’s Book Award (Best Children’s Book) Norway – Doktor Proktors tidsbadekar Doctor Proctor and the Time-Travel Bath Bomb 2008
The Norwegian Booksellers’ Prize (Best Novel of the Year) Norway – Snømannen The Snowman 2007
The Norwegian Book Club Prize (Best Novel of the Year) Norway – Snømannen The Snowman 2007
Shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger UK – Rødstrupe The Redbreast 2007
The Finnish Academy of Crime Writers’ Special Commendation (Excellence in Foreign Crime Writing) Finland – Marekors The Devil’s Star 2007
Shortlisted for the Ark’s Children’s Book Award (Best Children’s Book) Norway – Doktor Proktors prompepulver Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder 2007
Best Norwegian Crime Novel Ever Written (Awarded by the Norwegian Book Clubs) Norway – Rødstrupe The Redbreast 2004
William Nygaard Bursary Norway – Sorgenfri Nemesis 2002
The Norwegian Booksellers’ Prize (Best Novel of the Year) Norway – Rødstrupe The Redbreast 2000
The Glass Key (Best Nordic Crime Novel of the Year) The Nordic Countries – Flaggermusmannen The Bat 1998
The Riverton Prize (Best Norwegian Crime Novel of the Year) Norway – Flaggermusmannen The Bat 1997
Close award list

Bibliography

Harry Hole

Doctor Proctor

Blood on Snow

Short Story Collection

Stand-alone

Related news

Photo: Stian Broch

Netflix teams with Jo Nesbø for ‘Harry Hole’ TV series

Today, Netflix unveiled that they are teaming up with Jo Nesbø for the adaptation of his Harry Hole series. The adaptation is penned by Nesbø, who is the showrunner of the series, and will be directed by Øystein Karlsen (Exit, So Long, Marianne).

Based on Nesbø’s novel The Devil’s Star, the series is produced by Universal Working Title and is slated to premier in 2026. Filming will commence in Oslo before the summer.

A heat wave hits a holiday-quiet Oslo. In an apartment by the cemetery, small black lumps begin to drip through the floor. At the same time, police detective Harry Hole is lying on the floor in his small apartment, drunk, dismissed and abandoned by his girlfriend. In the hunt for his corrupt colleague Tom Waaler, Harry has lost his closest colleague and only he knows that Tom Waaler is behind the murder. At the same time, another woman is found murdered with an index finger cut off. Harry Hole gets his last mission. Along with the only other first officer not on vacation: Tom Waaler.

The announcement of Harry Hole was one of the highlights of Netflix’s Next on Nordic’s line-up, presented at Grand Hotel in Stockholm earlier today.

‘Killing Moon’ No. 1 in Sweden

Jo Nesbø’s Killing Moon stays put at No. 1 on the official bestseller list for paperbacks in Sweden. This marks the title’s fifth consecutive week on the list.

Lisa Ridzén and Jo Nesbø No. 1 in Sweden

Lisa Ridzén’s highly anticipated debut, When the Cranes Fly South, shoots to No. 1 on the official hardcover bestseller list in Sweden. Jo Nesbø continues to dominate the paperback list, where his Killing Moon is once more No. 1.

Norway’s most streamed audio books of 2023

Jo Nesbø tops the list of most streamed titles of 2023 in Norway, coming in at No. 1 with Killing Moon. Jørn Lier Horst is a close No. 2 with The Traitor, also making an appearance at No. 5 together with Thomas Enger and Stigma. All in all, Horst appears five times in the top twenty most streamed titles of the year.

Photo: Hanna Jordan

Jo Nesbø bestowed with the Pepe Carvalho Award

Tonight, Jo Nesbø was given the prestigious Pepe Carvalho Award at a ceremony held at Barcelona City Hall, in connection to the BCNegra Festival.

