Ida Jessen (25 September 1964) is a Danish writer.

Jessen studied literary history and communication studies at Aarhus University. In 1989, she published her first book, the short-story collection Under sten. After earning her master’s degree in 1990, she worked as a teacher, and continued to publish novels and short stories.

For the novel Det første jeg tænker på, Jessen received the Danske Bank Literature Prize in 2006. In 2009, she was awarded the Søren Gyldendal Prize. In 2010 she received De Gyldne Laurbær. The novel En ny tid, published in 2015, was awarded the DR Novel Prize in 2016.

Jessen works as a literary translator, and has translated the works of Alice Munro and Marilynne Robinson, among others.

Books

Novels

• Vandpaladset (1998)
• Sommertid (1999)
• Den der lyver (2001)
• ABC (2005)
• Det første jeg tænker på (2006)
• Børnene (2009)
• Ramt af ingenting (2012)
• En ny tid (2015)
  • English: A Change of Time (2019, tr. Martin Aitken)
• Doktor Bagges anagrammer (2017)
• Telefon (2018)

Children’s books

• Troldtinden (1996)
• De døde skær (1997)
• Fuglefar (1998)
• Slangesmykket (1999)
• Julie og Aleksy (2004)
• Orm får en ven (2007)
• Den lille gule pige (2008)
• Da Carl blev rasende (2012)
• Sille tegner rødt (2016)

Short-story collections

• Under sten (1989)
• De uskydlige (1994)
• Den anden side af havet (1997)
• En mand kom til byen (2007)
• Postkort til Annie (2013)