In Minihorror, ordinary nightmares come true – humorous, surreally imaginative and always aware of the fragility of our existence.

In Minihorror, Barbi Marković tells the story of Mini and Miki and their everyday adventures in the city. Mini and Miki aren’t from around here, but they do their best to fit in and do everything right. Despite – or rather because – of this, they are constantly pursued by dangers and monsters, by catastrophes and troubles. This is a book about the nightmares of the middle class, great and small, about the horror of the perfect family breakfast, about workplace bullying and holiday disasters, about the yawning, ever-present emptiness of everyday life. In Minihorror, Barbi Marković has created a perfidious, compassionate monument to the agents of fear in our society – to read it is to feel at once caught-out and understood.

A delight for all fans: Alois Brandstetter’s treasure trove of anecdotes is well-nigh inexhaustible!

In his 'Journey through Life', Alois Brandstetter created a tongue-in-cheek summary of his CV, and here the playful storytelling continues. On one of his walks, his eye is caught by an inscription: ‘Rubicon’, it says, and to his great astonishment, the name refers to a brutal-looking pickup jeep. Brandstetter begins to reminisce about cars and the trips he has taken in his life, about accidents and incidents, about paths, destinations, and the charm of meandering aimlessly through the world of things and of words. Observations about language alternate with anecdotes, memories with literary allusions, and ultimately, while we certainly don’t end up crossing the Rubicon, we do cross the finish line of a thoroughly enjoyable excursion with an incomparably hilarious author.

A brilliant examination of a multi-faceted concept: ‘disturbance’.

In this essay, Kinsky explores the human and natural influences on our environment that bring about fundamental changes. But what exactly characterises a disturbance, and how can we approach this negatively-charged word in a way that opens up unexpected avenues of thought? Esther Kinsky centres this essay around the concept of ‘disturbed land’. The term refers to a piece of land that is gradually being returned to a state of nature, generally after a period of very intensive use and appropriation by human beings. Drawing on various examples, Kinsky offers a powerful analysis of the tension between nature and culture, exploitation and reconquest, as well as historical pollution as a far-reaching field of disruption. Her perspective on the world leads to surprising and poetic insights.

Radically feminist and humorous, Anna Katharina Laggner's notes of her twin pregnancy is a revelation.

A doctor gives the author some surprising news: she is creating life. She has one son already, and now she’s pregnant again. With twins. After much discussion, she decides against termination. She also discovers that being pregnant with twins seems to make her public property: doctors and relatives, complete strangers and friends, her yoga teacher and work colleagues – everybody wants to judge, offer advice, and touch her growing belly. Radically subjective and unshakeably good-humoured, Anna Katharina Laggner explores the mystery of being a trinity: she writes about her life with and among ‘Strangelings’, about erotic dry spells and unreasonable social demands, about her fears, and about the tremendous joy that remains a constant presence.

In his new novel, Peter Henisch deftly combines an idyllic southern setting with current political reality, telling the story of an unusual friendship

In ‘Nothing But Sky’, Peter Henisch returns to his beloved San Vito, to a hidden apartment under the eaves in this small Italian town. For musician Paul Spielmann, who has just fled the pandemic and a midlife crisis in Vienna, it becomes a refuge. Paul finds peace during evenings on his terrace, taking photographs of metamorphosing clouds and flocks of birds, until suddenly a man appears across the roofs, one of the clandestini, refugees from Africa who are increasingly becoming a focus of protest and agitation among the Italian right wing. ‘Give me shelter’ the man begs, and Paul takes him in and helps him. Soon, he is drawn into a maelstrom of ambivalent emotions and political propaganda – and a growing friendship with Abdallah …

Erika Pluhar recalls her sister’s childhood and adolescence: touching and compassionate.

In writing that is frank and unvarnished, Erika Pluhar describes her sister’s traumatic experiences as a child during wartime and a post-war teen, experiences that forced her to take on responsibilities much too early, to adapt and make herself fit in. Gitti’s childhood and youth is shaped by tremendous upheaval: after living in Brazil for the first years of her life, she moves to Munich, where her father embarks on a career in the Nazi party, ultimately taking the family to occupied Poland. The war increasingly comes to dominate everyday life, and Gitti must face up to the challenges of adulthood … ‘better to hide the sadness within and make a secret of it. Yes, in a secret room that belongs only to me and remains invisible to everybody else, she thought.’

Can a poet tell the truth? Peter Rosei attempts exactly this – radical, self-critical and with the firm belief that life is wonderful.

“Wonderful life” is not simply Peter Rosei’s autobiography. It is the attempt to achieve literary truthfulness and tell at the same time the story of a writer who has lived many lives. His motto could be: Life is wonderful, even if it is dreadful at some points. After a humble upbringing, the young man quickly makes good money as the private secretary of the painter Ernst Fuchs. However, he decides to leave everything behind, in order to follow his vocation as poet. Years of deep crises are followed by an adventurous bohemian life side by side with artists and writers of the seventies and eighties, among them his closest and long-standing friend H. C. Artmann. And then there is the big turning point – but read yourself: truth and poetry complement each other in this text.

Residenz Classic

Together with H. C. Artmann Peter Rosei goes on numerous motorcycle tours starting from Salzburg. They just go with the flow, one time even until Venice. The novel “From here to there” is born out of this spirit of restlessness and desire for freedom. Published in 1978, it sketches the story of a young man, exploring Europe on a motorcycle. The atmosphere of the novel is characterized by a state of consciousness between reality and dream. Descriptions of a fleeting and intense moments of happiness are highlighted within this story in which constant movement is the leitmotif. The new edition reuses the emblematic cover design of Walter Pichler and allows a broad public to enjoy Peter Rosei’s novel which is often considered his best!

The forth volume of Lukas Kummer‘s highly praised graphic novel series based on Thomas Bernhard's “Autobiographische Schriften”.

His admission into the lung sanatorium Grafenhof heralded the start of a new chapter in the young Thomas Bernhard’s tale of suffering. In the isolation of the sanatorium he was at the mercy of the doctors, the nursing staff, his fellow patients and above all, himself and his will. In this hopelessness he practised revolt. It is his self-affirmation as a writer, the friendship with a musician, and singing which are stirring his will to survive and give him strength. In the end, Thomas Bernhard escapes the isolation of the lung sanatorium which is seems in Lukas Kummer’s illustrations like the coldest circle of hell, and emerges as the person we know today: one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.

Affectionate and accurate: Cornelia Hülmbauer‘s debut novel is a book to which we should listen closely and from which we cannot get enough.

Cornelia Hülmbauer describes childhood and teenage years in the country side using snapshots and images created from memory. A car workshop and a four-person family are providing the setting for this story of growing up; intimate experiences are mixed with poignant, witty scenes. Her text is so tightly intertwined and her descriptions so accurate that one is almost able to experience taste, smell, sensations and desires physically. In front of our eyes the “image of the author as a young girl” assumes shape. Seamlessly effortless, Cornelia Hülmbauer succeeds in revealing the past itself as well as the act of remembrance and the development of a literary sensitivity through short passages.