Sarah Michaela Orlovský

Sarah Michaela Orlovský was born in Linz in 1984 and has been publishing picture, read-aloud, beginners, children’s, and young adult books since 2012.
Her first book, the young adult novel »Status: Karibik«, co-authored with Elisabeth Etz, was published in 2012. Her debut novel »Tomaten mögen keinen Regen« (2013; tr: Tomatoes Don’t Like Rain) was published one year later. The novel is about Hovanes, Sirup, Tiko, Eilis, and Gaya, the five teenage residents of an orphanage. Orlovský tells the story of life together under the care of Sister Miki and Sister Rosa, of adolescent friction, of the search for one’s own self, of longings and dreams, mostly from the point of view of the oldest resident Hovanes. In doing so, she gives readers an insight into the lives of young people with disabilities without making them the main focus of attention. »Tomaten mögen keinen Regen« has won many awards, including the 2014 Evangelical Book Prize. Orlovský’s young adult novel »ich: #wasauchimmerdasheißenmag« (2017; tr: I: #whateverthatmeans) uses diary entries, notes, lists, and poems to tell the story of fifteen-year-old Nono’s search for identity and her weltschmerz as she struggles to come to terms with the fact that her mother is pregnant once again. The book, illustrated by Ulrike Möltgen, was awarded the Austrian Children’s and Young Adult Book Prize in 2018. The children’s novel »Filomena Grau«, published in 2019 with illustrations by Michael Roher, tells the story of Filomena, who moves with her parents from the city to the country and has to say goodbye to her old life. The author creates a special »Filo language« for this text, in which she introduces the young readers to the »Filoverse«, in which, despite all the sadness of parting, the joy of the new life in the countryside gradually begins to take shape. The most recent publication is »Eine halbe Banane und die Ordnung der Welt« (2021; tr: Half a Banana and the Order of the World). The book deals with the subject of anorexia. Unlike many other books on this subject, the author does not let the sufferer herself speak here, but her younger sister. In condensed monologues addressed to the older sister, who remains speechless behind the closed door of her room, the protagonist tries to bridge the abyss of the disease and win back her admired big sister for herself, the family, and life. An important text about the far-reaching effects of a serious illness: »Always you wear long sleeves. Always lugging around your hot water bottle. It’s winter outside, but we have central heating. […] We’re all sweating. Are you really cold? From the outside? Or more from the inside?«
The author has traveled extensively, including to Zambia, Armenia, Ethiopia, and Rwanda. She lives with her family in Salzkammergut.

Tomaten mögen keinen Regen
Wiener Dom-Verlag
Wien, 2013

Ein Schnurrbart erobert die Welt
[III: Michael Roher]
Picus
Wien, 2016

ich: #wasauchimmerdasheißenmag
[III: Ulrike Möltgen]
Tyrolia
Innsbruck, 2017

Filomena Grau
[III: Michael Roher]
Picus
Wien, 2019

Eine halbe Banane und die Ordnung der Welt
Tyrolia
Innsbruck, 2021