FOREIGN RIGHTS AUTUMN 2013 - Hanser Literaturverlage

FOREIGN RIGHTS 

AUTU M N 2013

R E P R E S E N TAT I V E S 

China (mainland) 

Hercules Business & Culture GmbH, Niederdorfelden 

phone: +49-6101-407921, fax: +49-6101-407922 

e-mail: cai@hercules-book.de 

Hungary 

Balla-Sztojkov Literary Agency, Budapest 

phone: +36-1-456 03 11, fax: +36-1-215 44 20 

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Israel 

The Deborah Harris Agency, Jerusalem 

phone: +972-2-5633237, fax: +972-2-5618711 

e-mail: efrat@thedeborahharrisagency.com 

Italy 

Marco Vigevani, Agenzia Letteraria, Milano 

phone: +39-02-86 99 65 53, fax: +39-02-86 98 23 09 

e-mail: claire@marcovigevani.com 

Japan 

Meike Marx Literary Agency, Hokkaido 

phone: +81-164-25 1466, fax: +81-164-26 38 44 

e-mail: meike.marx@gol.com 

Korea 

Netherlands 

Poland 

Romania 

Scandinavia 

Spain 

MOMO Agency, Seoul 

phone: +82-2-337-8606, fax: +82-2-337-8702 

e-mail: geeniehan@mmagency.co.kr 

LiTrans, Tino Köhler, Amsterdam 

phone: +31-20- 685 53 80, fax: +31-20- 685 53 80 

e-mail: tino.kohler@xs4all.nl 

Graal Literary Agency, Warszawa 

phone: +48-22-895 2000, fax: +48-22-895 2001 

e-mail: joanna.maciuk@graal.com.pl 

Simona Kessler, International Copyright Ageny, Ltd., 

Bucharest 

phone: +402-2-231 81 50, fax: +402-2-231 45 22 

e-mail: simona@kessler-agency.ro 

Leonhardt & Høier Literary Agency aps, Kopenhagen 

phone: +45-33 13 25 23, fax: +45-33 13 49 92 

e-mail: monica@leonhardt-hoier.dk 

A.C.E.R., Agencia Literaria, Madrid 

phone: +34-91-369 2061, fax: +34-91-369 2052 

e-mail: ipiedrahita@acerliteraria.com 

Foreign Rights Service translated by Ruth Feuchtwanger, Fotos © Peter-Andreas Hassiepen 

F O R E I G N R I G H T S HANSER

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http://foreignrights.hanser.de

F I C T I O N 

THOMAS GLAVINIC 

Jonas is a driven man. Possessed by a mysterious 

inner force, he travels the world in search 

of solar eclipses – and one day his quest takes 

him to the legendary Mount Everest. Thomas 

Glavinic’s new novel is a journey into the 

unknown – and a book sure to linger in your 

memory long after you have put it down. 

Thomas Glavinic 

Das größere Wunder 

The Greater Miracle 

© www.pertramer.at 

Longlisted for the German Book Prize 2013 

»Few writers working today so brilliantly reveal the terrors that dwell beneath the surface 

of conventional life; Thomas Glavinic is one of the great adepts of coolly regarded horror, a worthy 

successor to Patricia Highsmith and Camus and even Kafka himself.« John Burnside 

»He stared at the flapping canvas of the tent. He was so cold that his teeth chattered uncontrollably, 

sometimes clamping down on his tongue. He tasted blood but felt no pain. 

Muted by the constant shriek of the wind, he could hear the muffled rumble of avalanches 

and the voices of people outside.« 

Jonas is a tourist in the death zone, taking part in an expedition that will lead him to the 

highest point on Earth. The individual stages of the ascent – each more harrowing than the 

last – are characterized by oxygen deprivation and life-threatening swings in the weather. 

Jonas is haunted by memories long suppressed: his wild childhood with Werner, the 

offspring of a Mafia-like clan; his brother Mike’s dreadful fate; his ceaseless travels that 

took him to Havana, Tokyo, Jerusalem and Oslo; and finally Marie, the love of his life, who 

transformed his world completely. 

Thomas Glavinic presents his magnum opus with Das größere Wunder – an incomparable 

book, at once absorbing and deeply disturbing, brimming with passionate energy and 

inescapable evocative force. Here, the bizarre becomes normality as life’s implicit certainties 

fall away - and in the end, all that remains is an insatiable lust for life. 

Novel. 528 pages. 

Hardcover 

Publication date: 

August 2013 

Thomas Glavinic 

was born in Graz in 1972, 

and lives in Vienna. His 

debut novel, Carl Haffners 

Liebe zum Unentschieden, 

was published in 1998, 

followed by Herr Susi in 

2002, Der Kameramörder 

in 2001, and Wie man leben 

soll in 2004. Hanser published 

his novel Die Arbeit 

der Nacht (2006), which 

was translated into several 

languages, as well as Das 

bin doch ich (novel, 2007), 

Das Leben der Wünsche 

(novel, 2009), Lisa (novel, 

2010) and Unterwegs im 

Namen des Herrn (2011). 

In 2010 he received the 

Literature Award of the 

Cultural Committee of 

German Business. 

»Everyone knows that you should be careful when making wishes, in case they come true. But if one 

were to wish for a novel which encapsulates the reality of life, then this wish would be completely 

fulfilled – albeit in an eerie and unsettling fashion – by Thomas Glavinic’s latest work.« 

Frankfurter Allgmeine Zeitung on Wishes have a Life of their Own 

»One of the most remarkable, innovative and versatile writers of his generation.« F.A.Z. 

Sales to Foreign Countries 

Das größere Wunder: Netherlands (Signatuur) 

Die Arbeit der Nacht: China (Horizon Media), Estonia (Varrak), France (Flammarion), Italy (Longanesi), 

Korea (Younglim Cardinal), Netherlands (Contact), Poland (PIW), Slovenia (Modrijan), Spain (Siruela), 

Turkey (Yapi Kredi), UK/USA (Canongate) 

1 F I C T I O N 

F O R E I G N R I G H T S HANSER 

F I C T I O N 2 


F I C T I O N 

HELENE HEGEMANN 

Helene Hegemann was feted as the 

brightest new star on the literary firmament 

for her spectacular debut Axolotl Roadkill, 

which sold more than 100,000 copies. With 

Jage zwei Tiger she cements her reputation 

as a remarkably confident and radical writer. 

© Alexandra Kinga Fekete 

Reviews on Axolotl Roadkill: 

The rock crashes through the windscreen and kills his mother instantly. Kai (11) survives 

the accident, and in a state of shock decides never to be dependent on anything or anyone 

ever again. Thrust abruptly into maturity, he flees from the overtaxed first-aiders and 

takes refuge in the woodland bordering the road. The next day he chances upon a goat, 

and shortly afterwards a down-at-heel circus family. Then he meets Samantha, who was 

part of the group of teenagers that threw the rock from the motorway bridge 24 hours 

earlier. 

Two years later, Cecile, a seventeen-year-old cocaine addict, moves in with her new boyfriend 

– who happens to be Kai’s father. Kai, now thirteen, is still in love with Samantha, 

and together with Cecile he sets off in search of her. 

Fast-paced, witty and radically irreverent, Helene Hegemann describes the quest for love 

and redemption in a shallow, frenzied world. 

Helene Hegemann 

Jage zwei Tiger 

Hunting Two Tigers 


Hardcover 



Helene Hegemann 

was born in 1992 in Freiburg 

and lives in Berlin. 

In 2008, she was hailed as 

one of the year’s greatest 

discoveries for her first film 

Torpedo, which won her the 

Max Ophüls Prize. In 2010 

she made her debut as an 

author with the novel Axolotl 

Roadkill, subsequently 

translated into 20 languages. 

She works as a director 

for theatre and opera, and 

has a column in Interview 

magazine. 

»A book that is startlingly intelligent, pleasantly grotesque and deliciously eloquent.« Die Welt 

»This book is phenomenal. And Hegemann is a phenomenon. This book 

is already a literary sensation.« Süddeutsche Zeitung 

»This book is driven by a constant search, packed with spot-on observation and surprising ideas. 

Helene was offered the big stage – She jumped on it.« Der Spiegel 

»Such a debut is very rare… a masterfully narrated surrealism… In its ripping rhetoric 

movement Axolotl Roadkill renders into an apocalyptic speech, in its literary gestures 

almost into absurdity.« Die Zeit 

»Helene Hegemann is the sensation of this season… Axolotl Roadkill is 

the big coming-of-age-novel for the Generation Zero.« F.A.Z. 


Axolotl Roadkill: BR (Intriseca), BG (Enthusiast), CZ (Euromedia), DK (C&K), FIN (Otava), F (Editions du 

Rocher), GR (Agra), IL (Modan Publishing), I (Giulio Einaudi), ROK (The Open Books Co.), NL (Arbeiderspers), 

N (Forlaget Oktober), PL (Swiat Ksiazki), RO (Litera international), S (Natur & Kultur), SK (Ikar Bratislava), 

E (SUMA Santillana Ediciones), E Castilian (Ara Libres), TR (Pegasus), UK (Constable & Robinson) 





C O L U M N S 

5 million readers of Der Spiegel, Germany’s 

most popular weekly news magazine, can’t be 

wrong. In its online version, Sibylle Berg offers 

answers to some of life’s most important questions 

for an eternally grateful public. Her 

collected wisdom is presented here as the 

definitive behaviour and survival guide. 

»Is Provence still a place to be seen in?« »Can I still get away with long hair at 46?« »Why 

do women strip for men’s magazines?« These are among the many questions we don’t dare 

voice aloud. Here they’re finally answered with uncompromising frankness. 

Ms Berg still harbours dreams of an ideal world in which everyone wears their heart on 

their sleeve and goes around beaming at each other. To help these visions along, she is 

willing to sacrifice herself on the altar of provocation. With merciless irony, barbed tongue 

and well-honed pen, she tackles the most pressing issues of our time head on: the mindless 

white noise of self-righteousness, the general idiocy of humanity, the ever-increasing 

traffic clogging the information superhighway and the human race’s refusal to accept the 

limits of its own ephemeral mortality. Her texts are as unsettling as they are thought-provoking; 

as stirring as they are magical. »Follow me and fear nothing!« she writes. And you 

want to reach out and take her hand straight away. 

Sibylle Berg 

Wie halte ich das nur 

alles aus? 

Fragen Sie Frau Sibylle 

How do I put up with it? 

Just ask Sibylle! 

160 pages with illustrations. 

Hardcover 

Publication date: July 2013 

Sibylle Berg 

has written 11 novels, 12 

plays and countless essays; 

her work has been translated 

into 34 languages. 

2009 saw the publication 

of her first novel under the 

Hanser imprint, Der Mann 

schläft, followed in 2012 by 

Vielen Dank für das Leben. 

»Sibylle Berg sifts the good from the bad, with capitalism on the brink of judgment day. 

This is not a novel, it‘s a manifesto.« Die Welt on Thank you for the Life 

»A masterpiece of brilliantly considered excursions, filled with glittering aphorisms.« 

Der Spiegel on Thank you for the Life 

»Berg holds up a mirror to the reader, catching them out with their unspoken feelings: ›It’s not as if I was so 

impressed by my own soul as to wish for another sharing the same inadequacies.‹« 

Frankfurter Allgmeine Zeitung on Man, asleep 


Vielen Dank für das Leben: DK (Tiderne Skifter), F (Actes Sud), NL (Signatuur), UK/USA (Thames River 

Press) 

Der Mann schläft: CZ (Centrum pro kulturu), PL (Arkadia), VN (Thê Giói Publishers), MK (Goten Publishing) 



F I C T I O N 

Must we really choose between the stark absolutes 

of good and evil, between right and wrong? 

A great novel about the eternal question of how 

we should live, about home and exile, and about 

the fatal yearning for purity and innocence. 

© Peter Hassiepen 

Longlisted for the German Book Prize 2013 

A bomb is discovered in a provincial Austrian village station. Next to it is a note that says 

simply »Repent!«, but no one takes it seriously, not even the police. Then a teacher in the 

village thinks he recognizes his favourite pupil Daniel on a wanted poster. The teacher 

befriended Daniel when they spent a summer together at his house by the river, but 

Daniel has been growing increasingly obsessive of fate, losing himself in religious and 

political dogmatism after a trip to Israel. For his teacher, this marks the start of a spiral 

of introspection and self doubt, reinforced by his inability to feel at home anywhere after 

spending several years in Istanbul. What’s more, he is suddenly swamped by memories of 

the pivotal moments of his own adolescence, which floor him completely. 

Was it Daniel’s love for Judith and his fascination with an American fire-and-brimstone 

evangelist who is passing through on his way to Jerusalem or could it have been the complex 

relationship between the two of them that led the boy astray? 

Norbert Gstrein examines the crucial decisions we take as we start out in life and the omnipresent 

reference points of childhood. This is a moving and absorbing story, told by an 

unparalleled author at the height of his powers. 

Norbert Gstrein 

Eine Ahnung vom Anfang 

Beginnings 


Hardcover 


Norbert Gstrein 

was born in 1961 and lives 

in Hamburg. Hanser has 

published his previous 

books, Die Winter im Süden 

(2008), Die Englischen 

Jahre (new edition 2009), 

Das Handwerk des Tötens 

(new edition 2010) and 

Die Ganze Wahrheit (2010) 

as well as a volume of his 

earlier stories In der Luft 

(2011). 

»Gstrein’s prose is muscular and compelling … highly recommended.« The Independent 

»With Eine Ahnung vom Anfang, Norbert Gstrein has created a seamlessly perfect piece of writing, a book that 

stands comparison with his 1999 masterpiece Die Englischen Jahre.« Neue Zürcher Zeitung 

Sales to Foreign Countries (backlist titles) 

BG (Atlantis), HR (Fraktura), F (Teper), I (Einaudi), LIT (Pasaulis), NL (Cossée), N (Aschehoug), 

PL (Czarne), P (Difel), RU (Symposion), E (Tusquets), TR (Can), UK/USA (Harvill, McLehose Press) 



F I C T I O N 

ALEX CAPUS 

Alex Capus’ new novel tells the story of three 

reluctant heroes – a young man who dreams 

of peace but ends up building bombs; a girl 

who sets out to be a singer and winds up as 

a spy; and an art student who travels to the 

ancient city of Troy, where he becomes 

the greatest forger of all time. 

