Welcome to Love German Books Mark II

If you’re a former fan of Love German Books, you might know what to expect here: news, reviews, random thoughts and gossip on books written in German. I wrote the blog for ten years from 2008 on, then ran out of steam. Now, though, it is here at V&Q Books in a more collaborative form.

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Autumn Awards

A round-up by Katy Derbyshire In the German-speaking world it’s not just autumn leaves that rain down as the days get shorter – literary awards come thick and fast as well. They tend to be national or regional and a lot of them are named after dead white men. Here’s a little run-down of 2023’s

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Chronic

By Annie Rutherford This piece was originally commissioned (in German) for the exciting Trans|Droste project, where you can find English, Arabic, French, Farsi, Kurmancî and Turkish translations of the work of the 19th-century poet Annette von Droste Hülshoff, including by Annie Rutherford. I am writing this wrapped in a blanket on a day I have

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Dinner for Five

Teresa Präauer: Kochen im falschen Jahrhundert A review by Katy Derbyshire Seeing as this is an old-school blog, I must start with a full disclosure: ten years ago I went Dutch with Teresa Präauer, drinking beer, Fernet Branca and pastis. It was a delightful evening, cementing my view of the Austrian author as a very

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What Katy Did in Frankfurt

By Katy Derbyshire I haven’t done a write-up of the Frankfurt Book Fair for a few years, and this time was a little different; after two significantly smaller fairs dominated by Covid, this year’s was bigger and very much about the Arab-Israeli conflict. Amid the horror and helplessness over events in Israel and Palestine, focusing

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“That’s my job as a writer.” Karosh Taha on her work

Katy Derbyshire talks to Karosh Taha about her writing, the novel In the Belly of the Queen, and hopes for the future. Katy: Hello Karosh – where are you answering these questions right now?  Karosh: I’m in Zaxo, where I’m researching my third novel. Katy: Do you have a special writing place? Karosh: I don’t

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Translator’s Postscript: Mithu and Myths and You and Me

IDENTITTY A blog by Pay-no-attention-to-that-person-behind-the-curtain! About me: After finishing this novel, I drank a cup of tulsi sweet rose tea – a herbal infusion, actually, since it didn’t include real tea leaves (Camellia sinensis). The front of the box told me it’s ‘Stress Relieving & Magical*,’ the left side said, ‘the fragrant essence of Rose

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