[6][8] Olsen made her literary debut in 2000 with the polyphonic poetry book Lulus sange og taler.

[8] Her 2005 collection Ægteskabet mellem vejen og udvejen attracted significant critical acclaim and became a turning point in her career.

"[1][4] She was subsequently given the Danish Critics' Prize for Literature in 2015 for Udgående Fartøj, sometimes described as a sequel to or, in Olsen's words, "a dark twin" of Det 3. årtusindes hjerte.

[3] Most recently, Olsen's 2020 poetry collection Mit smykkeskrin was nominated in 2021 for the Nordic Council Literature Prize.

[10] Her works Det 3. årtusindes hjerte and Udgående Fartøj have been translated into English under the titles Third-Millennium Heart and Outgoing Vessel, respectively, by Katrine Øgaard Jensen.