Monica Ali was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and lives in London. She teaches creative writing and is member of the jury for this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction. »Brick Lane« was nominated for the Booker Prize, among other nominations. Most recently, her novel »Liebesheirat« (»Love Marriage«) was published (Klett-Cotta, translated from English by Dorothee Merkel).

➔ To Monica Ali’s Website

Zsófia Bán was born in Rio de Janeiro and lives in Budapest. The writer, essayist, artist and literary critic deals in her work with the politically and culturally challenging circumstances in Hungary, among other issues. Her latest novel in German is »Weiter atmen« (»Lehet lélegezni!«) (Suhrkamp; translated from Hungarian by Terézia Mora).

➔ To Zsófia Bán’s Website

Aris Fioretos is a Swedish writer, translator and essayist of Greek-Austrian origin, and professor of aesthetics. This year, he is giving the Poetry Lectures in Frankfurt am Main. His latest novel is »Die dünnen Götter« (»De tunna gudarna«, »The Thin Gods«) (Hanser; translated from Swedish by Paul Berf).

➔ To Aris Fioretos’ Website

Arnon Grünberg was born in the Netherlands and lives in New York. At the age of 23, he published his debut novel, and has since been active in various genres. Literarily and journalistically, he also deals with with his jewish identity and the Holocaust. His most recent German publication is »Gstaad« (Die Andere Bibliothek; translated from Dutch by Rainer Kersten).

➔ To Arnon Grünberg’s Website

Nino Haratischwili has received numerous awards for her epic novels and plays. The author, who was born in Tbilisi and lives in Berlin, mainly tells of families and friendships in the collapsing Soviet empire, as in her novel »Das mangelnde Licht« (»The Lack of Light«), published in 2022 (Frankfurter Verlagsanstalt).

With his numerous novels, short stories, essays and plays, Drago Jančar is considered Slovenia’s most frequently translated author. He was president of the Slovenian PEN for several years. His latest novel »Als die Welt entstand« (»Ob nastanku sveta«) was published in 2023 (Zsolnay; translated from Slovenian by Erwin Köstler).

Alain Mabanckou is professor for francophone literature in California. He lives there and in Paris. His poetry as well as his prose deals with the life of the African diaspora and the colonialism in the Congo, among other issues. In 2023, his novel »Das Geschäft der Toten« (»Le commerce des Allongés«, »The Trade of the Buried«) (Liebeskind; translated from French by Holger Fock and Sabine Müller) was published in German.

Tanja Maljartschuk writes her novels, stories, columns and essays in German and Ukrainian; she lives in Vienna. In 2018, she received the Ingeborg-Bachmann-Preis. Her current texts mainly deal with the war situation in her country of origin, Ukraine, which is also what her latest essay collection »Gleich geht die Geschichte weiter, wir atmen nur aus« (Kiepenheuer & Witsch) is about.

Dorota Masłowska made her debut at the age of 18. In sometimes vulgar, everyday, innovative, and provocative tone, her novels are set in post-communist Poland. Most recently, »Bowie in Warschau« (»Bowie w Warszawie«) was published in German (Rowohlt Berlin; translated from Polish by Olaf Kühn).

Francesca Melandi is known for her fact-based, confrontational novels, that deal with issues such as the terror in South Tyrol or Italy’s colonial heritage. She is a founding member of the PEN Berlin. Her latest novel in German is »Alle, außer mir« (»Sangue giusto«) (Wagenbach; translated from Italian by Esther Hansen).

Fiston Mwanza Mujila, current winner of the Preis der Literaturhäuser, speaks six languages and combines forms of expression from various arts and cultures to create an outstanding, independent literature. After »Tram 83«, »Tanz der Teufel« (»La Danse du Vilain«, »The Villain’s Dance«) (Zsolnay; translated from French by Katharina Meyer and Lena Müller) was published in 2022.

➔ To Fiston Mwanza Mujila’s Website

Sasha Marianna Salzmann is a playwright, essayist, and dramaturge, who deals artistically, among other things, with gender roles and queer life. Salzmann received the Preis der Literaturhäuser in 2022 and was nominated twice for the Deutscher Buchpreis; in 2022 with the current novel »Im Menschen muss alles herrlich sein« (»Glorious People«) (Suhrkamp). Salzmann has just published »Gleichzeit – Briefe zwischen Israel und Europa« (Suhrkamp) together with Ofer Waldman.

➔ To Sasha Marianna Salzmann’s Website

Natascha Freundel is an editor at radio3 by rbb and presenter of the debate-podcast »Der zweite Gedanke«. She studied philosophy, German and Slavic studies in Frankfurt am Main and Berlin. From 2010 to 2018 she was an editor at NDR Kultur in Hanover and Hamburg. Before that she reported as a freelance journalist and literary critic from Berlin, Israel and Ukraine for the ARD Kulturwellen and various newspapers, including »Berliner Zeitung« and »Die Zeit«. She is a spokesperson of the jury for Deutscher Buchpreis 2024.

Rosie Goldsmith is an award-winning journalist and presenter, specializing in arts and foreign affairs. As a BBC broadcaster for twenty years, she travelled the world. Today she combines journalism with presenting and curating cultural and literary events. As well as being Director of the European Literature Network and Editor-in-Chief of The Riveter magazine, Rosie is also the Artistic Director of the European Writers’ Festival in the UK.