Chantal-Fleur Sandjon was born in Berlin in 1984 and is the author of books for children and young adults, poetry, non-fiction, and numerous articles. Her literary work devotes itself in particular to the portrayal of black life in Germany. Her verse novel \u00bbDie Sonne, so strahlend und Schwarz\u00ab [2022; tr: The Sun, so Radiant and Black] tells the story of 17-year-old Nova, who has found protection from her violent stepfather in a women’s shelter with her mother and little brother. Now they move into their own apartment. A new everyday life begins \u2013 and Nova falls head over heels in love with hip-hop dancer Akoua. \u00bbBy mentioning contemporary issues such as structural racism and police violence as well as historical events, the novel fills a gap in the canon of German youth literature. Black history is integrated as part of German history\u00ab said the jury of the German Youth Literature Award, which was awarded to the novel in 2023. It also received the Vielfalter Literature Prize and the Kranichstein Youth Literature Scholarship.<\/p>\n\n
Her new novel \u00bbCity of Trees\u00ab [2024] weaves African mythology into a setting of contemporary Berlin and tells the story of Lindiwe, or Lin for short, who is looking for her big sister Khanyi. It has been three years since Khanyi disappeared; she was last seen in a forest on the outskirts of Berlin. Lin is drawn there again and again, feeling close to her sister. But Khanyi’s disappearance remains a mystery, as do the changes that happen to Lin herself …<\/p>\n\n