The Pepe Carvalho Award is a tribute to the memory of Spanish writer Manuel Vázquez Montalban and his famous detective Pepe Carvalho, who contributed to the revival of crime fiction in Europe in the 70s. The prize is given by the Barcelona City Council in recognition of prestigious national and international crime fiction writers.

The jury of the award considers that “since the beginning of his literary career, Nesbø has demonstrated a solvency, ambition and narrative generosity that has made his readers addicted to everything he publishes”.

“In a book by Nesbø we always have one, two, three lines of argument, an accurate documentation that reminds us more of a curious spirit than a functionary of writing, the necessary dose of intrigue, action and psychology of the characters, as well as a look at his society that does not skimp on criticism of the open wounds of a past that not everyone wants to accept”, the jury said.

Previous recipients of the award includes Maj Sjöwall, Joyce Carol Oates, James Ellroy, Dennis Lehane and Don Winslow, among else.

The Norwegian Storytel Awards 2024

The voting is now open for this year’s Norwegian Storytel Awards, which pay particular respect to the audio book narrators working on the nominated titles.

Among those whose works have been nominated in the category Crime & Suspense are Anders de la Motte with The Mountain King, Anders Roslund with Sweet Dreams, Jørn Lier Horst with The Traitor, Jo Nesbø with Killing Moon, and Lars Kepler with The Spider.

Thomas Seltzer’s American Karmageddon is nominated in the category Narrated by Author.

‘Killing Moon’ shortlisted for Grand Prix des lectrices de ELLE

Jo Nesbø’s Killing Moon is on the shortlist for the annual French literature award, Grand prix des lectrices for Elle magazine.

Each month, between January and November Elle magazine picks one book to represent a particular category for their readers to review and eventually decide upon a winner. The winner will be announced in May.

‘Killing Moon’ No. 1 in Sweden

The thirteenth installment in Jo Nesbø’s Harry Hole series, Killing Moon, stays put at No. 1 on the official bestseller list for paperbacks in Sweden.

Jo Nesbø’s ‘Killing Moon’ No. 1 in the UK

The paperback edition of Jo Nesbø’s Killing Moon is No. 1 on the Sunday Times bestseller list for the second consecutive week.

‘The Traitor,’ ‘Killing Moon’ and ‘The Mire’ chosen as some of 2023’s best novels in Estonia

Jørn Lier Horst’s latest title in the William Wisting series, The Traitor, along with Jo Nesbø’s Killing Moon, and Liza Marklund’s The Mire, were at the start of January chosen by Estonia’s leading crime critic Jaan Martinson as three of 2023’s best novels.

Martinson gives this glowing review of The Traitor:

“Every time I finish even one-quarter of another crime novel by Jørn Lier Horst, I wants to shout that this is probably the best crime writer there is, and his best work to date. This time, the author finds an opportunity to place the main character of his novels, probably one of the most human and big-hearted police inspectors, William Wisting, in a situation where he has to abandon all his beliefs and turn his back on both himself and the whole system that he’s a part of and has shaped his soul and life. To save his loved ones, he must swim against the current, all the while doubting what he’s doing and fearing failure.”

And The Mire:

“The return of Liza Marklund. /…/ An utterly dark and tragic story.”

The Swedish Storytel Awards 2024

The shortlists for the Swedish Storytel Awards of 2024 are now available and open for the public’s vote.

Among those competing for the title of best Suspense title are Hjorth & Rosenfeldt with The Guilt You Carry, and Jo Nesbø with Killing Moon. In the Feelgood category Simona Ahrnstedt vies for the top spot with An Unthinkable Fate. Lastly, the Children’s category sees Martin Widmark and The Dinosaur Mystery face up against among else David Sundin‘s The Audiobook That Did Not Want To End – Part 4, from the same universe as The Book That Did Not Want To Be Read.

Jo Nesbø’s ‘Killing Moon’ No. 1 in Sweden

Jo Nesbø’s thirteenth installment in the Harry Hole series, Killing Moon, shoots to No. 1 on the official bestseller list for paperbacks in Sweden.

Show more stories