Journey through a Tragicomic Century

Francis Nenik is a pseudonym; the writer prefers to remain anonymous. He was born in the early 80s and lives in Leipzig. Nenik boasts numerous publications in renowned magazines such as Merkur, Edit and Words Without Borders, some of which were produced for radio. His debut novel XO was published in the form of a loose-leaf collection. His award-winning essay ‘The Marvel of Biographical Bookkeeping’ (tr. Katy Derbyshire) was published by Readux Books in 2013, Coin Operated History (tr. Amanda DeMarco) by Fiktion in 2016.Katy Derbyshire was born in London and has lived in Berlin for over twenty years. She is an award-winning translator of contemporary German writers, including Olga Grjasnowa, Angela Steidele and Clemens Meyer. Having taught literary translation in New York, New Delhi and Norwich, she now co-hosts a monthly translation lab and the bi-monthly Dead Ladies Show in Berlin. Katy is the publisher of the V&Q Books imprint.Katy Derbyshire is a translator, writer and editor based in Berlin for three decades. She translates contemporary German writers including Judith Hermann, Clemens Meyer and Inka Parei, and co-hosts a monthly translation lab. Her most recent publication is Zsuzsanna Gahse’s Mountainish, published by Prototype and shortlisted for the inaugural John Calder Translation Prize. Katy is the publisher of the V&Q Books imprint.

'... particularly peculiar, breath-taking and worth telling.' Alexander Solloch, NDR Kultur