Jo Nesbø

Jo Nesbo was born on March 29, 1960, in Oslo, as part of a family of six. At the age of 17, he played football for the top-tier team Molde but suffered a leg injury. He later studied economics and worked as a stockbroker and journalist. He was also a member—composer and singer—of the popular rock band "Di Derre." In 1997, he published his first crime novel titled "The Bat," the first in the series featuring detective Harry Hole, which immediately received awards in the Scandinavian peninsula. This was followed by crime novels such as "The Cockroaches" (1998), "The Redbreast" (2000), "Nemesis" (2002), "The Devil's Star" (2003), "The Redeemer" (2005), "The Snowman" (2007), "The Headhunters" (2008), "The Leopard" (2009), "Phantom" (2011), "Police" (2013), "The Son" (2014), "Blood on Snow" (2015), "Midnight Sun" (2015), and "The Thirst" (2017). He has also written four children's books between 2007-2012 featuring the character Doktor Proktor, a volume of short stories, and more. Today, as famous as his cult detective, his book sales exceed 30 million copies worldwide, translated into more than 40 languages. He is the most successful Norwegian crime novelist, with international sales placing him above Swedish author Stieg Larsson (1954-2004), with whom he is sometimes compared. "The Headhunters" was adapted into a film by Norwegian director Morten Tyldum in 2012, and "The Snowman," part of the Harry Hole series, followed in 2017, directed by Tomas Alfredson in an international production starring Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, and Chloë Sevigny. He has been honored with prestigious awards such as The Riverton Prize (1997), The Glass Key (1998), The Norwegian Bookseller's Book of the Year (2000 and 2007), and "The Redbreast" was voted by his country's Reading Clubs as the Best Norwegian Crime Novel of All Time. Additionally, "The Redbreast" was shortlisted for the Duncan Lawrie Prize in the UK (2007) and "Nemesis" for the Edgar Award in the USA (2010). He resides permanently in Oslo.