Literature in the Castle - CRIMINALE: Claudia Rossbacher & Robert Preis

As part of the Criminale: Claudia Rossbacher and Robert Preis read their texts from the anthology "Murder and Mozart Ball," edited by Manfred Baumann [Gmeiner, 2026] for the Criminale.

The CRIMINALE is the largest crime fiction industry gathering in Europe and has been held since 1986. The CRIMINALE takes place every year in a different city (or region). This multi-day (professional) conference features panel discussions, lectures, and seminars, and also offers the general public a thrilling evening program with many readings in unusual locations. The highlight of each CRIMINALE is the award ceremony for authors in several categories during the GLAUSER gala.

About the Authors

Claudia Rossbacher was born in Vienna. After studying tourism, she worked as a model, copywriter, and creative director before turning to writing. Her Styrian crime novels have all been bestsellers in Austria and serve as literary sources for the successful TV films broadcast by ORF as Styrian "Landkrimis" and by ARD as "Steirerkrimis." The adopted Styrian has received numerous awards, including the "Book Favorite," "Bacchus Prize," "Fine Crime Award," the "Golden Honorary Award of the State of Styria," "Platinum Book," and the "Josef Krainer Home Prize for Literature."

Robert Preis was born in Graz in 1972. After studying journalism and ethnology in Vienna, he now lives with his family near his hometown. He has been an editor for the Kleine Zeitung for 25 years and is the author of numerous non-fiction books and novels, including the crime series featuring chief investigator Armin Trost, which has been adapted into a film by Servus TV. He is also the initiator of the FINE CRIME crime festival™ in Graz, which has been attracting national and international authors to Styria since 2015.

About the Anthology

Just as one wanders through the city and countryside of Salzburg, continually surprised by what one encounters, one can also meander through the twenty stories in the anthology titled "Murder and Mozart Ball" and be surprised by the astonishing details that crime authors have conceived about the city and countryside of Salzburg. This includes Claudia Rossbacher in her story "God's Angel" and Robert Preis in his criminal exploration of Salzburg titled "The Black Coach."