Asta Olivia Nordenhof

(Denmark, 1988) is an award-winning poet and author. In 2020 she published Money to Burn, which was awarded the European Union Prize for Literature. Revolving around the Scandinavian Star disaster in 1990 and tracing how capitalism infects ordinary lives, Money to Burn and The Devil Book caused an international literary sensation and are the first two instalments in a planned septology. They were published in their original Danish language versions in 2020 and 2023; the English versions in 2024 and 2025 respectively. In Money to Burn, Nordenhof tells the story of Maggie and Kurt’s marriage through different layers of love, betrayal, and poverty. At the novel’s midpoint, Nordenhof leaves the couple behind for an examination of what really happened. A national tragedy in both Norway and Denmark, it was later revealed to be an insurance scam.