© Marco Grob 

Jumped on the Bestseller List instantly after publication! 

Reviews on Léon and Louise: 

»With the lightness of touch of a French film, Capus has created not one, but three 

characters to warm to. One almost hears the chansons of Charles Trenet in the 

background to these snatched shared moments.« The Times Literary Supplement 

Young pacifist Felix Bloch studies under Heisenberg in Leipzig, specialising in nuclear 

physics. In 1933 he leaves Nazi Germany and flees to America – only to find himself 

working at Los Alamos, helping Robert Oppenheimer build the first atomic bomb. Laura 

D‘Oriano, the rebellious daughter of a musician, tries her hand at a singing career but is 

forced to realise that she lacks the talent for stardom. At the outbreak of the war she moves 

from Marseilles to Italy as an allied spy – what she doesn’t know is that Mussolini’s 

agents are watching her every move. Art student Emile Gilliéron follows Schliemann to 

Troy, where he designs vases and restores frescoes. He also fabricates reproductions on 

commission – and comes to realise that it’s only a small step from there into the shady 

realm of forgery. 

The three protagonists could only have met once – in November 1924 at Zurich Central 

Station, where the story begins. Their journeys take them onwards to separate destinies, 

yet their fates remain strangely linked. 

Alex Capus excels himself once again at his definitive melange of fact and fiction. With a 

subtle blend of gentle, tongue-in-cheek humour, impeccable concision and his proverbial 

deftness, he traces the scrupulously researched biographies of his heroes, who are forced 

by circumstance to abandon their dreams – and yet manage to pluck victory from the jaws 

of defeat. 

Alex Capus 

Der Fälscher, die Spionin 

und der Bombenbauer 

The Forger, the Spy and 

the Bomb-Maker 


Hardcover 


Alex Capus 

was born in 1961 in 

Normandy, and now lives in 

Olten. In 1997 he published 

his first novel Munzinger 

Pasha, which was followed 

by a further fourteen books 

of short stories, novels and 

reportage. His books Leon 

und Louise (2011), Fast 

ein bisschen Frühling (new 

edition, 2012) and Skidoo: 

Meine Reise durch die 

Geisterstädte des Wilden 

Westen have also been 

published by Hanser. 

»The most wonderful story…we all loved it.« BBC Radio 

»The eccentric charm keeps you tearing through the pages.« Book of the Week in O, The Oprah Magazine 


F (Actes Sud), UK/USA (Haus) 

Léon und Louise: BR (Record), BG (Atlantis-KL), FIN (Atena), F (Actes Sud), IL (Armchair/ Yediot 

Aharonot), I (Garzanti), ROK (Munhakdongne), NL (Mouria), N (Ganesa), PL (Weltbild Polska), SRB 

(Laguna), E (Salamandra), S (Norstedts), SLO (Cankarjeva), UK/USA (Haus) 

»A gem of a novel.« The New York Times 





F I C T I O N 

VICTOR EROFEYEV 

Victor Erofeyev (Jerofejew) 

Die Akimuden 

Akimudia 

Victor Erofeyev, legendary chronicler of Russia’s perpetual apocalypse and author of 

the cult book The Good Stalin, makes a stunning return to the stage of world literature. 

Akimudia is a breathtaking dystopian thriller, a blend of history and science fiction that 

ventures a glance into the future to apply the lessons of the past to a world in which Russia 

decides its fate. 

Translated from Russian by 

Beate Rausch 


Hardcover 



© Brigitte Friedrich 

»Miracles are our most important resource; the scope is infinite…« 

Moscow witnesses the embassy opening ceremonies of a land you won’t find on any map. 

The mysterious country goes by the name of Akimudia. The relationship between Moscow 

and Akimudia sets off a chain of extraordinary events running the gamut between comedy 

and absurdity, poetry and tragedy, involving lovers and spies… 

But first, the dead return. It is a veritable invasion: they take over completely, moving into 

the homes of the living, and total chaos holds sway . The supreme commander fires orders 

at his ministers and the Patriarch of Russia declares Akimudia to be the land of the Devil. 

Meanwhile, the beautiful Katya – working under cover as Fink – is dispatched to keep 

tabs on the Akimudian ambassador, who ends up being crucified on Red Square. Is he the 

new son of God? Has he been sent to redeem Russia, and will Russia in turn redeem the 

world? 

Victor Erofeyev 

born in 1947 in Moscow, 

is one of Russia’s leading 

authors. The editor of the 

first Russian edition of 

Nabokov, he writes regularly 

for The New York Review of 

Books and the New Yorker, 

as well as Geo, Die Zeit, 

and Frankfurter Allgemeine 

Zeitung. Previous German 

editions of his novels 

include Die Moskauer 

Schönheit (1994) and 

Der gute Stalin (2004). 

»The Mick Jagger of contemporary Russian literature« Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 

»Victor Erofeyev may well be the most important writer to emerge from the rubble 

of the Soviet Union.« The Boston Globe 

»Viktor Erofeyev lays bare the new Russia. Sparkling, lurid, extreme in every way, simultaneously 

vulgar and elegant – and invariably primed with irony.« Die Tageszeitung 

»One of the most pre-eminent chroniclers of the turbulent and disturbingly 

fascinating years that paved the way for a new Russia.« Die Zeit 


PL (Czytelnik) 

Moskauer Schönheit: BR (Record), BG (Narodna Koultura), CZ (Mlada Fronta), FIN (Otava), F (Albin 

Michel), GR (Exantas), H (Európa), IL (Domino Press), I (Rizzoli Libri), J (Kawade Shobo Shinsha), ROK 

(Open Books), NL (Arena), PL (Czytelnik), P (Gradiva), RO (Est Samuel), E (Castilian: Anagrama/Catalan: 

Columna), S (Alba), UK (Hamish Hamilton), USA (Viking Penguin) 

Der gute Stalin: CHN (Beijing Shuoliang Culture Development), HR (Fraktura), EST (Tänapäev Publishers), 

FIN (Like/Rosebud), F (Albin Michel), GR (Potamos), H (Európa Kiado), I (Einaudi), Latvia (Jumava), 

NL (Meulenhoff), PL (Czytelnik), RO (Editura Paralela), SRB (Geopetika), SK (Kalligramm), SLO (Modrijan) 





F I C T I O N 

MILENA MOSER 

»Cheeky and whimsical – 

Milena Moser’s novels are cult.« 

Freundin magazine 

Milena Moser 

Die Putzfraueninsel 

The Sparkling Isle 


Hardcover 



© Katharina Lütscher 

Die Putzfraueninsel: 28-year-old Irma is a university dropout living alone and embarking on a new career as a cleaner, 

but she doesn’t stop at making homes sparkle. She takes the opportunity to snoop on her clients’ lives unobserved in 

order to satisfy her apparently insatiable curiosity – and then one day she comes across something a bit different to the 

run-of-the-mill secret diaries and dirty laundry… 

In the course of her rounds, while cleaning the villa of the respected lawyer and local politician Dr Schwarz, Irma 

makes a chilling discovery: locked away in a tiny cellar she finds Nelly, the care-dependent, neglected mother-in-law 

of the ambitious lady of the house. Without a thought for the consequences, Irma rescues Nelly and takes her back to 

her own place. There, the two very different women cook up an elaborate plan of revenge and put it into action with the 

help of Irma’s offbeat clientele. In less than no time the previously spotless reputation of the Schwarz family has been 

forever sullied and Dr Schwarz’s legal and political career lies in tatters. After their victory Irma and Nelly make off for 

Majorca, only to discover there is plenty on the island that could do with a clean too… 

Die Putzfraueninsel – bestselling author Milena Moser’s big breakthrough as a writer – was a huge success, published 

in many editions and made into a film by Peter Timm in 1996, starring Jasmin Tabatabai. At long last it is available 

again in hardback. 


Die Putzfraueninsel: CZ (Ikar Knizi Klub), EST (Esti Raamat), F (Calmann-Levy), I (edizioni e/o), LT (Preses 

Nams), NL (Atlas), PL (Szwajcaria), P (Circulo de Lectores), SK (Bratislava Slovenský Spisovatel), E (Circe) 

Das wahre Leben: Two women in the middle of their lives, each caught up in a crisis. Nevada 

is ill and on the point of surrendering to the inevitable when love walks in without 

knocking. Erika can no longer bear her sheltered luxury lifestyle and turns her back on 

everything it stands for. With wit and verve – yet brimming with affection – Milena Moser 

pursues her characters through all life’s ups and downs. 

Nevada is a yoga teacher. Ever since she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis she has 

been giving her lessons on crutches or from her wheelchair. One of her classes consists 

of drop-out-prone teenage girls who have been given a last chance by the school administration. 

Among them is Erika’s grossly overweight daughter, who is a slave to whatever 

is considered cool and trendy in the posh Zurichberg district. But whenever she comes 

lumbering into one of Erika’s sophisticated dinner parties, she provides abundant evidence 

of her failure as a mother – and it goes without saying that Erika is a failure as a 

wife as well. Her husband treats her affectionately enough, but only as long as there are 

witnesses around. She decides to escape to the suburban housing estate where Nevada 

has meanwhile met Dante. He seems too good to be true – his unreserved honesty can’t 

be natural; it must have something to do with his brain tumour. When Erika and Nevada’s 

paths cross, the latter is in the middle of preventing Dante from being healed because she 

is afraid of losing his love. 

Milena Moser 

Das wahre Leben 

The Real World 


Hardcover 



Milena Moser 

was born in Zurich in 1963, 

trained as a bookseller, and 

is one of Switzerland’s most 

successful authors. She 

wrote Die Putzfraueninsel 

and Schlampenyoga; her 

collected columns High 

Noon im Mittelland (2011) 

and her novels Möchtegern 

(2010) and Montagsmenschen 

(2012) have 

also been published under 

the Nagel & Kimche imprint. 





F I C T I O N 

A remarkable debut of a distinctive 

literary talent: Margarita Kinstner writes 

about loneliness, yearning and love in 

Vienna, “the city of the soul”. 

© Thomas Wollinger 

Margarita Kinstner 

Mittelstadtrauschen 

Midtown Static 

Unnerved by the naked flesh of a breast-feeding mother, Marie reels through the café, 

spills her coffee and stumbles into Jakob – triggering a whole series of stories. 

Jakob falls in love with Marie and splits up with his girlfriend Sonja, who in turn soon 

gets together with Gery. She has no idea that Gery was Joe’s best friend – Joe, who used to 

live with Marie until he took his life with a spectacular swan-dive into the Danube. Then a 

mysterious last will turns up with precise stipulations: it is to be read out in the presence 

of Gery and Marie in the Prater fairground following an intricately choreographed routine. 

Margarita Kinstner’s stories unfold in layers, one unfurling into the next, the characters 

brimming with yearning and greed, desperation or sheer apathy. A rondo with destiny, 

propelled by shattered dreams and lost hopes, set in a city where beauty and the chasms 

of the psyche live side by side – with Death watching the dancers from the wings… 

Deuticke Verlag 


Hardcover 



Margarita Kinstner 

born in Vienna in 1976. 

She has previously written 

widely for literary magazines 

and anthologies. Mittelstadtrauschen 

is her first 

novel. 



F I C T I O N 

PETER HENISCH 

There’s a story behind every couple – 

it needn’t necessarily be their own! With 

great skill and vivid imagination, Peter 

Henisch unfolds two intertwined love stories. 

How do you make love eternal? By giving 

it a story that never ends… 

Peter Henisch 

Mortimer & Miss Molly 

Italy 1944: Just before the end of the war, an American airman drops from the sky. He 

lands in the middle of a picturesque Tuscan Renaissance garden in San Vito, right under 

the window of an English governess, who shelters him from the German occupying 

forces… 



Hardcover 



© www.corn.at / Deuticke Verlag 

Reviews on Eine sehr kleine Frau 

»Henisch’s work is a pure literary blessing in which there are no barriers between politics 

and fantasy, gravity and off-the-wall oddness…« Die Zeit 

So begins the tale of Mortimer and Miss Molly – a love story recounted one fine evening 

thirty years later by an elderly American to Julia and Marco, chance visitors to San Vito. 

But the next morning the American has vanished, leaving the couple wondering how everything 

panned out for Mortimer and Miss Molly. So the two of them put their imaginations 

to work in order to continue the rest of the story for themselves. 

An ingenious novel about the magic of story-telling 

Peter Henisch 

born 1943 in Vienna. He 

studied German literature, 

philosophy, history and psychology 

and was co-founder 

of the magazine Wespennest. 

He lives in Vienna and 

has been a fulltime author 

since 1971. Previous works 

include Die kleine Figur 

meines Vaters (1975), 

Morrisons Versteck 

(1991), and Schwarzer 

Peter (2000). Henisch has 

received many awards, and 

his novels Die schwangere 

Madonna (2005) and Eine 

sehr kleine Frau (Deuticke, 

2007) were long-listed for 

the German Book Prize. 

»Henisch writes with such sleight of hand, and with the same cheerful 

melancholy as the compositions of Franz Schubert so that the reader is spellbound.« Der Spiegel 


Eine sehr kleine Frau: USA (Ariadne Press) 





F I C T I O N 

In an attempt to solve the mysterious 

murder of his friend Maggie, Bernhard Rai 

travels to India, following in the footsteps of 

her ex-husband. But the discovery of an 

old Sanskrit manuscript puts him on a 

collision course with danger… 

© www.corn.at / Deuticke Verlag 

J. F. Dam 

Der dritte Berg 

The Third Mountain 

One foggy morning in March, Bernhard Rai – meteorologist, dedicated environmentalist 

and the grandson of an Indian freedom fighter – receives a phone call summoning him to 

the forensic institute: his closest friend Maggie Chelseworth, a delightful, eccentric Englishwoman, 

is dead. At first the police work on the assumption that it was suicide, but Rai 

suspects there is a connection between Maggie’s death and the sudden disappearance of 

her ex-husband Christian Fust a few weeks earlier. Did the research scientist, who specialized 

in ancient Indian healing systems, get involved with the wrong people? 

