As of: March 7, 2024, 9:00 a.m
By: Carina Blumenroth
Women also write many books - you can read a selection of female authors in German-speaking countries and their successes below.
Some people are probably familiar with books like Woyzeck, Effi Briest or Faust from German lessons.
What they all have in common is a male author.
The literary canon primarily includes books written by authors.
Books by female authors, people of color, people with disabilities or queer people are only occasionally represented,
Deutschlandfunk Kultur
informs .
However, there is no shortage of successful female authors; one can assume that the literary world is male.
Below you can read a small selection of German or German-speaking authors.
The order doesn't matter.
German-speaking authors and their successes: Cornelia Funke, author of children's and young adult books
Female authors are not widespread in the literary canon.
(Symbolic image) © Irina Heß/Imago
The author Cornelia Funke has sold over 20 million books and is best known as an author of children's and young adult books.
Her best-known works include “The Wild Chickens”, the “Ink World” series and “Drachenreiter”.
Her books have been translated into 37 languages.
Funke is also active as a screenwriter; among other things, she has written scripts for the series Siebenstein and also for the book adaptation of “The Wild Chickens”.
The children's book “Cat Happiness and Dog Love” is a suitable gift for first-time readers.
The book was published by Loewe Verlag in January 2024.
Cornelia Funke “Cat happiness and dog love”, illustrated by the author
2024 Loewe, ISBN 978-3-7432-1625-9
Price: 9.99 euros hardcover, 80 pages, suitable for first-time readers
From age 6
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Author Alena Schröder
The book “Young Woman, Standing at the Window, Evening Light, Blue Dress” was translated into Slovenian, among other languages, by the journalist and author Alena Schröder.
In it she tells the historical story of Germany between world wars and National Socialism.
The focus is on four women who couldn't have been more different.
Alena Schröder: “Young woman, standing at the window, evening light, blue dress”
2021 dtv, ISBN: 978-3-423-28273-4
Price: paperback 13.00 euros, e-book 9.99 euros, number of pages: 368 (possible differences depending on format)
Author Charlotte Link
The author Charlotte Link is one of the most successful German authors of today.
In Germany alone, over 33 million books have been sold, according to
Penguin Publishing
.
She is best known for her crime novels.
“Without Guilt” and “Lonely Night” conquered the Spiegel bestseller list.
Link can also score points internationally with their crime novels.
Charlotte Link “Lonely Night”
2023 blanvalet, ISBN 978-3-442-37920-0
Price: 13.00 euros paperback, 592 pages
Author Nele Neuhaus
Nele Neuhaus is Germany's most successful crime writer, writes
Ullstein Verlag
on its own website.
She made her breakthrough with the crime novel “Snow White Must Die” (2010).
In an interview with
24books
she says that “writing is almost a stuffy job for me”.
She has to think a lot and takes a lot of notes by hand.
This makes her successful; her Tausnus crime novels are filmed by ZDF with a time delay.
Nele Neuhaus “Monster”
2023 Ullstein, ISBN 9783550202254
Price: 24.99 euros hardcover (with dust jacket), 560 pages
Author Rita Falk
The author Rita Falk made a name for herself with her provincial crime series about the village police officer Franz Eberhofer.
She paints an authentic picture of a Bavarian village with a police officer who is “tough but warm”.
The author has remained true to herself in her writing because she grew up in Upper Bavaria and currently lives in Munich.
Her books are being made into films; the author recently distanced herself from the film adaptation of the crime thriller “Rehragout-Rendezvous”.
The reason for this is that the film is too far removed from the book.
Rita Falk “Steckerlfisch fiasco”
2023 dtv, ISBN 978-3-423-26377-1
Price: 18.00 euros paperback, 288 pages