European Writers' Tour 2017

Janne Teller is a critically acclaimed & bestselling Danish novelist of Austrian-German family background. Her work circles around existential and ethical questions of life and civilization, and often sparks controversial debate. Her novels include Odin’s Island (1999), a contemporary Nordic saga about religious and political fanaticism; Europa, All That You Lack (2004), about European identity and the binds of history in love and war, set in central Europe at the time of the 1990’s Balkan wars; and Come (2008), about ethics in art and modern competition driven life. Her existential young adult novel, Nothing, after initially being banned, has become a prize-winning international bestseller and is by many critics already considered a classic. Her prize winning passport-book about life as a refugee, she rewrites for each country in which it is published. Janne Teller has received numerous literary grants and awards including the American Michael L. Printz Honor Award for Literary Excellence. Teller is actively engaged in many human rights issues. She was one of the initiators of the 2013 WritersAgainst Mass Surveillance action, and has recently initiated the Frankfurt Zwischen Zeilen peace readings. In 2014, she was named a member of the jury of the prestigious German Book Peace Prize. Her literature is translated into more than 25 languages. Before becoming a full time writer, Janne Teller worked for the United Nations with humanitarian assistance and conflict resolution, and has lived in many countries around the world, including Mozambique and Tanzania. She currently resides partly in Elsinore, partly Berlin.