Austrian Book Award 2020 – Longlist

Monika Helfer, Ilija Trojanow and Mercedes Spannagel made it onto the longlist for the Austrian Book Award 2020! The shortlist will be announced on October 10!

Monika Helfer, THE RIFF-RAFF (Hanser) – a powerful and poignant portrait of a woman and mother at the beginning of the twentieth century. Monika Helfer tells the story of her own origins, of a family that is only ever referred to by everyone as the “riff-raff”. rights sold to Denmark (Palomar), Finland (Huippu), Israel (Hakibbutz Hameuchad), Italy (Keller Editore), Netherlands (Nieuw Amsterdam), Norway (Solum Forlag), Spain (Edhasa Argentina)

Ilija Trojanow, TWO TRACKS (S. Fischer) – here comes a juggle of fact and fiction showing us how fake news has turned us into accomplices of those in power

and shortlisted for the Austrian Debut Prize 2020:

Mercedes Spannagel, THE PALACE MUST BURN (Kiepenheuer & Witsch) – in her debut novel – profound, fast-paced, and sardonically witty – Mercedes Spannagel tells the story of the corrupt right-wing elite and their rebellious offspring