Anna Jansson

Anna Maria Angelika Jansson is a Swedish crime writer and nurse. She is best known for her crime novels set on the island of Gotland. She is best known for her Maria Wern detective series. Her 2006 novel Strange Bird was nominated for the Glass Key Award in 2007.

Anna Jansson was born on 13 February 1958. Early in her career, she trained as a surgical nurse. She soon moved to a lung clinic instead. Frequent fainting at the sight of blood prompted this change.

Jansson began writing novels in 1997. Her family had recently bought a home computer. She had by then worked as a nurse for twenty years. She said, "In school I hated writing essays, but then we got a computer at home."

Jansson drew inspiration from her patients at the time. She often treated patients nearing the end of their lives. Many expressed regret over things left undone. These encounters shaped the themes of her later fiction.

Jansson wrote two early novels that found no publisher. Her first published crime novel appeared in 2000. Stum sitter guden introduced her detective, Maria Wern. She continued working part-time as a nurse throughout this period.

Jansson has published at least one novel every year since 2000. Her later novels have each sold over 100,000 copies. All are set on the island of Gotland. Maria Wern appears as the lead investigator throughout the series.

In 2006, Jansson published Strange Bird. The novel earned a nomination for the Glass Key award in 2007. Swedish broadcaster TV4 adapted it into a television series in 2008. The series introduced Maria Wern to a wider audience.

Jansson's series has continued to expand in the years since. Killer's Island appeared in 2010, followed by many further titles. Recent entries include Victims of the Unknown (2024) and Labyrinth of Fear (2025). The series has maintained a steady annual release schedule.

Alongside her crime fiction, Jansson has written several children's books. These appeared mainly in 2007, alongside her ongoing adult fiction. Her body of work spans more than two decades of writing.

Anna Jansson continues to work part-time as a nurse. She remains employed at Örebro Hospital's lung clinic. She has three children and lives in Vintrosa, near Örebro.

Photo credit: annajansson.se