ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS

Rob Alef, born in 1965 in Nuremberg, is a freelance legal historian. He is the author of several highly acclaimed crime novels inspired by Berlin’s mad everyday life, featuring elements of horror and fantasy and a hint of the grotesque. His most recent publication was Immer schön gierig bleiben (2013). Alef lives in Pankow, Berlin.

Max Annas was born in 1963 in Cologne. He was a journalist, film critic, and nonfiction author. With his three award-winning novels—Die Farm, Die Mauer, and Illegal—he has developed a distinctive voice and is widely regarded as one of the best German-language crime fiction writers. His latest thriller is called Finsterwalde (2018). After many years in South Africa, he now lives and works in Berlin. The Wall will be published by Catalyst Press in 2019.

Zoë Beck, born in 1975, writes, translates, and manages the CulturBooks publishing house together with Jan Karsten. She was formerly a creative producer for international TV films. Since 2004 she has been an editor, dialogue writer, and director for dubbed productions. Many of her novels have won awards and have been translated into several languages. She is one of most celebrated German-language crime fiction writers. Her most recent novel is Die Lieferantin (Suhrkamp, 2017).

Katja Bohnet, born in 1971, studied film theory and philosophy. She has traveled widely and has had many jobs, living for a long time in Berlin, Paris, and the United States before moving to the countryside. She is a former TV presenter and author. Since 2012, she has been a full-time writer. Messertanz was her first, highly acclaimed crime novel. Her most recent is Kerkerkind (2018).

Ute Cohen, born in 1966, studied linguistics and history in Erlangen and Florence. She is a former management consultant for a company in Düsseldorf and Frankfurt, and has worked for an international organization in Paris. Since 2003, she has worked in concept development, customer communication, and journalism for various media. Her debut novel was the psychological thriller Satans Spielfeld (2017). Cohen lives in Berlin.

Johannes Groschupf, born 1963 in Braunschweig, works as a freelance journalist for Die Zeit, F.A.Z., Tagesspiegel, and Berliner Zeitung, and has traveled widely throughout the world. After a helicopter crash in the Sahara, he wrote the NDR radio feature Der Absturz in 1999 based on this experience, for which he received the Robert Geisendörfer Prize. He is an award-winning young adult novelist and thriller writer. His thriller Berlin Prepper will be published in 2019. He lives and works in Berlin.

Kai Hensel, born in 1965, is a copywriter and comedy writer for television. He has written screenplays for numerous television films and three feature films. With Klamms Krieg and Welche Droge passt zu mir? he became one of the most performed playwrights, and his plays have been translated into thirteen languages. He has been awarded the German Short Crime Award, the German Youth Theatre Prize, and the Schiller Memorial Prize.

Lucy Jones was born in England and has lived in Berlin since 1998. She studied German, film, and applied linguistics in the UK. Her translations include works by Annemarie Schwarzenbach, Silke Scheuermann, and Brigitte Reimann; she also writes book reviews of German literary fiction, coruns the translators’ collective Transfiction, and hosts a reading series called the Fiction Canteen. Her own writing has been published by Pigeon Pages NYC and SAND Journal in Berlin.

Robert Rescue, born in 1969, is a writer, reader, and (founding) member of various public reading platforms, including the fabulous Brauseboys. He has given countless live performances and has published numerous short stories and other work since 1995. He is also a novelist. His latest publication is Das ist alles eins zu eins erfunden (2017). Rescue is a chronicler of the district of Wedding, where he lives and works.

Susanne Saygin, born in 1967, has a doctorate in medieval history. She has spent long periods in the UK, Italy, and the United States, working various jobs in university administration and at PR agencies. Her debut thriller, Feinde (2018), is a novel about modern-day slavery in Germany. She lives and works in Berlin.

Matthias Wittekindt, born in 1958 in Bonn, studied architecture and has worked in that field in Berlin and London. He also studied philosophy of religion. He is a theater director and has written numerous scripts for television films, radio plays, theater plays, and TV documentaries. He has published four excellent novels to date. His most recent work is Die Tankstelle von Courcelles (2018).

Ulrich Woelk, born in 1960, grew up in Cologne. He studied physics and philosophy and earned a doctorate in physics. He is an award-winning novelist (including crime novels) and a playwright. He also writes short stories and nonfiction, and is at the forefront of German contemporary literature. His most recent book is Nacht ohne Engel (2017). He lives and works in Berlin.

Thomas Wörtche, born in 1954, is a literary scholar, critic, and was director of several crime fiction publishing imprints. He is currently responsible for a crime line with Suhrkamp Verlag. He lives in Berlin.

Michael Wuliger was born in London in 1951. Until 2015, he was the features editor of the Jüdische Allgemeine newspaper. He is the author of the nonfiction book Der koschere Knigge: Trittsicher durch die deutsch-jüdischen Fettnäpfchen (2009), essays, and columns. Wuliger lives in Charlottenburg, Berlin.

Miron Zownir was born in 1953 in Karlsruhe to German-Ukrainian parents. Since the midseventies he has lived and worked as a photographer, director, and writer in Berlin, New York, Los Angeles, London, and Moscow. His photographs have been published and shown in numerous photo books and exhibitions. He is the author of crime novels, short stories, and poetry. His latest publication, cowritten with Nico Anfuso, is Pommerenke: Ein True-Crime-Roman (2017).