Ulrike Almut Sandig was born in Saxony in 1979, and is the co-founder of »Literatursache augenpost«, for which she posted poems in the streets until 2005 and wrote free postcards in 2007. Her studies and work opportunities led her to France and India. A master’s thesis in religious studies and
Chingiz Abdullayev, born in Baku in 1959, draws on his experiences of working in the secret service when writing his numerous crime and detective novels. The qualified lawyer has been vice-president of P.E.N. International since 1992. © international literaturefestival berlin
Tzvetan Todorov was born in Sofia in 1939. At the age of twenty-four, he left Bulgaria and went to Paris, where he obtained his doctorate in 1970. He published his authoritative work on fantasy literature in the same year. The »Introduction à la littérature fantastique« (1972; Eng. »The Fantastic: A
Uazuvara Ewald Katjivena, born in Otjiwarongo, Namibia in 1941, served as Executive and Central Committee member of SWAPO (South West Africa People’s Organization) before he went into exile for 26 years, during which time he studied in Berlin. Following the independence of Namibian he worked as the Senior Controller for
The poet, critic and lecturer Tim Liardet was born in London. He studied at the University of York in northern England and currently is Senior Lecturer in Creative Studies at Bath Spa University in the south. To date he has published five volumes and one pamphlet of poetry, as well
Timothée de Fombelle, born in Paris in 1973, discovered early in life that he had a passion both for writing and theatre. At the age of seventeen he founded the theatre group »La Troupe des Bords de Scène«, for which he wrote and directed. After completing his studies in literature
The German writer, film director, and journalist Thomas von Steinaecker was born in Traunstein, Bavaria in 1977. He studied German, English, and American literature in Munich and Cincinnati and received his doctorate in 2006. He worked as a freelance journalist and published several short stories during his studies. After the
Thomas Melle was born in Bonn in 1975, and lives in Berlin. He completed his studies in comparative literature and linguistics in Tübingen, Austin (Texas) and Berlin, with a master’s thesis on William T. Vollmann. Melle took part in the Ingeborg Bachmann Competition, and was nominated for the German Book
The »Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung« celebrated Thé Tjong-Khing’s picture book, »Waar is de taart?« (2004; t: Where is the cake?), as a »great work of little things«. It shows an illustrious animal society’s turbulent search for a coveted cake. Thé was born to a Chinese-Indonesian family in Purworedjo, on Java, in
Ted van Lieshout responded to the question »why poetry?« by saying: »The great thing about poetry is that, of course, I determine what poetry is.« Among the most wilful authors of literature for children and young people in the Netherlands, the graphic artist, poet and prose writer was born in
Tang Xiaodu was born in 1954 in Yizheng, in the province of Jiangsu. After completing his degree in Chinese Studies at the Nanking University, he worked as an editor for several publishing houses and magazines, including »Poetry Monthly«. Early on in his career he emerged as a translator of European
Susan Kiguli was born in the Luweero District, Uganda, north of the capital Kampala in 1969. She studied education and literature at Makerere University and later at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. In 1998 her first collection of poetry »The African Saga« was published by the Ugandan Female
