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Zoë Jenny (born 16 March 1974 in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, Switzerland) is a Swiss writer. Her first novel, '' The Pollen Room'', was published in German in 1997 and has been translated into 27 languages. She was awarded the

Aspekte-Literaturpreis The Aspekte-Literaturpreis (''Aspekte'' Literature Prize) is awarded annually for the best debut novel written in German, as judged by a panel of writers, critics, and scholars. The prize is sponsored by the ZDF television network through its arts ...

for '' The Pollen Room''. Her novel, ''The Sky is Changing'', was her first written in English and was published by Legend Press in June 2010. She has since returned to writing in German, publishing several novels and a children's book.

Life

Jenny was born in

, Switzerland, and grew up in Greece, Basel and

Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...

. Her father was Matthyas Jenny, a Swiss publisher and literary activist. Her first published works were short stories, which she submitted to German-language literary magazines. Jenny's first novel, Das Blütenstaubzimmer ''( The Pollen Room)'', was published in German in 1997 and has been translated into 27 languages. She lived in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

after ''The Pollen Room'' was published. In 2008, she married Matthew Homfray, a British

veterinary surgeon Veterinary surgery is surgery performed on non-human animals by veterinarians, whereby the procedures fall into three broad categories: orthopaedics (bones, joints, muscles), soft tissue surgery (skin, body cavities, cardiovascular system, GI/u ...

and pharmaceuticals consultant. Her newest novel, ''The Sky is Changing'', was her first written in English and was published by Legend Press in June 2010. She was awarded the

in 1997 for ''The Pollen Room''. Jenny lives in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and has also lived in Tuscany and Zurich. In 2024 she published a children's book, ''Nachts werden alle Wünsche wahr''. In 2025 she revealed her next novel would involve a therapist in Vienna as the protagonist. Jenny also wrote the script for a short film, ''In nuce'', which she made with her brother Camper Jenny. The film was shown by two German television stations. She served on the jury for the

Locarno Film Festival The Locarno International Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narr ...

Bibliography

* * * * * *

For children

Written in English

English translations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jenny, Zoe 1974 births Living people Swiss women novelists 20th-century Swiss novelists Swiss writers in German 21st-century Swiss novelists 21st-century Swiss women writers 20th-century Swiss women writers