In the course of his investigations, Bernhard stumbles upon an extraordinary Sanskrit 

manuscript – and before long finds himself the target of a gang of ruthless criminals. The 

trail of the vanished scientist leads him to a remote valley in Northern India, which according 

to legend no one has ever set foot in before. This is where soma is supposed to 

grow – a mysterious plant which promises eternal life – and with it limitless profit. 



Hardcover 


J. F. Dam 

born in 1963. He studied 

Sanskrit and Indian philosophy 

in Vienna, travelled 

extensively (mainly 

in Southern Asia) and has 

written several non-fiction 

books on India and Hinduism. 

This is his debut novel. 

The author lives in Salzburg. 

Deft, accomplished and fast-paced – a strikingly brilliant debut. 

»A novel like a mind-expanding drug.« DIE WELT 



F I C T I O N 

Women are permanently short-changed. 

Marlies Wolf ensures that for once they 

aren’t the victims, at least not the only ones. 

A spine-tingling psychological thriller. 

© Karl Sacherl 

Britta Mühlbauer 

Inventurdifferenz 

A State of Imbalance 

Marlies Wolf, a security firm employee, is a rather unusual young woman – anyone who 

gets in her way is living dangerously. Marlies’ one ambition is to work as a bodyguard, 

but to her immense frustration her boss sends her off to chase down shoplifters in a DIY 

store. 

Marlies is fuming with suppressed anger against the world and everyone in it when a 

childhood friendship with Valerie is rekindled by chance through Hanna Amberg, the manager 

of the DIY store. Valerie used to live in Marlies’ neighbourhood and as girls the two 

were inseparable – but now Marlies has to struggle to win back Valerie’s friendship. 

Then another blast from the past turns up on the scene and also makes a play for Valerie: 

Alex, the eternal loudmouth. Through him Valerie gets drawn into in the shady world of 

prostitution and sex-trafficking. She sees things no one ought to see – and after witness 

ing a brutal attack, she is almost killed and falls into a coma. Beside herself with fury, 

Marlies takes the law into her own hands. 



Hardcover 


Britta Mühlbauer 

born in 1961, lives in 

Vienna. She studied music, 

Romance Languages and 

German. Her short stories 

regularly appear in literary 

magazines and anthologies. 

Deuticke published her first 

novel Lebenslänglich in 

2008. 

Britta Mühlbauer tells the story of woman who pushes herself to her ultimate limits – and 

way beyond. 

»A novel with powerful imagery reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino«. Paulus Hochgatterer 



F I C T I O N 

Ten photos from an old box-camera, taken 

by his father in the 20s, are the inspiration 

for Lars Gustafsson’s new novel. A story that 

hovers between reality and the world of 

dreams, set in a bygone Västmanland where 

Mrs Sorgedahl and the man on the blue 

bicycle might well have met. 

© Annette Pohnert 

Janne Friberg rides his blue bicycle through the Västmanland countryside, peddling a 

kitchen appliance that can cut, slice, mix, stir and make sausages. Approaching a white 

manor house at the end of a tree-lined drive where he hopes to make a sale, he falls off 

his bicycle and sprains his wrist. Inside the house an old woman is lying on her deathbed 

and no one is interested in his appliance, but Janne is nevertheless invited into the library 

to recover from his fall. Here he comes across an old photo album with sepia prints of a 

pretty young woman posing by a lilac bush, a sea captain clinging so closely to the ship’s 

mast that he reminds Janne of a shackled Ulysses, and two girls in checkerboard dresses. 

Studying the photographs, he falls into a daydream… 

His reverie is broken by the lady of the house, a striking woman dressed in riding clothes, 

who appears to take a keen interest in him. But by this point, like Alice in Wonderland, 

Janne has already stepped out of his former life… 

»No one manages to capture the gravity of life with as light a touch as Lars Gustafsson. 

It’s highly unlikely we’ll see another book this autumn filled with such tender summer 

resonance.« Frankfurter Rundschau 

Lars Gustafsson 

Der Mann auf dem 

blauen Fahrrad – Träume 

aus einer alten Kamera 

The Man on the Blue 

Bicycle – Dreams through 

a Dusty Lens 


Hardcover 


Lars Gustafsson 

Poet, philosopher and 

novelist – was born in 

central Sweden in 1936, 

and spent many years living 

in Austin, Texas. His books 

have all been published 

by Hanser and include Der 

Dekan (novel, 2004), Risse 

in der Mauer (series of five 

novels, 2006), and Frau 

Sorgedahls schöne weiße 

Arme (novel, 2009). 

»Quite literally a marvellous late work. Prospero sets out his stall and starts to weave his 

spell, leaving no gimmicks, no sleight of hand hidden from the reader, and yet the end 

result is a little miracle.« Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 


Lars Gustafsson’s work is sold all over the world. 



T R AV E L O G U E 

FA I RY TA L E S 

An epic odyssey into a bewildering world 

full of startling contrasts and magical stories 

brought to life by a potent combination of 

stunning photography and riveting narrative 

that affords us a closer look at a region that 

may seem remote, yet soon becomes familiar. 

© Peter-Andreas Hassiepen 

We’re all familiar with Grimm’s Fairy Tales – 

stepping stones for the imagination, they are an 

integral part of our childhood. Ingo Schulze and 

Christine Traber have rearranged that childhood 

landscape from a radical new perspective – 

everything is at once familiar and alien. Good 

and evil, right and wrong merge and switch 

places, forming an ingenious amalgamation of 

timelessness and cutting-edge contemporaneity. 

© Heike Steinweg 

Ilija Trojanow and Christian Muhrbeck have travelled the length and breadth of the 

Balkans for years, exploring the region’s varied facets, from its archaic culture through 

the blood-soaked conflicts of the recent past to a more peaceful post-socialist modernity. 

Steering clear of cliché and stereotype, Muhrbeck’s photographs capture snapshots 

of everyday life on the outer frontiers of Europe. Ilja Trojanow’s texts complement these 

vivid pictures with stories that switch effortlessly between genres from straightforward 

reportage to lyrical poetry. The result is a felicitous fusion of imagery and language; a 

magical distillation of the Balkans as we’ve never seen them before – a world that has hitherto 

remained largely concealed, despite being part and parcel of our European heritage. 

We join the mourners at a funeral service, fish with trawlermen whose nets remain empty, 

and listen to a boy as he introduces his extended family: »We do things our own way out 

here, and we don’t all sing the same tune, but together we add up to a right türlu gjuvetsch, 

a spicy stew just like my mother’s.« 

Ilija Trojanow 

with photographs by 

Christian Muhrbeck 

Wo Orpheus begraben liegt 

Where Orpheus Lies Buried 

224 pages. Hardcover 



lija Trojanow 

was born in Sofia in 1965. 

He has spent time in 

Nairobi, Munich, Mumbai 

and Cape Town, and now 

lives in Vienna. His books 

with Hanser include An den 

inneren Ufern Indiens. Eine 

Reise entlang des Ganges 

(2003), Der Weltensammler 

(novel, 2006), Der entfesselte 

Globus (articles, 2008) 

und EisTau (novel, 2011). 

A poor child is left to stew in a cauldron; a father beheads his sons without reason or 

remorse; a beautiful young girl devours a wolf’s heart… Ingo Schulze and Christine Traber 

pick up familiar motifs and turn them into new stories, sustained by a resonating beat that 

carries the distant echo of infancy. But for all the familiarity, there is no hint of nostalgia 

or glorification here; the mesh of myth and modernity allows room for contradictions to 

seep in. The fairytale characters are thoroughly disambiguated divested of their clear-cut 

roles. Who is good? Who is evil? And what remains when all our hopes for a happy ending 

have been dashed? 

Ingo Schulze and Christine Traber play fast and loose with the genre. Couched in the familiar 

garb of fairytale narrative, they create a realm at once archaic and contemporary. 

Sebastian Meschenmoser’s illustrations lend this vertiginous realm a graphic dimension 

which further intensifies its unsettling impact. 

Ingo Schulze/ 

Christine Traber 

Henkerslos. 

Ein Märchenbrevier 

The Hangman’s Lot 

96 pages with illustrations 

Hardcover 



Ingo Schulze 

was born in Dresden in 

1962, studied classical 

languages in Jena and 

worked in Altenburg as a 

dramatic advisor and newspaper 

editor. He has been 

living in Berlin since 1993. 

His books have won him 

numerous awards and been 

translated into more than 30 

languages. 

»One of Europe’s most original contemporary writers.« The Times Literary Supplement 

»Iliya Troyanov has turned Burton’s unbelievable life into believable fiction, achieving a 

rounded and satisfying portrait that traditional biography could never match.« 

New York Times Book Review on The Collector of Worlds 

Christian Muhrbeck 

born in Berlin in 1969, has 

worked as assistant to 

various photographers and 

studied graphic design at 

the University of the Arts 

Bremen. He has lived in 

Berlin since 1999, and 

works as a freelance 

photographer. 

»Ingo Schulze is an epic storyteller!« Günter Grass on Simple Stories 

»Wonderful…Schulze is a baroquely expansive comic.« The New York Times Book Review 

»An admirable work. The reader sits open-mouthed, surprised, and delighted before this 

miracle of romantic poetry, philosophy of money, and epic strength.« SZ on New Lives 

Christine Traber was 

born in Stuttgart in 1964 

and studied art history and 

drama at the Free University 

in Berlin. She lives in Stuttgart, 

working as a freelance 

editor and author. 


Der Weltensammler: KSA (Al Kamel), BR (Companhia das Letras), BG (Ciela Soft), CHN (Yilin Press), 

HR (Novela Media), CZ (HOST), DK (Tiderne Skifter), F (Buchet-Chastel/Libella), H (Cartaphilus), I (Ponte 

alle Grazie), ROK (Bookstory), MK (Tri), NL (De Geus), PL (Noir sur Blanc), P (Arkheion), RO (RAO), RUS 

(Logos), SRB (Zlatni Zmaj), E (Tusquets), E Catalan (RBA), Taiwan (Business Weekly), UK (Faber & Faber), 

USA (HarperCollins), SLO (Studentska Zalozba) 


Ingo Schulze’s works have been sold to the following countries: Albania, Brazil, China, Croatia, Czech 

Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, 

Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Serbia, Slovakia, 

Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, UK/USA, Ukraine, United Arabic Emirates, Vietnam 





S TO R I E S 

Ulrich Knellwolf’s stories are populated by 

kings, shepherds, thieves and lovers: the 

true meaning of Christmas is brought home 

to them – as well as the reader – through a 

series of miraculous adventures revolving 

around the vision of another, better world. 

Knellwolf’s lucid and colourful narratives bring 

these visions alive on the page. 

Ulrich Knellwolf 

Gott baut um 

God is Renovating 

Christmas stories 

Mangers, fairy lights, angels and Christmas trees; once a year the world dresses up in 

honour of a biblical tale which promises a miracle – that peace, happiness and unity can 

triumph in the world. Once a year we all dream of such a miracle, and Ulrich Knellwolf 

breathes new life into this vision in a series of vivid narratives relating very disparate 

events. The Three Wise Men can’t believe that the Saviour was born in a stable and start 

looking for him somewhere completely different; astrologers view the heavenly comets as 

a serious threat; a lonely waitress in Zurich’s old quarter is saved by a wax doll. Other stories 

feature scribes and hitchhikers in Jerusalem as well as burglars and friends in need. 

With concision and humour, Knellwolf casts new light on Christmas Eve, sweetening the 

run-up to the big day. 



September 2013 

Ulrich Knellwolf 

born in 1942, is a theologist 

and writer whose literary 

work – including Tod in Sils 

Maria, Schönes Sechseläuten 

and Sturmwarnungen 

– has won him many 

awards. These new stories 

follow in the footsteps of his 

highly acclaimed collection 

of Christmas tales, Der 

liebe Gott geht auf Reisen, 

published in 2004. 

»A convincing example that irony, subtlety and enigma are by no means incompatible 

with the allegorical genre.« Neue Zürcher Zeitung on God hits the Road 

»Full of startling serpentine twists and turns, laconic and punchy, these stories never fail 

to pull the rug out from under your feet.« Die Welt on Death in Sils Maria 


Auftrag in Tartu: Latvia (Apgads H. v. Hirschheydt) 

Tod in Sils Maria: Thailand (Ruean-panya) 



P O E T RY 

P O E T RY 

The poems Ruth Klüger learned by heart 

helped her to survive the concentration 

camps. To this day she still writes her own 

poetry, a selection of which is published 

here for the first time, accompanied by 

her own annotations. 

© Margit Marnul/Zsolnay Verlag 

© Yves Noir / Bosch Stiftung 

Ruth Klüger says poetry helped her survive the camps: the verses of Goethe, Schiller 

and Heine. However, it wasn’t just other people’s poems that sustained her through that 

dark time, it was also her own; poetry composed as a young girl in Auschwitz and from 

those days until now, but only rarely published. After the war, the eminent literary scholar 

was mainly occupied with in-depth studies of other writer’s texts. Adorno famously 

said: »writting poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric,« and Ruth Klüger struggled with this 

statement continually while composing her own poems and reviewing those of others, 

eventually managing to shrug it off. 

This volume represents the first anthology of Ruth Klüger’s poetry, written between 1944 

and the present, giving a striking new take on her work. She has annotated the poems 

with her own commentary, describing how »poetry-making« accompanied and influenced 

her life, offering interpretations of the metaphors and imagery she uses, pointing out 

quotes and allusions as well as suggesting various different readings – yet always allowing 

readers plenty of room to draw their own conclusions. 

Ruth Klüger 

Zerreißproben 

Breaking Points: 

Poems and Comments 

Zsolnay Verlag 

Poems. 120 pages. 

Hardcover 



Ruth Klüger 

born in 1931 in Vienna. 

She was deported to the 

concentration camps at 

Theresienstadt, Auschwitz 

and Christianstadt. In 1947 

she emigrated to the USA, 

where she lectured on German 

Literature at Virginia 

and Princeton, as well as at 

the University of California, 

Irvine. Today she divides her 

time between Irvine and Göttingen 

in Germany. She has 

been awarded numerous 

prizes; her most recent 

publications at Zsolnay 

are her memoir Unterwegs 

Verloren. (2008) and Was 

Frauen schreiben (2010). 

