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 60 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

The Kingdom

Harry Hole

Short Story Collection

Doctor Proctor

Blood on Snow

Stand-alone

Related news

First look of ‘Jo Nesbo’s Detective Hole’ as filming wraps today

Today, Netflix announces that Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole has completed filming. The video above is the very first look of Tobias Santelmann as the legendary detective Harry Hole and Joel Kinnaman as Tom Waaler, in Harry’s shabby Oslo apartment. Shooting commenced on May 23 and has been shot in more than 160 locations over 113 days in Oslo including iconic Harry Hole locations like Harry’s favourite hangout Restaurant Schrøder and Frognerbadet.

Netflix also announces that Anders Danielsen Lie (The Worst Person in the World, Bergman Island), Ane Dahl Torp (Home Ground, Charter) and pop-singer Dagny (Home for Christmas) have joined the star-studded cast for the highly anticipated series.

Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole will premiere globally on Netflix in 2026.

Lars Kepler and Jo Nesbø on the Danish bestseller lists

Lars Kepler’s The Sleepwalker, holds its position at No. 1 on Bog og Idé’s hardcover list and also tops Saxo’s bestseller list for crime novels in the e-book category. Meanwhile, Jo Nesbø’s Blood Ties secures the No. 1 spot on Bog og Idé’s crime list.

‘Blood Ties’ No. 2 in Denmark

Jo Nesbø’s Blood Ties, is No. 2 on both Saxo’s bestseller list for e-books in the crime category, and on Bog & Idé’s bestseller list for hardcover crime fiction this week.

‘Killer Heat’ premieres on Amazon Prime

Killer Heat, the movie adaptation of Jo Nesbø’s The Jealousy Man from his short story collection The Jealousy Man & Other Stories, premieres today on Amazon Prime.

The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises), Shailene Woodley (Big Little Lies, The Fault in Our Stars) and Richard Madden (Game of Thrones, Bodyguard) and follows two twin brothers (Madden in a dual role as he portrays both twins) who are caught up in a violent love trianglewith the enigmatic Penelope Vardakis (Woodley). The plot thickens when a detective, known as The Jealousy Man, played by Gordon-Levitt, is called in to investigate a man (Madden) who might or might not have murdered his own twin.

Directed by filmmaker Philippe Lacôte, the script is developed by House of Gucci writer Roberto Bentivegna and Bridge of Spies’ Matt Charman.

‘Blood Ties’ No. 1 in Denmark

Jo Nesbø’s Blood Ties, published in Denmark last week, is still No. 1 on both Saxo’s bestseller list for e-books and in the crime category. Moreover, the book stays put at No.2 on Bog & Idé’s bestseller list for hardcover crime fiction.

‘Blood Ties’ No. 1 in Denmark

Jo Nesbø’s Blood Ties, published by Modtryk in Denmark on Friday, has gone straight to No. 1 on Saxo’s bestseller list for e-books and enters Bog & Idé’s bestseller list for hardcover crime fiction at No. 2.

Øystein Karlsen’s ‘So Long, Marianne’ premieres in Norway

The hotly anticipated, original series So Long, Marianne, created by Øystein Karlsen, premieres on NRK in Norway today.

The eight-part series tells the story of Canadian singer and poet Leonard Cohen and his muse Marianne Ihlen, and stars Alex Wolff (A Quiet Place: Day One, Oppenheimer) as Cohen, with Thea Sofie Loch Næss (The Last Kingdom, Delete Me) as Marianne. Also in the cast are Anna Torv (The Newsreader, The Last of Us, Mindhunter), Noah Taylor (Preacher, Peaky Blinders, Game of Thrones) and Peter Stormare (American Gods, Fargo).

So Long, Marianne is written for the screen by Øystein Karlsen, who is also amongst the directors, and Jo Nesbø.

Photo: Hope Studios

Jo Nesbø & Jesper Ganslandt team with Hope Studios for US-set horror movie ‘The Night House’

Jo Nesbø is adapting his recent novel The Night House, a Stephen King-esque tale set in small town America in the mid-eighties, into a horror movie to film next spring. The project combines Nesbø with critically acclaimed writer and director Jesper Ganslandt, co-creator and director of hit Netflix show Snabba Cash, and veteran producer Fredrik Wikström Nicastro (A Man Called Otto) of Hope Studios. Ganslandt will direct, and co-script with Nesbø.

The Night House takes place in the mid-1980s. Recently orphaned, Richard has been sent to live with relatives in the remote US town of Ballantyne. One day, during an innocent prank in a phone booth, Richard shockingly witnesses his classmate getting sucked into the phone receiver – disappearing without a trace. The local police suspect Richard to be responsible and no one believes his story. No one, except Karen – a fellow teenage outsider. Together Richard and Karen must embark on a quest to solve the mystery and to prove his innocence, but soon realise evil forces and black magic are closing in on them.

