Author and translator Anne Weber, most recently awarded the German Book Prize 2020 for her novel »Annette ― ein Heldinnenepos« [tr: Annette ― An Epic of a Heroine], offers insights into her literary work and discusses the productive risk of writing between two languages: her native tongue German and the
Annett Gröschner is a writer and publicist. She writes no vels, stories, essays, plays, radio features, and is a profound connoisseur of the aesthetics and works of Thomas Brasch. She talks about him with the director Andreas Kleinert, whose feature film about Brasch, »Lieber Thomas« will be released this year,
A love-starved sea goddess lands on an island inhabited by eunuchs. A girl from Martinique moonlights as a Grace Jones impersonator. In the short stories of the 2020 AKO Caine Prize winning author, offbeat characters find themselves in extraordinary situations that catapult them into lifeaffirming, life-changing, or even life-destroying realms
In her novel »Relocation« Ayelet Gundar-Goshen describes the insecurities of a mother: Lilach Schuster feels at ease in America, far from the everyday danger in her native Israel. But then a classmate of her son Adam dies at a party. The more she learns about the circumstances of the death,
»Difficult Women« combines more than twenty stories about a diverse set of women that reflect female realities. What unites the texts is the protagonists’ quest for independence, their ability to act and resilience. »One of the book’s greatest achievements is Gay’s psychological acuity.« [Washington Post] Together with Alice Hasters, author
Conceived as a continuation of his contemporary historical survey »In Europe« [2005], Geert Mak’s current book »Great Expectations« explores the diverse life on a continent stretched to breaking point in a way that is as rich in material as it is full of wit. Has the European dream become a
Magical realism from the highlands of Oaxaca: in his poetic narratives, Zapotec poet Pergentino José modernizes mythologies to illuminate the historical struggles of Mexico›s indigenous communities. Claustrophobic interiors and ants and worms crawling under the skin suggest that the threats they faced have not disappeared today. The densely written, often
On August 4, 2020, 2750 tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate exploded in the port of Beirut. More than 200 people were killed, thousands were injured, and many buildings were destroyed or damaged far beyond the port area. To date, no one has been charged as the perpetrator. – Beirut
Marco Carrera is a hummingbird ― constantly on the move, even when seemingly stationary. With psychological finesse, this novel, which won the 2020 Premio Strega, recounts his life and that of his family. »›The Hummingbird‹ is combative and amusing, is both comedy and tragedy, with one laughing eye and one
Hinemoana Baker is of Maori descent, writes her texts in the Maori language and performs them as a lyricist and singer-songwriter. In her poems, traditionally familyoriented values of Maori culture meet the selfassertion of the individual. Most recently, »Funkhaus« was published. »From Lake Geneva to Waitangi, Berlin to Ihumātao, Funkhaus
Ito — a character strongly based on the author — lives in California with her husband and three daughters. She regularly flies to Japan to visit her parents, who are in need of care. She finds distance from her hectic everyday life at night. The novel, which was published in
In his second novel, the awardwinning playwright tells the tragicomic story of a postal worker on Lanzarote who, since the invention of the Internet, no longer sorts letters but only junk mail. When his son leaves for Barcelona and loneliness overtakes him, the title character forges a bold plan together