Born in Sofia, Tzveta Sofronieva is at home in many different worlds: in Berlin, where 

the physics graduate now lives and works, in her Bulgarian homeland, but also in the 

USA and Asia. Well versed in science and philosophy, she is fascinated by languages and 

how the meaning of words changes when uprooted from their cultural context. She loves 

mythology and has the knack of transposing mythic symbolism and its inherent paradigms 

into a contemporary context. In a nutshell, Tzveta Sofronieva is a modern European 

poet who refuses to allow her life and work to be constrained by boundaries. 

»Listen carefully... She has something to say.« Joseph Brodsky 

»A Hand Full of Water is the most compelling volume in German verse since the work 

of Ingeborg Bachmann and Hans Magnus Enzensberger… Subtly, Tzveta Sofronieva 

refreshes and re-jewels the German language, making it plainer and richer by her global 

iridescence.« Willis Barnstone 

»For Tzveta Sofronieva, language is water that finds resistance across borders, her 

poetry flowing from her Balkan roots into her adopted German tongue, here iridescent in 

Chantal Wright’s beautiful translation, ‘seeking clues in the sand/ that point to meaning.’ 

From the Ionian Sea, to the ancient city of Nesebar on the black Sea, to the Baltic Coast, 

A Hand full of Water merges the mythic landscape with personal memory in lines that 

take flight like Europa’s wings.« Jeffrey Yang 

Tzveta Sofronieva 

Landschaften, Ufer 

Gedichte 

Landscapes and Shorelines 

poems 

Poems. 128 pages. 

Hardcover 



Tzveta Sofronieva 

was born in Sofia in 1963 

and lives in Berlin. Her previous 

publications include 

Gefangen im Licht (1999, 

bilingual edition), Eine 

Handvoll Wasser (2009) and 

Diese Stadt kann auch weiß 

sein (2010). 


Unterwegs verloren: France (Vivane Hamy) 


Armenia (Apolon), France (L’Oreille du Loup), Serbia (Auropolis Society Supernova), USA (White Pine 

Press), Uzbekistan (Nihol) 





BAC K L I S T H I G H L I G H T S F I C T I O N 

Sybille Berg 

Vielen Dank für das Leben 

Thank you for the Life 

Hanser Verlag. Novel. 400 pages 

Toto is unique, to say the least. An orphan of uncertain gender – too big, too tall, too fat – Toto nevertheless walks 

through this worst of all worlds as though its intrinsic values of kindness, innocence and love hadn’t long been lost. 

Vielen Dank für das Leben is an angry and strident novel about the only things in life that really count. 


Denmark (Tiderne Skifter), France (Actes Sud), Netherlands (Signatuur), UK/USA (Thames River Press) 

Olga Grjasnowa 

Der Russe ist einer, der Birken liebt 

Russian Men love Birch Trees 

Hanser Verlag. Novel. 288 pages 

Olga Grjasnowa has a unique gift of seeing the funny side of even the most tragic situations. With cool irony and great 

conciseness, her debut tells the story of Mascha, a headstrong young woman who knows neither borders nor limits. 

She inhabits a world where all cultures and traditions merge. It is the story of a whole generation. For Mascha and her 

friends, the issue of origin and nationality is immaterial – they can survive anywhere. But there is nowhere they can 

really call home. 


Croatia (Bozicevic), Denmark (C&K), France (Les Escales), Netherlands (De Bezige Bij), Poland (Czarne), Spain 

(Còmplices), Sweden (Weyler), UK/USA (Other Press) 

René Freund 

Liebe unter Fischen 

Love among Fishes 

Deuticke Verlag. Novel. 208 pages 

Fred Firneis, a sensationally successful and widely-read poet, is burnt out after too many alcohol-saturated years. To 

recuperate from the stresses and strains of city life, he has taken refuge in a cabin in the woods. Here he meets Mara, 

a young scientist engaged in fish research. Before long Fred finds himself taking great interest in all the nuances of 

the creature’s biology, behaviour and psychology – but most of all in Mara herself. – An offbeat alpine comedy with a 

dramatic climax in Berlin; fast-paced, surprising and highly entertaining. 


Italy (Piemme), Russia (Eksmo), Spain (Alfaguara) 

Mircea Cartarescu 

Die Wissenden (Orbitor) 

Orbitor 

Zsolnay Verlag. Translated from the Romanian. Novel. 400 pages 

Mircea Cartarescu transforms a family history into global literature. The scene is Romania, sometime in the middle of 

the 20 th century. Mircea Cartarescu, who is revered on the level of Jorge Luis Borges by literary critics, relates the history 

of his childhood and his country in the form of a series of sparkling, poetic and fantastical visions. What begins with 

15-year-old Mircea setting out on a journey of self-discovery gradually develops into a visionary epic that mesmerises 

on a scale not seen since Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude. 


Bulgaria (Faber), France (Denoël), Hungary (Jelenkor), Israel (Nimrod), Italy (Voland), Netherlands (Bezige Bij), Norway 

(Bokvennen), Slovenia (Studentska Zalozba), Spain (Funambistula), Sweden (Bonniers), Turkey (Ayrinti), USA/ 

UK (Archipelago) 



N O N - F I CT I O N 

BIOGRAPHY 

HISTORY 

CULTURAL HISTORY 

PHILOSOPHY 

POLITICS AND SOCIETY 

MEMOIR 

ECONOMICS 

LITERARY CRITISISM 

MUSIC 

ARCHITECTURE 

Contact 

Hanser I Nagel & Kimche I Hanser Berlin 

France, Italy, Spain, South America, 

GB/USA, Israel, Asia 

Friederike Barakat 

phone: +49-89-99830-509 

mail: friederike.barakat@hanser.de 

Netherlands, Scandinavia, 

Eastern Europe, Greece, Turkey 

Stefanie Eckl 

phone: +49-89-99830-530 

mail: stefanie.eckl@hanser.de 

Vilshofenerstraße 10 


Germany 

fax: +49-89-99830-460 

Contact 

Zsolnay I Deuticke 

Worldwide 

Annette Lechner 

Prinz-Eugen-Straße 30 

1040 Wien 

Austria 

phone: +43-1-505 7661 12 

fax: +43-1-505 7661 10 

mail: annette.lechner@zsolnay.at 


B I O G R A P H Y 

RÜDIGER SAFRANSKI 

A master biographer at his creative best, 

Rüdiger Safranski offers the reader an inspirational 

work on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 

that presents him in an entirely new light. 


No. 1 of the Non-Fiction Bestseller List two weeks after publication! 

»Safranski is without doubt one of the leading proponents and most reliable, gifted 

custodians of German philosophy and culture.« Die Literarische Welt on Romanticism 

»Safranski shows that biographies can provide an introduction to the domains of philosophy and 

culture at the highest level. His achievement in this context is simply astonishing.« 

Neue Zürcher Zeitung on Schiller or The Invention of German Idealism 

He was a young man from a good family, an eager student and an ardent romancer. 

A best-selling author who attained a high-ranking and lucrative position in a small duchy, 

Goethe dabbled in nature studies, fled to Italy and lived in sin. But for all that he found 

time to compose the most memorable of love poems, engage in lofty competition with 

friend and fellow dramatist Schiller, and write a canon of later work that flouted all the 

conventions. But Goethe wanted more. He wanted his life to be an art-form in itself. 

Rüdiger Safranski vividly describes the man behind the myth. Fifty years after Richard 

Friedenthal’s definitive biography, a thick layer of interpretation has settled over Goethe’s 

creations. Safranski casts new light on the ultimate polymath’s life and work by reappraising 

primary sources – Goethe’s works, letters, diaries, recorded discourse, and the 

accounts of his contemporaries. The result is a three-dimensional, living and breathing 

portrait; a masterfully written book that allows us to see ourselves as contemporaries of 

a man whose lifespan encompasses the playful Rococo era as well as the Classical and 

Romantic periods, all the way through to the dour sobriety that marked the start of the 

steam age. A man whose name came to define his time: the age of Goethe. 

Rüdiger Safranski 

Goethe – 

Kunstwerk des Lebens 

Goethe – Life as Art 

A biography 

800 pages with index. 

Hardcover 



Rüdiger Safranski 

was born in 1945. He is 

a philosopher and a multiple 

award-winning author whose 

work has been translated 

into over 20 languages. 

Safranski has written 

landmark biographies of 

Schiller, E.T.A. Hoffmann, 

Schopenhauer, Nietzsche 

and Heidegger among 

others, as well as treatises 

on basic human nature, 

good and evil, truth, and 

most recently, muchacclaimed 

works on 

Romanticism (2007) and the 

friendship between Goethe 

and Schiller (2009). 

»This book deserves acclaim if only for its elegant poise between vivid anecdote and intellectual 

biography. The great strength of Safranski’s trenchant evaluation lies in the sureness of touch with 

which he retraces the lofty heights of adventurous thinking this unparalleled poet explored. 

Die Welt on Schiller or The Invention of German Idealism 


NL (Atlas) 

Romantik: BR (Liberdade), CHN (Horizon Media), H (Europa), IL (Carmel), I (Longanesi), J (Hosei UP), 

ROK (Hankuk UP), NL (Atlas), SRB (IP Adresa), E (Tusquets), TR (Kabalci), USA (Northwestern UP) 

Schiller. Die Erfindung des Deutschen Idealismus: CHN (People‘s Literature), H (Europa), I (Longanesi), 

J (Hosei University Press), NL (Atlas), RUS (Text), SRB (Nolit), E (Tusquets) 

1 N O N - F I C T I O N 


N O N - F I C T I O N 2 


H I S TO RY 

Joachim Radkau 

Theodor Heuss 

They called him ‘Papa’, but Theodor Heuss was much more than the rigid, incorruptible 

paterfamilias of the early Federal Republic. He went down in history as the man who 

bolstered the nation’s post-war resolve at a crucial time, inspiring it with courage and 

self-confidence as well as reawakening the people’s zest for life. »Loosening up«, he 

called it. Very few people held the fact that he’d helped vote Hitler into the Reichstag 

against him. In his sweeping biography, Joachim Radkau presents this multi-faceted, 

contradictory personality: aesthete and cynic, politician and economist, with an eclectic 

range of interests from technology to art and design. Theodor Heuss embodied the 

modernization of the German nation from the Imperial Era through to the early years of 

the Federal Republic and paved the ground for post-war society like no other. Radkau’s 

biography reappraises him as a central figure in German history – and also opens a new 

perspective on the early years of the Federal Republic. 


and index. Hardcover 



Joachim Radkau 

was born in 1943. He 

teaches modern history at 

the University of Bielefeld. 

Hanser has published his 

previous books Das Zeitalter 

der Nervosität: Deutschland 

zwischen Bismarck und 

Hitler (1998), and Max 

Weber: Die Leidenschaft 

des Denkens (2005). 

»Radkau’s exceptional book brings out, for the first time, the interrelations between Weber's thought and his 

life experience. There are sensational revelations about the great enigmas of Weber's life and his suffering 

and eroticism, his fears and desires, and his great creative power. Radkau presents a previously unknown 

Weber and allows his many admirers and modern day students to gain a new appreciation of his life and 

work.« Lancashire on Max Weber. A passionate Thinker 

»Seldom has a biography dealt with sources in such a detailed way. Seldom has a work given such a full 

picture of the protagonist's intellectual context and social milieu.« Die Zeit on Max Weber. A passionate Thinker 


Max Weber. A Passionate Thinker: Arabic (Tarjuman), Brazil (Paz e Terra), Mexico/Spanish (Fondo de 

Cultura), UK/English (Polity Press) 



H I S TO RY 

H I S TO RY 

The new Europe – 

grass-roots reunification 

at long last! 


Have we lost touch with the future? Are we 

unable to let go of an obsolete vision of the 

past? Aleida Assmann shows how and why 

our relationship with time has changed over 

the course of the last decades. 

Karl Schlögel made a name for himself as a chronicler of Eastern European countries and 

their gradual reintegration into Europe. The re-formation of the continent has breathed 

new life into the old centres and they are now linked with the rest of Europe by busy transnational 

highways. The new Europeans move freely across borders, exchanging trade and 

knowledge. But joint membership of the global market also left East and West equally 

vulnerable to the economic meltdown of 2008 – their first shared test of strength – forcing 

them to ride the waves of the worldwide economy together. 

In his speeches and essays Karl Schlögel examines this new Europe – a continent that is 

gradually casting off decades of division. Far more than a history of recent times, his work 

explores the continuously shifting undercurrents of contemporary European culture. 

»Karl Schögel stands alone among German historians of contemporary Eastern Europe. 

Very few others write quite so eloquently and compellingly on this complex subject.« 

Die Zeit on Reading Time through Space 

»An extraordinarily erudite and experienced reporter, explorer, mediator and investigator.« 

NZZ on Marjampole 

Karl Schlögel 

Grenzland Europa 

Unterwegs auf einem 

neuen Kontinent 

Borderland Europe 

En route to a new continent 

Poems. Approx. 128 pages. 

Hardcover 



Karl Schlögel 

was born in 1948. He read 

philosophy, sociology, Eastern 

European history and 

Slavic studies at the Free 

University of Berlin, in 

Moscow and Saint Petersburg. 

Until 2013 he was 

Professor of Eastern European 

History at the 

Viadrina European University 

in Frankfurt an der Oder. 

In 2011 Hanser published 

Moskau lesen. 

There is increasing insecurity and perplexity as far as time is concerned. Time has gone 

awry: out of joint, like it was for Shakespeare‘s Hamlet. The future can’t be relied on to 

deliver the promises it held, the present has become diffuse and complex, and the past, 

instead of being bygone, keeps coming back to haunt us in manifold guises. 

The reason for this temporal disorder is the decline of the modernist time system. Until 

recently we focused our sights expectantly on the future as the past slid smoothly away 

behind us. But the concept of temporal order has fallen into disarray. Aleida Assmann 

reviews our current day complex relationship with time and contrasts it with the way 

it once served as a social and cultural guideline drawing on examples from history and 

literature. She examines the causes that brought about the crisis of the modernist time 

regime and explains what led to its eventual demise. 

Aleida Assmann 

Ist die Zeit aus den Fugen? 

Aufstieg und Fall des Zeitregimes 

der Moderne 

Is Time out of Joint? 

