Jesper Wung-Sung, born 1971 in Marstal on Ærø, Denmark
Jesper Wung-Sung lives in Svendborg, Denmark, with his family. His debut collection of short stories, To ryk og en aflevering (Kick and rush), was heralded with the Best Danish Debutant Award at the Copenhagen Book Fair in 1998. In 2004, this collection was adapted to film (Kick‘n rush) by the Danish director, Aage Riis-Nordentoft, with whom the author co-wrote the film manuscript.
Wung-Sung’s fiction is inspired by i.a. Franz Kafka, Ernest Hemingway and Cormac McCarthy and explores existential issues of universal relevance for adults and young readers alike. In Denmark, his work is widely regarded as an intelligent and humane contribution to social and academic debate on topical issues like masculine identity, violence, (in)tolerance and social injustice.
Wung-Sung has received numerous awards and grants, among them the prestigious three-year grant of the Danish Arts Council, the Danish Arts Council's Award for Best Children’s and Young Adult Fiction in 2011. His young adult novel, Kopierene (The Copies), was awarded the Danish Librarian Association’s Award for Best Children’s and Young Adult Fiction in 2011 and Ud med Knud (Boot Canute) was short-listed for the Nordic Council's Award for Best Children's and Young Adult Fiction in 2015. The adult novel, En anden gren (Show me) won the Golden Laurels in 2017. Lynkineser was short-listed for the Nordic Council's Award for Best Children's and Young Adult Fiction in 2018. Alfred og gabestokken was the best children book of 2018, according to the Danish Ministry of Culture. Wung-Sung received the Danish Academy’s Silas Prize 2019 and Guldfisken Glimmer was awarded Læringscentrenes Forfatterpris 2020. He received Søren Gyldendal Prisen (B&U) and Drachmannlegatet - and became a member of The Danish Academy in 2022.
His books are sold to USA, Germany, Finland, France, Holland, Italy, Norway, Russia, Serbia and Sweden.
He is currently nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.
