Janne Teller is a critically acclaimed and bestselling Danish novelist of Austrian-German family background. Her work circles around existential and ethical questions of life and civilization. She has published nine books, that are sold in 2 million copies in altogether 37 languages worldwide. Her literature has received numerous awards, including the American Michael L. Printz Honor for literary excellency, the French Prix Libbylit, the Danish Drassow Peace Prize, and most recently the prestigious Hungarian Budapest Grand Prize 2025.
Among her books are Odin’s Island, a contemporary Nordic saga about religious and political fanaticism, Europe, All that You Lack about European identity and the binds of history in love and war set during the 1990’s Balkan wars, as well as the existential coming-of-age novel, Nothing, that after initially being banned has become a prize-winning international bestseller. Her much-awarded passport book about life as a refugee, she re-adapts to each country in which it is published (to date 16 versions). Her latest novel Are You Proud of Me, Joanna? about a Nordic UN diplomat’s desperate search for truth and justice for his activist daughter’s violent death in the Middle East was published in 2024.
Janne Teller also publishes essays and participates in the international public debate, particularly concerning human and civil rights, multiculture and democracy.
Originally educated a macroeconomist, before becoming a full-time writer Janne Teller worked for the United Nations with humanitarian assistance and conflict resolution and lived in many countries around the world, such as Tanzania, Mozambique, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. After years in New York and London, respectively, she now resides in Denmark.