The rise and fall of time in 

the age of modernity 




Aleida Assmann 

was born in 1947, and 

teaches English and Literary 

Studies at the University of 

Constance. In 2011 she was 

awarded the Ernst Robert 

Curtius Prize for essay 

writing. 

»Cultural Memory and Western Civilization provides an unsurpassed starting point for the understanding of 

the human as, in Nietzsche’s words, an animal who remembers«. 

Times Literary Supplement on Erinnerungsräume 


Terror und Traum: LT (Tyto Alba), NL (Atlas), PL (Poznanskie), RUS (Rosspen), E (Acantilado/Quaderns 

Crema), S (Natur & Kultur), UK/USA (Polity Press) 

Im Raume lesen wir die Zeit: I (Mondadori), PL (Poznanskie), E (Siruela), USA (University of Michigan Press) 


Erinnerungsräume. Formen und Wandlungen des kulturellen Gedächtnisses: BR (Editora da Unicamp), 

I (Il Mulino), J (Suiseisha), UA (Nika-Center), USA (Cambridge UP) 





C U LT U R A L H I S TO RY 

We were all relieved to outlive the Mayan calendar 

– but didn’t reckon with the Aztecs, according 

to whom the trumpets of doom will sound in 

2023. But our planet may well be wiped out 

by asteroids long before that, so one way or 

another it’s high time to sort out mankind’s 

eternal questions. In appropriately apocalyptic 

tones, Florian Werner deciphers the mysteries 

surrounding mankind’s ultimate demise. 

© Johanna Ruebel 

The next Armageddon is coming; there’s no doubt about it. But when exactly? We’ll need 

to choose a soundtrack, too, as we queue for the Rapture. What are the entry criteria for 

the Kingdom of Heaven on Judgment Day and what torments await those who can’t fulfil 

them? How do you say »It wasn’t me; honestly, I didn’t do it!« in Aramaic? How do you 

recognize the Antichrist and why does he have such funny eyes? Death, where is thy 

scythe, and how is it that scores of latter-day doom-mongers and pre-emptive suicide 

sects manage to lure their gullible acolytes to an early grave when the prophets have been 

proven mistaken so many times before? 

All these questions are addressed and resolved in Florian Werner’s definitive manual. 

He guides us through the prophecies of the apocalypse and other dark and gloomy scriptures, 

explains the eschatological mysticism encrypted in numerology and animal symbolism, 

and gives us the wherewithal to get to grips with the bewildering rhetoric and 

mystifying formulae enshrouding our impending annihilation. If you entrust yourself to 

this book and Nikolaus Heidelbach’s eerily appropriate and stunning illustrations, you’ll 

be perfectly prepared for the last trumpet call. An ideal gift for the pessimist in your life 

– and for anyone who enjoys a story with an unhappy ending. 

»Florian Werner, a successful author whose non-fiction readings can fill entire theatres, 

has tackled the phenomenon of shyness – a subjective, charming and humorous exploration 

of the term and its many manifestations that is as erudite as it is entertaining.« 

Deutschlandradio on Shyness 


Die Kuh: Japan (Toyo Shorin), USA/UK (Greystones Books) 

Dunkle Materie: Spain (Tusquets), Poland (Czarne) 

Florian Werner 

Verhalten bei 

Weltuntergang 

Preparing for the End 

– a vademecum for the 

apocalypse 

With colour illustrations 

by Nikolaus Heidelbach 




Florian Werner 

was born in 1971. An author 

and journalist, he holds a 

doctorate in American Studies. 

His previous publications 

with Nagel and Kimche include 

Die Kuh. Leben, Werk 

und Wirkung (2009), Dunkle 

Materie. Die Geschichte 

der Scheiße (2011) and 

Schüchtern. Bekenntnis zu 

einer unterschätzten Eigenschaft 

(2012). 

Nikolaus Heidelbach 

born in 1955, studied 

German, history of art and 

theatre studies. He lives in 

Cologne. His illustrations 

have won him numerous 

awards including the 2006 

German Prize for Young 

Readers Literature and 

most recently the (City of 

Hameln’s) Rattenfänger 

prize for literature. 



P H I L O S O P H Y 

PETER BIERI 


A book about a central theme of human existence 

A major philosophical work conceived for a wide audience 

Reviews on The Tools of Freedom: 

»Has there not been more than enough said and written about freedom? The answer 

is an emphatic no. Peter Bieri’s book rediscovers the liberties at our disposal – whether we want 

them or not. Beautifully lucid and saturated with intuition, his writing keeps us hooked like the most 

compelling of novels. An indispensable book, especially at a time when the concept of freedom 

is being increasingly eroded. A truly liberating read.« Rüdiger Safranski 

Dignity is mankind’s greatest asset, but what exactly does it entail? Peter Bieri’s longawaited 

new book focuses on one of life’s central themes. Dignity manifests itself in many 

guises, and is therefore impossible to encapsulate within a single frame of reference. So 

the author adopts the approach of an observer: in what situations do we preserve our 

dignity and when do we risk losing it? Drawing on examples from both everyday life and 

literature, he develops a concept of human dignity as the fulcrum upon which our attitude 

towards ourselves and our interaction with others hinges. Bieri concludes that far from 

being an abstract ideal, dignity is nothing less than a way of life; it finds expression in 

our promoting independence, veracity and authenticity as defining factors in all of our 

actions and interactions. 

Bieri states his case in remarkably lucid terms: the result is a major work of philosophy 

that nevertheless caters to a wider audience; a book that addresses a central theme of 

human existence. 

Peter Bieri 

Eine Art zu leben 

Über die Vielfalt 

menschlicher Würde 

Dignity as a Way of Life 

– a treatise on the diversity 

of human dignity 




Peter Bieri 

was born in 1944 in Bern. 

He studied philosophy and 

classics and was professor 

of philosophy at Bielefeld, 

Marburg and the Free University 

of Berlin. Carl Hanser 

Verlag published his book 

Das Handwerk der Freiheit 

(2001), as well as the novel 

Nachtzug nach Lissabon 

(2004) and the novella Lea 

(2007), both penned under 

the pseudonym of Pascal 

Mercier. 

»This book is invaluable in expanding our understanding of fundamental questions of identity.« F. A. Z. 

»Peter Bieri has spent years trying to unravel the age-old philosophical dilemma of free will. 

Now he has written an intelligent and captivating book that avoids the pitfalls of jargon 

whilst riding the crest of current trends.« Der Spiegel 


Das Handwerk der Freiheit: BIH (Sahinpasic), F (Libella Buchet Chastel), H (Europa Kiadó), I (Saggiatore), 

Netherlands (Wereldbibliotheek), Slowenia (KUD Apokalipsa), Spain (Ariel), Turkey (Kitap Yayinev) 

Nachtzug nach Lissabon: Sold to more than 30 countries 





P O L I T I C S A N D S O C I E T Y 

A plea for 

self-awareness in the face of 

a failing democracy 

© Gudrun Senger 

What do we learn from history? Obviously not a great deal. But we should at least take 

notice of what the Weimar period taught us – that a neglected republic is at risk. The 

recent financial crisis resulted in a moral meltdown of the system – but unlike Japan’s Fukushima, 

there’s no shut-down at hand; there’s no safety valve, no alternative in sight. So 

the time has come to get up and make a stand for intrinsic values: justice, law, equality, 

democracy and freedom. The gloomy smog of capitalism has robbed us of these concepts 

and now it’s high time to reclaim them. We have abrogated our responsibility for far too 

long; it has gone astray in a thicket of timid politicians, greedy bankers and a tamed 

media. It’s just not enough to vote and then fall mute once more, so in this election year, 

Jakob Augstein presents a book that poses a vital question. What is more important to us: 

democracy or capitalism? 

Jakob Augstein 

Die Unverantwortlichen 

– Vom Leben in der vernachlässigten 

Republik 

The Reckless Republic – 

life in a neglected democracy 



Jakob Augstein 

was born in 1967. He read 

German literature, theatre 

studies and political science 

in Berlin and Paris. After 

working for the Süddeutsche 

Zeitung and Zeit, he took 

over as publisher of the 

weekly newspaper Freitag 

in 2008. His last publication 

with Hanser was Die Tage 

des Gärtners (2012). 



P O L I T I C S A N D S O C I E T Y 

Joachim Käppner looks behind the 

scenes to examine the myth of the 

criminal profiler. With particular focus on 

the infamous NSU murders, he gives us 

insights into the real world of operational 

case analysts, showing just how complex 

and controversial crime detection can be. 

Ever since The Silence of the Lambs, fascination with the work of criminal profilers has 

continued unabated. There’s been a glut of movies and detective novels portraying the 

psychological duel between the twisted genius of the serial killer and his equally inspired 

nemesis. The reality is completely different – yet no less exciting. Joachim Käppner outlines 

the work of Germany’s operational case analysts. He tells us how they were initially 

met with ridicule which soon turned to admiration as they became invaluable in solving 

sex murders and serial killings. Over the years Käppner has accompanied profilers across 

the country in the course of their work, with particular emphasis on the Munich case analyst 

director Alexander Horn and his team, who had the neo-Nazi NSU murderers down 

as the crimes of extremists or an insane individual perpetrator as early as 2006. At that 

time no one believed them, and the police investigators carried on searching for a shady 

underground organised crime syndicate. Käppner’s description of the background and 

the complex reappraisal of investigative slip-ups reads like a thriller itself. 

»Painstakingly researched, beautifully written and engaging to the end. A whole century 

perfectly encapsulated.« Die Zeit on Berthold Beitz. Die Biographie 

Joachim Käppner 

Profiler 

Auf der Spur von 

Serientätern und Terroristen 

Profilers – on the trail of 

serial killers and terrorists 

336 pages with illustrations. 

Hardcover 



Joachim Käppner 

is a journalist and editor for 

the Süddeutsche Zeitung. 

His most recent publications 

are Die Familie der 

Generäle. Eine deutsche 

Geschichte (2007) and 

the Spiegel bestseller 

Berthold Beitz. Die Biographie 

(2010), which won him 

the 2011 German Business 

Book Award and the Quandt 

Media Prize. 

»Anyone who wants to learn more about German military history should read this fascinating 

and instructive book.« Spiegel Special on Die Familie der Generäle. Eine deutsche Geschichte 



M E M O I R 

Seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling. Karl- 

Markus Gauß describes the earliest sensory 

experiences of a small boy in the mid-twentieth 

century, and at the same time paints a 

portrait of the author as a sheltered child. 

© Michael Appelt 

Karl-Markus Gauß 

Das Erste, was ich sah 

The First Thing I Set Eyes on 

The attention of the nameless narrator is caught by a voice from the radio: it is reciting 

names, a list of missing people and the places they were last seen. The next thing he 

hears is the words of his parents and siblings; new words, some of them in foreign languages. 

The boy explores the room, the apartment, the house which is inhabited by several 

tenants. The more mobile he becomes, the more his horizon expands; he discovers the 

playground and the football field. He starts to notice how differently the people around 

him behave. There’s often talk of where someone comes from, where they used to be 

before. Gradually, the outside world begins to intrude. War remains a constant presence. 

The war that has recently ended, with all its casualties, the injured men the boy bumps 

into on his daily round, and the new war that’s replaced it, the Cold War that’s beginning 

to overshadow the family’s life. 

The tone of this memoir is wistful and ironic, celebrating the magic of new beginnings 

without concealing the fear they inspire. It revives memories from oblivion, invoking attitudes 

long gone as it describes a child who is beginning to get a feel for the power of words 

early in life whilst making his own sense of the world from the stories he hears. 

»Gauss' imagery is laid out with immaculate narrative economy and linguistic restraint. 

As such, this book is reminiscent of Walter Benjamin's Berliner Kindheit um 1900; it may 

be lighter in tone, but by no means lightweight.« Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 


Memoir. 110 pages. 

Hardcover 



born in 1954 in Salzburg, 

where he still lives. As well 

as being an acclaimed 

author, he is a contributor 

to and editor of the journal 

Literatur und Kritik. His 

books have been translated 

into many languages and 

won him numerous awards, 

including the Charles Veillon 

European Essay Prize, the 

Vilenica Prize for Central 

European Literature and 

the Georg-Dehio Book 

Award. His most recent 

publications at Zsolnay are 

Im Wald der Metropolen 

(2010) and Ruhm am 

Nachmittag (2012). 

»A Masterpiece« Die Furche 


Im Wald der Metropolen: Poland (Czarne), Slovenia (Slovenska Matica) 

Die sterbenden Europäer: Catalonia (Simbol), Croatia (Fraktura), Macedonia (Templum), Romania 

(Humanitas), Slovenia (Cankarjeva), Sweden (Perenn), 



E C O N O M I C S 

H I S TO RY 

Brazil is vast and prosperous and aspires 

to be the new superpower. Journalist and 

self-appointed Brazilian Ruedi Leuthold 

journeys throughout the huge country, 

witnessing its different paces of life and 

incredible contrasts as he tries to track 

down the mysterious cohesive force 

uniting the country and its people. 

For decades, Gerd Ruge was one of Germany’s 

most popular foreign correspondents. In this 

book he looks back on memorable moments and 

formative encounters, describing the eventful life 

of an itinerant journalist – a life that was closely 

linked to global political developments during 

the years that followed World War II. 

Fisherman Joaquim was almost one of the lucky ones. He was on the point of cashing 

in on the big boom when his daughter Soccoro’s hair got caught in the camshaft of his 

boat’s engine and Joaquim had to sacrifice all he had to pay for years of treatment. As she 

healed, Soccoro discovered that there were hundreds of women in a similar position, and 

now she is a well-known Brazilian women’s rights activist. She is one of the many people 

Ruedi Leuthold meets on his travels. He tags along with Judge Nivaldo on her floating 

courthouse, calling at Amazonia’s remotest villages to resolve disputes, and he meets 

scientists who court danger as they work to save the rainforest from the avarice of the 

powerful cattle barons. 

Brazil once stood for the Samba, stylish football, poverty and corruption. All these things 

still exist, and when the country hosts the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the Brazilians will once 

again demonstrate that they’re no strangers to the carnival or the Beautiful Game. Leuthold 

concludes that while we can’t get to grips with Brazil by applying western standards, 

the country’s enthusiasm and joie de vivre is still as irresistible as ever. 

