Laura Freudenthaler: "Iris" and Andrea Grill: "Sun Play"

LAURA FREUDENTHALER, born in 1984 in Salzburg, lives in Vienna. She studied German studies, philosophy, and gender studies. For her first novel "The Queen Remains Silent," published in 2017, she received the Förderpreis zum Bremer Literaturpreis in 2018. The novel was also awarded the best German-language debut novel at the "Festival du premier Roman" in 2018 in Chambéry. Numerous awards followed, including the Literature Prize of the European Union in 2019, the 3sat Prize at the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize in 2020, the manuskripte Prize in 2021, the Anton Wildgans Prize in 2024, the Outstanding Artist Award for Literature in 2024, and the Reinhard Priessnitz Prize in 2024. Most recently published: "Arson," 2023; "Ghost Story," 2019.
About the book: Iris is a writer who travels extensively, both in Europe and beyond. She finds moments of understanding in the encounters she has along the way. Back home, she recounts these travels, and Anton listens to her while showing Iris the photos he takes as an artist with damaged cameras. Her relationship with Anton (as with other men) is based on agreements. She and Anton share much, including a desire for sexual play involving violence and submission. As Iris's imagination begins to ignite with the history of the witch trials, memories from her childhood increasingly surface. (Publisher's text)
ANDREA GRILL, born in 1975 in Bad Ischl, lives as a poet and writer in Vienna and Amsterdam. She is a PhD in evolutionary biology and translates from Albanian. She has received numerous awards, including the Förderpreis zum Bremer Literaturpreis in 2011 and the Anton Wildgans Prize in 2021. Most recently published: "Perfect People," 2024; "Bio-Diversi-What? A Journey into the Fantastic World of Biodiversity," 2023; and "Seahorse. A Portrait," 2023.
About the book: A village in Apulia. A house by the sea. A garden full of olive trees and citrus fruits. Here, Loredana Sartoro lives under one roof with her parents. She is the mother of three children and sews clothes at home for an Italian luxury fashion brand. When a journalist learns about her precarious living conditions while on vacation, she wants to write a major exposé. However, Loredana wants nothing to do with it. In a snap decision, she locks the journalist in her pantry. A story unfolds between the two women. (Publisher's text)