born in 2000 in Mazār-i-Sharīf, Afghanistan, fled to Germany at the age of 15 as his parents’ only son. Shahzamir spent a total of three months on the road and almost drowned during the crossing to Greece. His enthusiasm for writing began at the age of 11 and he won
born in 1955 in Washington, D.C., grew up in Bombay and New Delhi, studied in Delhi, Oxford, and Heidelberg, and habilitated at the Free University of Berlin in 2002. The social anthropologist conducts research on transnationalization, globalization and development. She has worked at several European universities and institutions and has
Sara Mesa was born in Madrid in 1976 and moved with her parents to Seville as a child. She studied Journalism and Spanish Philology. The author is considered one of the most exciting voices of a still young generation of Spanish authors and can already look back on an extensive
Sally Nicholls was born in Stockton-on-Tees, England in 1983. After school, she worked in a hospital in Japan and travelled around Australia and New Zealand. She then studied literature and philosophy at Warwick before moving to Bath. She wrote her debut novel »Ways to Live Forever« (2008) in a writing
Samanta Schweblin was born in Buenos Aires in 1978. She studied cinematography at the University of Buenos Aires and subsequently founded an agency for web design. Her first anthology of short stories, »El núcleo del disturbio« (tr: The Nucleus of Unrest) was published in 2002 and was awarded the prestigious
born in Vancouver in 1954, is best known for the travel books »Stalinʼs Nose« (1992), about his surreal journey from Berlin to Moscow after the fall of the Berlin Wall, »Magic Bus« (2006) which retraced the Asia Overland »hippie trail«, »Berlin: Imagine a City« (2014), and »Pravda Ha Ha« (2019)
Richard Ford was born in 1944 in Jackson, Mississippi. He studied literature and law but also was employed as a railroad worker and a teacher and a science editor. Along the way he worked as a sports reporter, work which afforded him material with which to write the novel »The
is a Pakistani writer and expert on Pakistani politics and development. He has worked for national and international organizations such as the United Nations and the Asian Development Bank. As a journalist, he writes for international newspapers such as »The Friday Times« and blogs on »Jahane Rumi«. He survived an
Piers Torday, son of English writer Paul Torday, was born in Northumberland in 1974. He attended Eton College then studied at the University of Oxford. He has worked as a writer for theater, live comedy shows, and television. After attending an Arvon writing course, he wrote his first book for
Piotr Karski, born in Warsaw in 1987, studied graphic design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. He writes and illustrates children’s books and has received several national and international awards. His educational activity book »Meer!« was nominated for the German Children’s Literature Award. He makes his living as
Peter Van den Ende was born in Antwerp in 1985. He learned various design techniques and began working intensively on art as a schoolchild. After graduating from high school, he initially studied biology, but his passion for drawing ultimately prevailed. It was the visual wealth of nature that triggered his
Pankaj Mishra was born in the northern Indian town of Jhansi in 1969. After studying commerce at the University of Allahabad, he graduated with a Master of Arts degree in English Literature from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. He began to write reviews for newspapers such as »The Indian