»Anyone who wants to understand the strange country that is Brazil will find Ruedi 

Leuthold’s book indispensable.« Erwin Koch 

Ruedi Leuthold 

Brasilien 

Der Traum vom Aufstieg 

Brazil 

Reaching for the Stars 




Ruedi Leuthold 

was born in 1952 and 

has been a journalist and 

documentary filmmaker for 

30 years. His work has won 

him the 2007 European Film 

Awards Civis and the 2008 

prize for the best Germanlanguage 

travel report. He 

divides his time between 

Lucerne and Rio de Janeiro 

and writes for Die Zeit, 

GEO, Der Tagesspiegel and 

Das Magazin. 

Gerd Ruge has more than forty years’ experience reporting from different parts of the 

world and is considered a pioneering foreign correspondent. His main placements 

were the Soviet Union, the U.S. and China. In the aftermath of the Second World War he 

brought home the world to the German public, espousing an objective perspective on current 

affairs untainted by prejudice or ideology. A sharp-eyed political observer, he connected 

with people, listened to them patiently and invariably had a feel for the nuances – 

something for which his audience always appreciated him. This book records not only his 

meetings with big-name politicians like Robert Kennedy, Willy Brandt or Gorbachev, but 

also with ordinary citizens in towns and villages across the world. The result is a political 

autobiography with a broad vision; a narrative that allows the reader a close-up view of 

events, places and people crucial to the second half of the 20 th century. 

No. 5 of the Non-Fiction Bestseller List two weeks after publication! 

»In over forty years at the sharp end of the media, Gerd Ruge’s most outstanding 

attribute was his credibility – you believed every word he said. He acquired this aura of 

authority at the grassroots of journalism – along with that post-war generation of modern 

journalists who all shared an irrepressible curiosity about the world and a humanist attitude 

tempered with Anglo-Saxon pragmatism.« Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 

Gerd Ruge 

Unterwegs 

Politische Erinnerungen 

Under Way – 

a political memoir 


Hardcover 



Gerd Ruge 

was born in 1928. He 

worked as a correspondent 

for the ARD in Moscow 

and Washington, and for 

Die Welt in Beijing. He has 

published several books and 

received numerous awards 

for his journalistic work, 

including the Adolf Grimme 

Award and the Bavarian 

Television Award. Gerd 

Ruge lives in Munich. 





L I T E R A RY C R I T I S I S M 

L I T E R A RY C R I T I S I S M 

Albert Camus‘ writing revolves around the 

great existential questions: freedom, guilt, 

and responsibility. Martin Meyer marks the 

100 th birthday of one of the most important 

twentieth century writers and thinkers. 

If you were ever looking for the equivalent of 

Ireland’s Bloomsday for the German-speaking 

world, you could do worse than choosing 

Ulrichsday, August 7 th , the date which this year 

marks the centenary of the inception of Robert 

Musil’s novel The Man Without Qualities. 

Born into a poor family near Algiers a century ago, there was nothing to indicate that 

Albert Camus would one day shape the attitude of a whole generation. His novels and 

dramas, his philosophical essays and political commentaries deal with the large-scale 

questions of human existence but steer clear of those radical ideologies to which other 

intellectuals of his time succumbed. The Plague and The Outsider, The Myth of Sisyphus 

and The Rebel hold an unbroken fascination – and in Martin Meyer’s view Albert Camus 

is without doubt one of the most significant 20 th century authors. His book takes an explicatory 

stance on Camus’ work, cross-referencing lesser-known texts and casting light on 

the author’s works and biographical background. The book provides a broader context for 

those already familiar with Camus as well as offering multi-faceted orientation for those 

who are not. In this, his anniversary year, Martin Meyer rediscovers Camus as a great 

contemporary. 

Martin Meyer 

Albert Camus 

Die Freiheit leben 

Albert Camus 

Freedom as a Way of Life 




Martin Meyer 

was born in Zurich in 1951. 

He studied philosophy, 

literature and history. In 

1974 he became editor of 

the features section of the 

Neue Zürcher Zeitung, and 

has been its chief editor 

since 1992. Hanser most 

recently published Tagebuch 

und spätes Leid (on Thomas 

Mann, 1999) and Piranesis 

Zukunft (Essays on Literature 

und the Arts, 2009). 

On that day in 1913, Robert Musil opened his workbook and started to draw a map, annotated 

with the description of a maze of streets, squares and buildings in Vienna’s Third 

District. Seven years later he moved into this neighbourhood, where he could look from 

his study window over the Salm Palace, which served as a model for the house of his 

protagonist. 

Today the shadow of this early modernist novel falls alone and aloof across the landscape 

of 20 th century European literature – visible from afar, uniquely outstanding and yet alien 

and inaccessible. Inka Mülder-Bach invites us to rediscover The Man Without Qualities 

from a different perspective. Unlike previous interpretations, this essay looks beyond the 

characters, inner musings and contexts, concentrating instead on the terra incognita of 

its structure. Inka Mülder-Bach shows how the novel is built on a micrological structure, 

conveying and unravelling a world that has become impenetrable. 

»With regard to both the exactness of its textual analyses and the precision of its theoretical 

references Inca Mülder-Bach’s Musil study constitutes a singular formation in 

the landscape of contemporary literary criticism. Its object of study is novelistic form, 

understood in conformity with Musil’s own understanding as an indispensible instrument 

of social analysis and ethical reflection. There is no page of Mülder-Bach’s book that 

fails to surprise with new insight. Under the guidance of the author’s subtle art of interpretation 

even Musil’s most dedicated readers will discover the novel as if for the first 

time. Mülder-Bach’s critical intelligence solicits the novel’s intricate structure and thereby 

discloses the full complexity of Musil’s account of modernity. Rumors to the effect that 

Musil deserves recognition along with Proust and Joyce as one of the supreme modern 

novelists receive compelling confirmation in this outstanding study. Readers who only 

have access to The Man Without Qualities in English (and this group worldwide outnumbers 

Musil’s German readers) deserve an English translation of Inca Mülder-Bach’s 

breakthrough study.« David E. Wellbery, University of Chicago 

Inka Mülder-Bach 

Robert Musil 

Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften. 

Ein Versuch 

über den Roman 

Robert Musil and The Man 

Without Qualities 

An interpretive essay 


and index. Hardcover 


Inka Mülder-Bach 

was born in 1953 and is 

Professor of Modern German 

Literature and Literary 

Studies at the University of 

Munich. She is the author 

of numerous publications 

on 18th to 20th century 

German literature and the 

editor of the collected works 

of Siegfried Kracauer. 





M U S I C 

The story of a unique affection that unfolds 

in letters between the 44-year-old composer 

and his niece, 27 years his junior. 

Following the premiere of his opera Dantons Tod at the Salzburg Festival in 1947, Gottfried 

von Einem became one of the most prominent post-war composers. But the sudden death 

of his first wife, Lianne von Bismarck, in early 1962 shook him to the core. Two years 

before his wife died, Gottfried had won the affection of his niece, Andrea Liebrecht, who 

was fifteen at the time. Now, in April 1962, he confesses his love to the seventeen-year-old 

girl. What follows is a torrent of passion which descends on the young woman in the form 

of an inundation of love letters. Von Einem writes her up to four letters a day, suggesting 

what books she should read and what music she should listen to, and cajoling her to reply 

and to meet him. 

Gottfried von Einem 

“Du und ich sind ein Einfall“ 

Briefe an Andrea 

“You and I are Pure Inspiration” 

– Letters to Andrea 

Edited by Andrea 

von Wiedebach 

Includes a conversation 

between Andrea von Wiedebach 

and Caspar Einem 


Letters. 400 pages with 

illustrations. Hardcover 



For more than three years – up until 1965, when he meets his second wife, the writer Lotte 

Ingrisch – he courts Andrea in a positively obsessive manner. She in turn feels at once 

pressurized and flattered; the letters had a profound effect on her. Gottfried von Einem 

granted Andrea Weidebach (née Liebrecht) the license to publish these letters and left 

the timing up to her. Now this amour fou is available in book form – the testament to a 

mysterious passion. 

Gottfried von Einem 

born in Bern in 1918 and 

died in Oberdürnbach, Lower 

Austria in 1996. After living 

for some time in Bayreuth 

and Dresden, he moved to 

Austria in 1946. From 1948 

until 1951 he was a member 

of the board of directors of 

the Arts Council of the Salzburg 

Festival, and headed 

it from 1955. 

Andrea von Wiedebach 

born in 1948 in Thüringen: 

She worked as an orthopist 

and later as a special 

teacher for the visually 

impaired. She now lives 

in the Oberlausitz region, 

Germany. 



A R C H I T E C T U R E 

A trans-national artistic statement both 

imposing and redemptive – Friedrich 

Achleitner describes Eastern Europe’s 

most striking memorials, created 

by Bogdan Bogdanović. 

© Lukas Beck 

Bogdan Bogdanović (1922 - 2010) is the creator of the legendary »Flower of Stone« monument 

in Jasenovac as well as the Memorial Park at Vukovar on the Danube, which was 

awarded the Piranesi Prize for architecture before being partially destroyed during the 

Yugoslavian Civil War. His monuments, memorials and necropolises throughout former 

Yugoslavia bear witness to the cultural diversity and the tragic history of the Balkans. 

Collectively, they stand as an expression of Bogdan Bogdanovich’s vision: »Inclusive rather 

than exclusive, uniting rather than separating.« 

Friedrich Achleitner 

Den Toten eine Blume 

Die Denkmäler von 

Bogdan Bogdanović 

A Flower for the Dead 

The Monuments of 

Bogdan Bogdanović 


Approx. 184 pages with 

illustrations. Hardcover 



In this photographic record, Friedrich Achleitner takes this as his central tenet to describe 

the vision of the architect, urbanist, writer, polymath and former mayor of Belgrade whom 

he befriended during Bogdanovich’s period of exile in Vienna. The two of them, and later 

Achleitner on his own, repeatedly visited all of Bogdanovich’s monuments, encountering 

memorials »devoted to life«, which not only »assume a special status in modern European 

art but are distinctive in their uniqueness in the entire history of the European culture of 

remembrance during the 20 th century.« 

Friedrich Achleitner 

born in 1930 in Upper 

Austria, is a member of 

the avant garde collective 

Wiener Gruppe. Until 1998, 

he was a professor at the 

University of Applied Arts in 

Vienna. His previous books 

include Österreichische 

Architektur (1980); his 

most recent publications at 

Zsolnay are der springende 

punkt (2009) and iwahaubbd 

(2011). 


English World Rights (Park Books) 



BAC K L I S T H I G H L I G H T S N O N - F I C T I O N 

Karin Wieland 

Dietrich & Riefenstahl. Der Traum von der neuen Frau 

Dietrich & Riefenstahl: The Invention of the Modern Woman 

Hanser Verlag. 632 pages with illustrations 

Ineffably feminine, fiercely independent, stunningly beautiful and in love with success: the archetype young 

women aspire to today was invented by two Berlin movie stars between the world wars. Karin Wieland presents a 

surprising new perspective on 20 th century culture and society. Not only does she make it clear why Dietrich and 

Riefenstahl have lost none of their fascination to this day, but also that young women leading independent and successful 

lives as a matter of course owe far more than they realise to these two interwar lifestyle icons. 


Russia (AST Kniga), Netherlands (Atlas), UK/USA (W.W. Norton) 

Robert Menasse 

Der europäische Landbote 

The European Courier. The citizens' rage and Europe's peace 

Zsolnay Verlag. 112 pages 

»Either the Europe of nation states will founder, or the project of overcoming the nation state will. One way or another, the 

EU will be our downfall.« Robert Menasse’s plea for a »post-national Europe«. 

Der Europäische Landbote received the Heinrich Mann Prize 2013, and the prize »The political Book 2013« awarded by 

the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Berlin. 


Bulgaria (Lege Artis), Croatia (Bozicevic), Netherlands (Arbeiderspers), Poland (Polityka), Slovakia (Projekt 

Forum) 


Im Wald der Metropolen 

In the Forests of the Metropoles 

Zsolnay Verlag. 304 pages 

In the Forests of the Metropoles is a travelogue on a grand scale that takes us all the way from Burgundy to Transylvania, 

and from a small Thuringian town to a Greek island. Absorbing, erudite, at once intimate and worldly – it is a 

wide-reaching and ambitious account and an unprecedented cultural history of Europe. 


Poland (Czarne), Slovenia (Slovenska Matica) 

Christian Felber 

Gemeinwohl-Ökonomie 

The Common Welfare Economy 

Deuticke Verlag. 208 pages 

The Common Welfare Economy represents a profound response to the multifaceted crisis of the present day: 

financial bubbles, unemployment, poverty, climate change, migration, the breakdown of democracy, and the loss of 

values and meaning. 

»An appeal to the citizens of the world - join the Common Welfare Economy movement now!« Stéphane Hessel 


Catalonia (Miret), Finland (Gaudeamus), France (Actes Sud), Italy (Tecnice Nouve), Poland (Bialy Wiatr), Spain 

(Planeta) 



C H I LD R E N’S B O O KS 

PICTURE BOOKS 

CHILDREN‘S 

FICTION 

YOUNG ADULTS 

FICTION 

Contact 

Hanser Children’s books 

Worldwide 

Anne Brans 

Vilshofenerstr. 10 


Germany 

phone: +49-89-99830-519 

fax: +49-89-99830-460 

mail: anne.brans@hanser.de 


P I C T U R E B O O K S 

JAMES JOYCE • WOLF ERLBRUCH 

James Joyce and 

Wolf Erlbruch 

unearth some startling treasures 

in Copenhagen 

In early 2012 a hitherto undiscovered manuscript by James Joyce was published in 

Dublin as a first edition. The Cats of Copenhagen is a letter to Joyce’s four-year-old 

grandson Stephen, teeming with Joycean imagination and ingenuity. Harry Rowohlt has 

now produced a superb German rendering of this text, and Wolf Erlbruch’s enchanting 

illustrations make it a real feast for the eyes. 