Fredrik Wikström Nicastro, Founder and CEO of Hope Studios, said: “Jo’s novel is both gripping and original – an entertaining roller-coaster of frights, twists and turns. Hope Studios was created to be a vehicle for creators and storytellers to realise projects with meaningful themes and to delve into the human condition. Horror has long been a way of exploring the darker side of humanity, and through that offering insight and sometimes, unexpectedly, hope. To have Jesper leading the project with his deeply individual sensibility is a great gift – and we are excited to be embarking on this adaptation with Jo’s involvement and support.”

“I’m thrilled to be working with such a fine director,” Jo Nesbø ads, “Falkenberg Farewell is one of my absolute favorite Swedish films.”

Jesper Ganslandt said: “The prospect of writing a script together with such a masterful author who has sold more than 60 million books could easily feel a bit daunting. But, Jo Nesbø was incredibly generous and humble from our very first conversation. And to my great joy, we also happen to share the same goal which is turning this into a seriously disturbing psychological horror movie, unlike anything you’ve ever seen before!”

Jo Nesbø and Niclas Salomonsson serve as Executive Producers on the feature. The film is set for production start in the spring of 2025.

Read more in Deadline by clicking “Read More” below.

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Anders de la Motte, Martin Widmark, and Jo Nesbø on the Swedish bestseller list

The second installment in the Leo Asker series, The Glass Man, continues dominating the paperback list, coming in at No.1. In the children’s category, Martin Widmark’s The Space Mysteryclaims the No.1 spot. Meanwhile, Jo Nesbø’s horror novel, The Night House, shoots to No. 4 on the hardcover list.

Photo: Kate Green/Getty Images/Joe Maher/Getty Images/John Phillips/Getty Images.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Tom Hardy & Cary Fukunaga Team For Jo Nesbo Crime-Thriller ‘Blood On Snow’

Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Nocturnal Animals, Bullet Train, Kraven) is set to star in crime thriller Blood on Snow, based on Jo Nesbø’s best-selling novel of the same name. Cary Joji Fukunaga (No Time to Die, Masters of the Air, True Detective) will direct from a screenplay by Nesbø, with revisions by Ben Power.

Tom Hardy (The Bikeriders, The Revenant, Venom), who is set to play a supporting role as “Fisherman, and Dean Baker will produce the project under their Hardy Son & Baker banner, alongside Fukunaga, Nesbø, Niclas Salomonsson, and Hayden Lautenbach.

The buzzy story unfolds in 1970’s Oslo, where two rival gang leaders—Hoffman and the Fisherman (Hardy) —vie for control. Hoffman’s trusted hitman, Olav (Johnson), is a cold, efficient killer, perfect for the job. But beneath his ruthless exterior lies an unexpected intelligence and an unwavering moral code shaped by a complicated childhood.

When Hoffman orders his own wife to be murdered, Olav’s principles clash with his loyalties. Instead of pulling the trigger, he hatches a scheme that makes him Hoffman’s next target and with nowhere safe to turn, Olav forms an uneasy alliance that places him at the heart of Oslo’s deadly gang war. Once a violent enforcer, Olav’s choice makes him an unlikely hero in a world where no good deed goes unpunished.

Filming is due to take place later this year.

To read the full article in Deadline, click ’Read more’ below.

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Ellen Helinder, Kelly Gale, Agnes Kittelsen and Frank Kjosås join the cast of ‘Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole’

It’s now official that Ellen Helinder, Kelly Gale, Agnes Kittelsen and Frank Kjosås are joining the star-studded cast of Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole, Netflix’s forthcoming crime series based on the Harry Hole novels from Jo Nesbø.
Director Anna Zackrisson (Deliver Me, The Helicopter Heist) has also joined the production, which as previously reported, will star Tobias Santelmann, Joel Kinnaman and Pia Tjelta. Created and written by Nesbø, the show’s other director is Øystein Karlsen. The cast will also include Peter Stormare, Simon Berger and Anders Baasmo, among else.

Tor Arne Øvrebø is producing the series, which hails from Working Title Television and Universal International Studios. Executive producers include Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Katy Rozelle, Rene Ezra, Øystein Karlsen, Jo Nesbø, Niclas Salomonsson. The show is slated to debut on Netflix in 2026.

To read the full article in Deadline, please click ‘Read More’ below.

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‘Blood Ties’ No. 1 in Slovakia

Jo Nesbø’s Blood Ties, to be published in Slovakia on September 10th, is already No. 1 on Martinus, Slovakia’s biggest online retailer.

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