Liz Jensen (born 1959) is an English

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

living in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark.

Biography

Liz Jensen was born in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, the daughter of a Danish father and a mother whose family were Moroccan Jews. She studied English at

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. It began admitting men in 1994. The colle ...

. She first worked as a print and radio journalist in Hong Kong and Taiwan. She then spent four years as a sculptor, translator and freelance writer in France, where she wrote her first novel, ''Egg Dancing'' (1995). She then returned to London to write ''Ark Baby'' (1998), ''The Paper Eater'' (2000), and ''War Crimes for the Home'' (2002). While living in the UK, Jensen also spent ten years working as a television and radio producer for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. She was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

in 2005. She is also a founder member of

Extinction Rebellion Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a UK-founded global environmental movement, with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and ...

's Writers Rebel. Her fifth novel was adapted into a film version, '' The 9th Life of Louis Drax'', by

Alexandre Aja Alexandre Jouan-Arcady, known professionally as Alexandre Aja (; born 7 August 1978), is a French filmmaker best known for his work in the horror genre. He rose to international stardom for his 2003 horror film '' Haute Tension'' (known as ''Hi ...

in 2016. Her 2009 novel, ''The Rapture'', is to be adapted into a five-part

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

drama series starring Ruth Madeley.

Personal life

Jensen is married to the Danish writer Carsten Jensen, author of the critically-acclaimed novel ''We, the Drowned'', which she co-translated into English as Emma Ryder. Her younger son by her first marriage, Raphaël Coleman, a child actor-turned-climate change activist, died from an undiagnosed heart condition at the age of 25 in 2020.

Novels

* ''Egg Dancing'' (1995) * ''Ark Baby'' (1998) * ''Paper Eater'' (2000) * ''War Crimes for the Home'' (2002) * ''The Ninth Life of Louis Drax'' (2004) * ''My Dirty Little Book of Stolen Time'' (2006) * ''The Rapture'' (2009) * ''The Uninvited'' (2012) ;Non-fiction *''Your Wild and Precious Life: On Grief, Hope and Rebellion'' (Canongate, 2024)

References

External links

Liz Jensen's Home Page

article written by Jensen in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

Review of ''The Ninth Life of Louis Drax''
in

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

Review of ''My Dirty Little Book of Stolen Time''
in

''The Ninth Life of Louis Drax''
at Tin House Books * ''The Otherworlds of Liz Jensen: a Critical Reading'', by Helen E. Mundler. Camden House, New York, 13 September 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Liz 1959 births Writers from Oxfordshire English women novelists Living people Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature English people of Moroccan descent Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford English expatriates in Denmark