Cats filled with sweets used to be a popular gift, and were James Joyce’s choice of treats 

for his young grandson. But when he was in Copenhagen he couldn’t find any to bring 

back, so he wrote: »there are loads of fish and plenty of bicycles here, but no cats.« Joyce 

liked Denmark with its red postboxes, cycling postmen and friendly policemen, who he 

claimed lay in bed all day, smoking cigars and drinking buttermilk. Even famous grandfathers 

enjoy fibbing every now and then, so he signs the letter off with »true or false; 

what do you think?« 


Netherlands (Hoogland & Van Klaveren) 

James Joyce / 

Wolf Erlbruch 

Die Katzen von 

Kopenhagen 

The Cats of Copenhagen 

Translated from English 

by Harry Rowohlt 

32 pages. 

Format: 28 x 24,5 cm. 

From age 5 and up 


Illustration rights only! 

James Joyce 

(1882 – 1941) is one of the 

most significant 20 th century 

writers. Born in Dublin, he 

spent most of his life in 

Trieste, Zurich and Paris. 

Wolf Erlbruch 

was born in 1948 and lives 

in Wuppertal. He has illustrated 

many award-winning 

books, and as an art college 

lecturer he has trained many 

an aspiring artist. Hanser 

published Der König und 

das Meer by Heinz Janisch, 

Zehn grüne Heringe and 

Das Hexeneinmaleins by 

J.W. v. Goethe. 

1 C H I L D R E N ’ S B O O K S 

C H I L D R E N ’ S B O O K S 2 



P I C T U R E B O O K S 

QUINT BUCHHOLZ 

Quint Buchholz 

Im Land der Bücher 

In the Land of Books 

Everything that books can be: 

friends in need, trusty companions, bringers 

of encouragement and inspiration … 

Quint Buchholz celebrates the wonderful world 

of books in words and pictures 

This is a paeon to the beauty and diversity of books, compiled by Quint Buchholz in the 

form of 30 illustrations and texts. An incitement to read for young and old alike. 

Books are trusty companions and friends in times of need. They open our eyes and minds 

and hold up a mirror, reflecting our inner selves. They make us laugh and cry, they 

challenge and mesmerise, they give us comfort and independence. Books: once you’ve 

acquired a taste for them, it will stay with you forever. 

Quint Buchholz is an inspired bibliophile, passionately hooked on books. In his enchanting, 

enigmatic and amusing illustrations on the subject of books, he sheds new light on 

the secret of their allure and shows us just how colourful and diverse the world of books 

and literature is, how tempting in every shape and form, how it can be put to use, and 

what it can mean to us. A travel guide to the literary realm, a volume that opens many 

doors and leaves a lasting impression. 


Italy (Beisler Editore); Spain (Nórdica); Taiwan (Grimm Press) 

64 pages. Format: 

15 x 20 cm 

For all ages 



Quint Buchholz 

born 1957 in Stolberg, is 

one of Germany’s leading 

picture-book illustrators; 

he studied history of art, 

painting and graphic design 

at the Munich Academy of 

Fine Arts. He made a name 

for himself with his illustrations 

of books for children 

and young readers in the 

work of Elke Heidenreich, 

Jostein Gaarder and Amos 

Oz (to name but a few), 

and also illustrates his own 

texts. His books have been 

published in more than 20 

languages and have won 

him numerous awards, both 

in Germany and abroad, 

and his illustrations have 

been featured in 20 solo 

exhibitions to date. Quint 

Buchholz lives in Ottobrunn 

near Munich. 





C H I L D R E N ’ S F I C T I O N 

ANU STOHNER • HENRIKE WILSON 

kleine Schusselhexe sie bei dem bösen Wind durch den großen 

Hexenwald gescheucht hatte? Dachten die womöglich, sie hätte 

keinen triftigen Grund dafür? Den brauchte man nämlich für den 

großen Hexenrat. Erst neulich hatte ihn eine Hexe einberufen, 

Manchmal, wenn sie zusammen vom krummen Besen purzelten, 

moserte der blaue Hase: »Wenn du nicht dauernd die Hexensprüche 

vermasseln würdest, hätten wir auch einen anständigen 

Besen, der nicht so ruckelt!« 

Dann lachte die kleine Schusselhexe und sagte: »Wenn ich nicht 

dauernd die Hexensprüche vermasseln würde, wärst du ein 

langweiliger schwarzer Vogel mit spitzen Federn am Po statt 

einem weichen weißen Puschel.« 

Das stimmte natürlich, und auf seinen weichen weißen Puschel 

war der blaue Hase auch mächtig stolz. Darum war er ja so sauer, 

wenn sie vom Besen purzelten: weil der schöne Puschel dann 

schmutzig wurde. Aber sonst kamen die beiden gut miteinander 

aus. 

Das heißt, mit dem Frühstück war es ein bisschen schwierig. Der 

blaue Hase mochte sein Müsli mit Möhrchen und die kleine 

Schusselhexe ihres mit Lakritz, darüber kriegten sie sich manchmal 

in die Wolle. So auch an dem Morgen, als draußen wie aus 

dem Nichts ein böser Wind aufkam. Das merkten die beiden erst 

gar nicht. 

»Lakritz ist immer da, und Möhrchen fehlen dauernd!«, 

beschwerte sich der blaue Hase. 

»Stimmt doch gar nicht, gestern waren welche da!« 

»Aber vorgestern nicht, und heute fehlen sie schon wieder!« 

»Weil du kein Müsli mit Möhrchen isst, sondern einen Berg Möhrchen 

mit drei Haferflöckchen obendrauf!« 

»Ich kann doch wohl mein Müsli essen, wie ich will!« 

So ging das hin und her, während sich draußen schon die dicken 

Bäume bogen. Das merkten die zwei Streithanseln drinnen im 

8 

The 

weil ihr der Hexenspruch für blonde Dauerwellen nicht mehr 

eingefallen war. Seitdem war sie die einzige Hexe im ganzen 

großen Hexenwald mit Pipi-Langstrumpf-Zöpfchen und durfte 

die nächsten 66 Jahre keinen Hexenhut mehr tragen. Pipihexe 

sagten sie zu ihr. 

Die kleine Schusselhexe hatte natürlich einen triftigen Grund. 

Aber ein bisschen mulmig war ihr trotzdem – und dem blauen 

Hasen, der vorgesagt hatte, sowieso. 

Jetzt stieg die kleine Schusselhexe auf den Tisch, damit man sie 

besser sehen konnte, und hob die Arme zum Zeichen, dass sie 

etwas sagen wollte. 

»Hexenschwestern, bitte!«, rief sie. »Darf ich euch schnell erklären, 

warum …« 

»Nein!«, schallte es ihr da von der ganzen Hexenversammlung 

entgegen. »Das darfst du nicht!« 

Dann deutete die alte Oberhexe mit ihrem langen knochigen 

Zeigefinger auf den blauen Hasen und sagte mit knarziger Stimme: 

»Er hat vorgesagt!« 

Sie hatten es gehört, und sie ließen es nicht durchgehen. 

»Aber es wäre mir bestimmt gleich selbst eingefallen«, versuchte 

es die kleine Schusselhexe. 

»Was wäre dir eingefallen?«, fragte die alte Oberhexe. 

»Na, das richtige Wort«, sagte die kleine Schusselhexe. 

»Ich höre«, knarzte die alte Oberhexe. 

15 

Der blaue Hase schloss die Augen, aber viel Hoffnung, dass der 

kleinen Schusselhexe das Wort einfiel, hatte er nicht. 

»Na, Hexen…, Haxen…, Faxen…, Hexendings«, sagte die kleine 

Schusselhexe. 

Da machte der blaue Hase die Augen wieder auf und sah, dass die 

alte Oberhexe immer noch mit dem langen knochigen Finger auf 

ihn deutete. Dann kam auch schon die Strafe: 

Hexenhäuschen immer noch nicht. Und dann tat es plötzlich 

einen Donnerschlag, ohne dass es vorher den kleinsten Blitz 

gegeben hätte. 

scatterbrained little 

witch is back 

with another read-aloud adventure 

K raw u m! 

Den Donnerschlag merkten die zwei im Hexenhäuschen. Der 

kleinen Schusselhexe rutschte die Brille auf die Nasenspitze, und 

der blaue Hase ließ vor Schreck die Müslischüsselchen fallen, die 

er gerade zum Tisch tragen wollte. 

Klirr! 

»Wer vorsagt, darf sich nicht beklagen, 

muss er ein rosa Mützchen tragen!« 

So knarzte die alte Oberhexe, und schon hatte der blaue Hase ein 

rosa Mützchen auf dem Kopf. Es war ein Hasenmützchen, aus dem 

oben die Ohren herausschauten, und es sah unglaublich peinlich 

aus. Der blaue Hase konnte von da, wo er stand, in den Garderobenspiegel 

schauen und wäre am liebsten im Boden versunken. 

Normalerweise hätte die kleine Schusselhexe jetzt gelacht, weil 

sie Scherben lustig fand. Aber diesmal lachte sie nicht. Sie wusste 

nämlich, was der Donnerschlag ohne den kleinsten Blitz zu 

bedeuten hatte: Der Zauberer Zack war auf dem Weg in den 

16 

großen Hexenwald und wollte ausprobieren, ob er besser zaubern 

Das drit t e Kapit el 

mit albernen Hexen 

und einem keckernden Gast 

Die Strafe fürs Vorsagen war schrecklich und gemein. Aber das 

Gemeinste war, dass die alten Hexen auf einmal alle gute Laune 

hatten. 

»Ist er nicht süß?«, flötete eine mit gleich zwei haarigen Warzen auf 

der Nase. 

»Zum Verlieben!«, flötete eine mit nur einer Warze, aber dafür 

einer besonders haarigen. 

»Hi-hi-hi!«, kicherten die anderen. 

Zack the magician wants to test his powers again, seeing whether he can out-hex the 

witches. One of them must face his challenge every ninety-nine years and it’s always 

tough – but this time his choice falls on the scatterbrained little witch of all people! 

She is just sitting down to a cosy breakfast with her blue rabbit when the two of them 

wince. A huge clap of thunder shakes the forest, and then another! And after twelve 

thunderclaps, who should be knocking at the door but Zack? The scatterbrained little 

witch has no choice, she has to face up to the ill-matched contest – but she’s so young 

– all of 88 years! And so forgetful too! How on Earth will she manage? The witches hurriedly 

call a council and fortunately the head witch has an idea: they will unveil their 

three most powerful spells to the little scatterbrain to help her beat the magician – now 

it’s up to her to remember which rhyme to use… 

Anu Stohner / 

Henrike Wilson 

Die kleine Schusselhexe 

und der Zauberer 

The Scatterbrained Little 

Witch and the Magician 

64 pages, Hardcover 

Format: 16 x 22 cm 

From age 4 



Anu Stohner 

born in 1952 in Helsinki, 

is a freelance writer and 

translator who now lives in 

Altlußheim on the Rhine. 

As well as the Little Santa 

series, Hanser has published 

her tales of the Christmas 

Mice (2009 – 2011), and the 

Charlotte the Brave Sheep 

collection (2005 – 2011). 

Henrike Wilson 

was born in Cologne in 

1961, and studied graphic 

design and painting. She 

now lives in the Taunus region 

near Frankfurt working 

as a fulltime illustrator. She 

has illustrated many of Anu 

Stohner’s books. In 2006, 

Charlotte the Brave Sheep 

was awarded the New York 

Times’ Prize for Best Illustrated 

Book of the Year. 






ANNETTE PEHNT • JUTTA BAUER 

Besuch 

gar nicht wußten, wie es in seinem Haus aussah. Wenn sie dann 

Weil der Bärbeiß immer unglaublich schlechte Laune hatte, 

weg waren, hockte sich der Bärbeiß an den Küchentisch und 

baute er sich ein ziemlich großes Haus. Dort hatte die schlechte 

schimpfte leise vor sich hin. 

Laune Platz, um sich richtig auszubreiten. Sie stieg bis unters 

»Gieriges Pack«, schimpfte er, »alle sind nur hinter meinem 

Dach, tief in den Keller hinunter und in jede Ritze. Wenn jemand 

Kuchen her, dabei kann ich gar nicht backen.« Er kam nicht auf 

die Idee, dass ihn die anderen einfach mal besuchen wollten. Das 

klopfte, um den neuen Nachbarn Bärbeiß zu besuchen, das Tingeli 

zum Beispiel oder der Königspinguin, riss der Bärbeiß die Tür 

einzige Geschöpf, das immer wieder klingelte, war das Tingeli. Es 

auf und knurrte: »Was ist denn jetzt schon wieder?« 

hatte nichts anderes zu tun, als herumzutänzeln, Nachbarn zu 

»Na, ich wollte nur mal vorbeischauen«, stotterten dann das 

besuchen, Katzen zu streicheln und Blütenblätter zu zählen. Die 

Tingeli oder der Königspinguin oder die anderen Nachbarn, die 

schlechte Laune des Bärbeiß war ihm egal. Es versuchte ihm zu 

sich alle ständig gegenseitig besuchten. 

erklären, dass es schön war, sich zu besuchen. 

»Ich habe keine Zeit«, brummte der Bärbeiß, »und Kuchen 

»Du gehst zu deinen Freunden«, erklärte es, »und bringst gute 

gibt es auch keinen, falls ihr das gehofft habt.« Die Besucher 

Laune mit, sie freuen sich, wenn du kommst, und dann trinkt ihr 

alle zusammen Apfelsaft.« 

zuckten mit den Schultern und sagten höflich: »Na dann vielleicht 

beim nächsten Mal, wir haben sowieso keinen Hunger.« 

»Ich habe keine Freunde«, knurrte der Bärbeiß und kratzte 

sich schlechtgelaunt am Bauch. 

Neugierig schauten sie dem Bärbeiß über die Schulter, weil sie 

»Doch«, strahlte das Tingeli, »wohl hast du einen Freund. Du 

hast doch mich!« 

7 

Zweifelnd starrte der Bärbeiß das Tingeli an. 

»Wir kennen uns doch gar nicht«, brummte er. 

»Macht nichts«, rief das Tingeli, »ich habe viele Freunde, und 

du kannst auch einer sein.« 

»Hast du denn nichts Besseres zu tun?« fragte der Bärbeiß. 

