Christel Jansen (Haarlem, 1961) studied Slavic languages, communication and religion studies. She works as a journalist and writer for several magazines and newspapers, and explores different genres in her work: from children's literature to columns and non-fiction (such as De woonschool). Christel Jansen is fascinated by family histories: how familial trauma works, how it can linger for generations and how one inherits trauma. Working with interviews, archival research and authentic source material, she tells the complete story. Her novel debut My Mother Does Not Want to Know My Name appeared in 2021 with Nieuw Amsterdam and was longlisted for the Bronzen Uil-prize. Currently she's working on a book on the closure of an Amsterdam Ford-factory in 1981. This history is connected to her own family story, and describes an important part of the Netherlands post-World War II.