Wells grew up in Bavaria. At the age of six, he was sent to a state boarding school after his parents separated and had to deal with several problems. All of his school years were spent at boarding schools and homes. Following his graduation from high school in 2003, he decided not to go to university but instead moved to Berlin to pursue his writing. He made a living doing odd jobs, while his manuscripts were rejected by publishers and agencies for years. His first novel
Becks letzter Sommer (''Beck's Last Summer
) was published in 2008 and received widespread acclaim. It was described by Die Zeit'' as "the most interesting debut of the year" Wells released his fourth novel
Vom Ende der Einsamkeit (
The End of Loneliness), a family drama, in February 2016. He had worked seven years on it. It remained on the German bestseller list for more than 80 weeks and awarded the 2016
European Union Prize for Literature. An English translation by
Charlotte Collins was published in 2018. As of 2023, it is the only book by Wells to be translated into English. His fifth novel
Hard Land was published in February 2021 and became an instant number 1 bestseller in Germany. It takes place in 1985 in a fictional small town in Missouri. The novel won the
Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis and is also described as an hommage to classic American 80s movies like
The Breakfast Club and
Stand by Me (film). Wells' books have been translated into 38 languages and have sold more than one million copies worldwide. He previously did not allow his books to be published as
ebooks. Since 2018 his books are initially available as hardcover books and audiobooks, then only later as ebooks when the paperback edition is published. This system is intended to support bookshops. ==Family==