»Nein«, kicherte das Tingeli, »was gibt es Besseres als Freunde?« 

Da fielen dem Bärbeiß sofort eine Menge Dinge ein, die er 

viel lieber mochte als Freunde: tiefe schlammige Regenpfützen, 

feuchter Nebel, alter Fisch, zerrissene Teppiche und schleimiger 

Husten. Sein Haus war von innen mit brauner Farbe gestrichen, 

damit seine schlechte Laune unverwüstlich blieb. Immer wenn 

er in seinem giftgrünen Bett am Morgen die Augen öffnete und 

von einem fröhlichen Sonnenstrahl zu einem Grinsen verlockt 

wurde, brauchte er nur an die tiefbraune Decke zu schauen, und 

schon kehrte die schlechte Laune zu ihm zurück. 

Aber an dem Tingeli perlte sie einfach ab, als hätte es eine 

Schutzschicht gegen schlechte Laune. 

What the Grumpy Bear likes best is being in a bad mood. He doesn’t like the sunshine 

because it brings him out in a sweat, and he can’t stand rain either because it gets him 

wet. There’s not a thing in the world that will make him happy. 

Annette Pehnt / 

Jutta Bauer 

Der Bärbeiß 

The Grumpy Bear 


Format 17 x 24 cm 

From age 6 



8 9 

When your friends are grumpy, 

The Grumpy Bear doesn’t like having visitors and he doesn’t want to visit anyone either. 

But the friendly creatures in his neighbourhood don’t let that put them off. So we’ll just 

keep on practicing this whole visiting business, says the Tingeli. The Grumpy Bear’s 

surliness just washes off him like water off a duck’s back. The Tingeli is always full 

of good ideas; it takes charge and chivvies the rest of the animals into line so they can 

all do things together. The end result is a cheerful little community in which everyone 

thoroughly enjoys themselves: the Grey Heron family with its overprotective mother, 

the King Penguin whose favourite treat is sardine jam, the Rabbit family with their 

countless bubbly children – and Marie, the little girl who is glad she can pour out her 

woes to her new friends. 

Annette Pehnt 

was born in Cologne in 

1967. She studied and 

worked in Ireland, Scotland, 

Australia and the USA, and 

now lives in Freiburg with 

her husband and three 

children, working as a literary 

scholar and critic. Der 

Bärbeiß is her first book for 

Hanser. 

Jutta Bauer 

was born in Hamburg in 

1955, and is one of the most 

versatile and recognized 

illustrators of books for 

children and young readers. 

Since completing her studies 

at the Hamburg School 

of Design she has worked 

as an illustrator, writer, 

cartoonist and cinematic 

animator. 

friendliness is the best medicine! 






RAFIK SCHAMI 

© Foto Stephan 

When puppets 

dance to 

their own tune 

Year after year, Mario has been travelling the length and breadth of the country with his 

puppet show The Prince and the Poor Farmer’s Daughter. But his puppets are getting 

fed up with performing the same play night after night, so they stage a mutiny… 

The audience loves it when a lazy, good-for-nothing duke becomes a diligent, hard-working 

farmer and the Prince, instead of marrying the princess, weds a clever girl from 

down-to-earth country stock. But the puppets are bored stiff with playing the same parts 

over and over. They cut through their strings and assign themselves their own roles: 

Queen Selfless becomes the Sorceress GimmeGimme, court jester Po-face turns into 

Sidesplit the Clown. The only one who wants to hang on to his old identity is King Slugabed. 

At first Mario is horrified, but then he realizes that his puppets’ desire for liberty 

cannot be restrained, and from that point on they all perform together: the puppets in 

their self-chosen roles – and Mario as a giant. 

Rafik Schami 

Meister Marios Geschichte 

– Wie die Marionetten aus 

der Reihe tanzten 

Master Marios Story – The 

day the puppets took over 

With coloured illustrations 

by Anja Maria Eisen 


Format: 16 x 24 cm 

From age 8 



Rafik Schami 

was born in Damascus 

in 1946 and has lived in 

Germany since 1971. He 

writes novels and children’s 

books; his work has been 

translated into 25 languages 

and won him numerous literary 

awards. His most recent 

publication at Hanser was 

the children’s book Das Herz 

der Puppe, illustrated by 

Kathrin Schärer. 

Anja Maria Eisen 

was born in 1972. She lives 

in Dresden and works as a 

freelance artist. She studied 

at the University of Art and 

Design at Burg Giebichenstein 

and at the Dresden 

Academy of Fine Arts. She 

designs and creates stage 

sets and costumes, and 

illustrates magazines and 

books. 







A story about fear and the 

courage to admit guilt 

Jutta Richter 

Helden 

Heroes 

Elisabeth Zöller 

Das Monophon 

The Monophone 

“Towpath Heroes – Brave Kids Prevent Conflagration!” That’s the headline in the local 

paper, but the truth is rather a different story: the ‘brave kids’ aren’t as innocent as they 

appear… 


From age 8 


A unique, thought-provoking, poetic and ingenious parable about the birth of a totalitarian 

movement 


From age 10 



The locals think the children discovered the blaze and called the fire brigade after 

making several valiant but vain attempts to quench the flames, but eleven-year-old 

Felix and his friends Corinna and Mia don’t really feel like heroes at all. In fact the 

three of them grow more and more uncomfortable because they know only too well 

they caused the fire in the first place. Suddenly the blame is pinned on a local alcoholic, 

and certain circles are using the incident to cook up their own agenda. The three 

friends find themselves unable to sit back and watch an innocent man being falsely 

accused, so they make a courageous decision. … 

Jutta Richter 

was born in 1955, and lives 

with her cat and dog in a 

river castle in the Munsterland 

region. Hanser has 

published almost all of her 

award-winning books. In 

2010 she was awarded the 

German Prize for Young 

People’s Literature for her 

book Der Tag als ich lernte 

die Spinnen zu zähmen. Her 

most recent publications for 

Hanser are Ich bin hier bloß 

der Hund (2011) and Das 

Schiff im Baum (2012). 

One day a peculiar piece of machinery appears in the marketplace of Matilda’s hometown: 

the monophone. Apparently it’s been put there to provide entertainment and 

amusement, but also to ensure order and cleanliness… 

Standing by the monophone is a group of black-uniformed guards. The buttons on their 

uniforms sparkle prettily, but the expressions on their faces are grim and serious. They 

are there to make sure the machine’s orders are followed. They look handsome… but a 

little scary too. A completely new and different atmosphere holds sway over the town. 

People dance and sing to the music emanating from the monophone. A lot of them seem 

really taken with it. But sometimes the monophone’s voice has a sharp edge to it and 

starts barking out orders. Many people think it’s just a game… but is it really? A sense 

of fear and alarm begins to spread through the town, and it gradually becomes clear to 

Matilda and her friends what they have to do. They need to put the monophone out of 

action somehow… 

Elisabeth Zöller 

is one of Germany’s best 

known and most successful 

authors of books for children 

and young readers. Anton 

oder die Zeit des unwerten 

Lebens was awarded the 

Gustav Heinemann Peace 

Prize. Hanser published her 

novel for young readers Wir 

tanzen nicht nach Führers 

Pfeife in 2012. 

Verena Ballhaus 

born in 1951, studied at the 

Munich Academy of Fine Art 

and went on to work designing 

stage sets and posters 

before starting out as an 

illustrator of children’s books 

in 1985. Her work has won 

her the German Prize for 

Young People’s Literature 

among others. She lives in 

Munich. 


Korea (Yewon Media) 






FINN-OLE HEINRICH 

spring 2014 

autumn 2014 

This book tells the story of the summer during which Maulina Schmitt has to come 

to terms with her parents’ separation, moving house and coping at a new school; the 

summer in which her father loses his name and rides off on a bike with another woman 

– and the summer her mother entrusts her with a secret. 

Ole Heinrich / 

Rán Flygenring 

Die erstaunlichen Abenteuer 

der Maulina Schmitt 

Mein kaputtes Königreich 

The Amazing and 

Astonishing Adventures 

of Maulina Schmitt 

Part 1: 

My Shattered Kingdom 

© Schirin Moaiyeri 

Maulina flouts all the rules and 

throws caution to the winds, just 

like Pippi Longstocking 

Maulina’s world has gone off the rails: she and her mother have moved out of Moldavia, 

away from their cosy house with the voracious floorboards, blue-white sofas and greasy 

light switches. Maulina doesn’t understand why they had to move all the way over to the 

other side of town to »Plasticville«, where everything is totally sterile and there doesn’t 

seem to be a child in sight. Was it the man who made that decision? 

When Maulina is angry, nothing is left standing. And right now she’s furious: at the 

man, at her school, at the whole wide world. Her one desire is to move back to Moldavia 

– and she already has a scheme in mind… 

Whether Maulina’s scheme succeeds, whether she settles down in »Plasticville« and 

what will happen about her mother’s secret will be divulged in volume two, coming 

shortly… 


From age 10 


Ole Heinrich 

was born near Hamburg in 

1982 and studied cinematography 

and fine art in 

Hanover. He has been working 

as a freelance author in 

Hamburg (and frequently on 

trains) since 2009. 2011 saw 

the appearance of his first 

children’s book, Frerk, du 

Zwerg!, which was awarded 

the German Prize for Young 

People’s Literature in 2012. 

Rán Flygenring 

was born in 1987 and 

spends most of her time 

in Iceland. She studied in 

Reykjavik, Basle and Berlin 

and graduated from the 

Iceland Academy of the Arts. 

She works as a graphic 

designer and illustrator in 

Reykjavik and worldwide. 

Rán also contributed the 

illustrations to Frerk, du 

Zwerg!. 





YO U N G A D U LT S F I C T I O N 

CHARLOTTE INDEN 

Charlotte Inden 

Anna und Anna 

The Two Annas 

When best friends turn into childhood sweethearts, and when one of them moves a 

long way away, it’s good to have a Granny you can rely on. 

176 pages, Hardcover 

From age 12 


© Gustavo Alàbiso 

Ever since Jan moved, Anna feels like she’s been torn apart. He was her closest friend 

and they did everything together. So it’s just as well she can rely on her grandmother 

– who doesn’t just happen to have exactly the same name, but also knows exactly how 

it feels when you miss somebody and yearn for them so badly. 

When the long-awaited letter arrives from Amsterdam, Grandma Anna is the first to 

hear about it. Meanwhile, granddaughter Anna is the only one her grandmother confides 

in about Henri, the mysterious stranger to whom she’s always writing letters that 

she never sends. Could it be more than coincidence that Jan and Henri both happen to 

live in Amsterdam? 

Charlotte Inden 

was born in 1979. She 

read German, history of art, 

and cinema and television 

studies in Marburg, London 

and Strasbourg. She lives in 

Karlsruhe with her husband, 

working as an editor for a 

daily newspaper. Her message 

to the world is: write 

more letters! 

»Just make sure you hold onto him tight«; that’s what I’d really 

like to say to Anna. But Anna is thirteen. And sensible advice 

is the last thing a thirteen-year-old girl wants to hear… 






JANNE TELLER 

Janne Teller 

Alles – worum es geht 

All that Matters 

? 

Why ? 

are we prejudiced 

? 

Why 

Why ? 

are we pointlessly violent 

? 

? 

do we ostracize and bully 

© Annette Pohnert 

Janne Teller’s popular and successful books on topical issues for young readers have 

triggered many a lively debate. In this collection of short stories she once again targets 

conflicts that concern us all. 

What compels a young man to use gratuitous violence? Is there any way of understanding 

intolerance and extremism? When is revenge an acceptable motive? Can you hold 

people responsible for their own intellectual limitations? In her new book, Janne Teller 

again asks difficult and uncomfortable questions, confronting us with scenarios way 

beyond our comfort zone. Trenchant and intense, with concise, laconic prose and powerful 

use of metaphor, she forces the reader to take a stand, challenging us to reflect and 

discuss complex and controversial issues. 

Ten stories that get right under the skin – stories about assimilation and exclusion, prejudice 

and intolerance, murder and the death penalty, identity and learning disabilities, 

violence and revenge, integration and cultural diversity. 

Translated from Danish 

by Sigrid Engeler and 

Birgitt Kollmann 

128 pages 

From age 13 



Janne Teller 

was born in 1964 in Copenhagen. 

She worked as an 

economic consultant and 

conflict advisor for the European 

Union and the United 

Nations before starting to 

write fulltime in 1995. Her 

publications include Komm 

(2012), Europa. Alles was 

dir fehlt (2011), Odins Insel 

(2003), as well as the books 

for young readers Nichts 

– Was im Leben wichtig ist 

(2010) and Krieg – Stell dir 

vor, er wäre hier (2011). 

»An important and provocative work, guaranteed to 

spark discussion and debate.« By the bestselling author and former UN and EU conflict advisor 






A story about lions’ 

manes, books that come 

to life, glittering castles 

and cheeky princes 

When young lionesses fall in love… 

Tova lives on the wrong side of town with her mother, her two siblings and her grandfather. 

She doesn’t know her father and no one ever mentions him. There’s not a lot 

of money to go round, but her mother has just opened a shop and they’ve all got their 

fingers crossed… More and more often Tova is sent on errands, delivering floral bouquets 

and wreaths uptown where the houses are a lot more elegant and the castle 

lights glitter “like a shillion mining stars,” as her little sister Elseline would put it. 

One day Tova is waiting for the streetcar with an especially heavy package when a boy 

she doesn’t know walks right up and tells her that with a mane like hers she should 

be in the circus. He’s a bit forward but he has friendly, dark brown eyes and a cheeky 

grin. And he looks like he comes from a rich background. But what Tova can’t possibly 

know is that the impudent young man is none other than Prince Borries himself... 

Karla Schneider 

Tova und die Sache 

mit der Liebe 

Tova and a Thing called Love 


From age 12 


Karla Schneider 

was born in Dresden in 

1938. She worked as a 

bookseller and journalist 

before moving to Wuppertal 

and becoming a full-time 

writer in 1979. Die abenteuerliche 

Geschichte der 

Filomena Findeisen and 

Die Reise in den Norden are 

just two of her best-known 

works. Previous publications 

at Hanser include Glückskind 

(2003), Die Geschwister 

Apraksin. Das Abenteuer 

einer unfreiwilligen Reise 

(2006) and Marcolini oder 

wie man Günstling wird 

(2007).

FOREIGN RIGHTS AUTUMN 2013 - Hanser Literaturverlage

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