Albrecht Lempp Fellowship

Albrecht Lempp Fellowship A fellowship awarded since 2013 jointly by the Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation, the Book Institute and Literarisches Colloquium Berlin.

Purpose

Its aim is to perfect the art of translation and writing in the spirit of literary and translation standards close to Albrecht Lempp and to commemorate his contribution to Polish-German literary exchange.

The Albrecht Lempp Fellowship is intended for writers from Poland and Germany, as well as for German translators of Polish literature and Polish translators of German-language literature.

Programme

The fellowship programme consists annually of two one-month stays in the neighbouring country:

1) One month at the guest house of Literarisches Colloquium Berlin for a Polish writer or translator. The founders cover travel and accommodation costs and pay a fellowship of EUR 1,200.

2) One month in Kraków, at the Translators’ College of the Book Institute, for a German writer or translator. The founders cover travel and accommodation costs and pay a fellowship of EUR 1,200.

Albrecht Lempp

Albrecht Lempp (1953–2012) was an outstanding promoter of Polish literature in Germany and its translator. He created the foundations of a modern system for promoting Poland through literature. As co-founder of the Book Institute, he received the Transatlantyk Award for his contributions in this field. For many years he served as Director of the Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation and made a great contribution to the development of Polish-German relations.

Kontakt w sprawie Stypendium

FWPN, Joanna Czudec

joanna.czudec@sdpz.org

+48 22 338 62 65

Book Institute, Łucja Gawkowska

l.gawkowska@instytutksiazki.pl

+48 22 551 59 14

Literarisches Colloquium Berlin, Jürgen Jakob Becker

becker@lcb.de

+49 30 81699625

ALS Editions

Fot. Hanna Majchrzak

Aleksandra Tarnowska

(b. 1990) debuted in 2023 with the novel ‘Wniebog\u0142os’, for which she received the Ko\u015bcielski Award. The book was also nominated for the Gombrowicz Award and the Conrad Award. It tells the story of a young musician who would like to play in a village band, set in 1970s rural Poland. Tarnowska graduated in Polish studies from the University of Warsaw. She previously published short stories in magazines such as ‘Drobiazg’, ‘Malkontenty’ and ‘Helikopter’. Her second novel ‘Nied\u017awied\u017a, syn nied\u017awiedzia’ will be published in autumn.

Fot. Christiane Gundlach

Katharina Bendixen

(b. 1981), lives with her family in Leipzig. She is the author of books for children, young adults and adults. After her debut collection ‘Der Whiskyflaschenbaum’ (2009), she published several volumes of short stories, in 2016 the novel ‘Ich sehe alles’, then the children’s series ‘Zorro, der Mops’ and the young adult book ‘Taras Augen’. In 2025, Edition Nautilus will publish her short story collection ‘Eine zeitgem\u00e4\u00dfe Form der Liebe’. Katharina Bendixen co-edits ‘Other Writers Need to Concentrate’, a blog about writing and parenting, and is also involved in the Leipzig Network of Children’s and Young Adult Writers and the Saxon Literature Council.

Fot. Christian Werner

Christian Dittloff

(b. 1983). Writer. Lives in Berlin. Studied German and English studies in Hamburg and creative writing in Hildesheim. Worked in a psychiatric facility, as a cultural journalist and as a culture marketing expert. In 2018 his debut novel ‘Das Wei\u00dfe Schloss’ was published, in 2020 the fictionalised autobiography ‘Niemehrzeit. Das Jahr des Abschieds von meinen Eltern’, and in 2023 ‘Pr\u00e4gung. Nachdenken \u00fcber M\u00e4nnlichkeit’ (Berlin Verlag). In Krak\u00f3w he will work on a novel dealing with the issues of social care and work in caring professions.

Fot. Kuba Ociepa

Natalia Malek

(b. 1988). Poet, translator, curator of literary events. Graduated in English studies from the University of Warsaw. She has translated into Polish poetry by Louise Gl\u00fcck, Sandra Cisneros and Tyrone Williams, among others. Author of five poetry collections: ‘Pracowite popo\u0142udnia’ (2010), ‘Szaber’ (2014), ‘Kord’ (2017), ‘Karapaks’ (2020) and ‘Obr\u0119cze’ (2022). Winner of the Adam W\u0142odek Award (2017) and the Gdynia Literary Award (2021). Co-founder of the informal women’s art group ‘Wsp\u00f3lny Pok\u00f3j’. In Berlin she plans to work on her sixth poetry collection.

Fot. Iwona Lompart

Daniel Odija

(b. 1974). Prose writer, poet, comic book screenwriter, cultural animator. Lives in S\u0142upsk. Author of short story collections ‘Szklana huta’ (2005) and ‘Przezroczyste g\u0142owy’ (2018) and novels ‘Ulica’ (2001), ‘Tartak’ (2005), ‘Niech to nie b\u0119dzie sen’ (2008), ‘Kronika umar\u0142ych’ (2010) and ‘Pusty przelot’ (2021). He created radio plays and ballet libretti, co-authored a short fiction film. He directed ‘Tartak’ at Krak\u00f3w’s S\u0142owacki Theatre. Together with illustrator Wojciech Stefaniec he creates the comic series ‘Bardo’ (since 2017). In 2024 he published his debut poetry collection ‘ale’ (Warstwy). His books have been translated into many languages.

Fot. Elżbieta Lempp

Dariusz Sośnicki

Born in 1969 in Kalisz. Poet, editor, essayist, translator. Graduate of philosophy at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. He headed the Polish prose department at W.A.B. Publishing House, was editor-in-chief of Ossolineum Publishing House, and currently works at Filtry Publishing House. He has published eleven of his own poetry books and two translated volumes. His poems and literary essays have appeared in many periodicals and anthologies, including in translation into foreign languages, among others in Tygodnik Powszechny, The New Yorker, Harvard Review, Sinn und Form, Schreibheft, Lichtungen, The Continental. Book-length selections of his poems have been published in Romania and the United States. He regularly contributes to Dwutygodnik and Czas Kultury. He has been repeatedly nominated for and awarded literary prizes.

Fot. Elżbieta Lempp

Antje Ritter-Miller

Born in 1975. Studied Polish studies, philosophy, Eastern European studies and German studies in Berlin, Warsaw and Wroc\u0142aw. Since 2006 she has been a publisher (Vliegen Verlag) and editor (including editor-in-chief of Magazyn polenplus, distinguished with the Viadrina University Award), but above all a translator of Polish literature into German. She has translated books by Sylwia Chutnik, Artur Domos\u0142awski and Stanis\u0142aw Grzesiuk, among others. In Krak\u00f3w she will continue working on the German translation of Jacek Dukaj’s novel ‘L\u00f3d’.

Fot. Elżbieta Lempp

Anna Cieplak

(b. 1988 in D\u0105browa G\u00f3rnicza) \u2013 writer and cultural animator, associated for many years with Krytyka Polityczna. Winner of the Conrad Award for best debut and the Witold Gombrowicz Literary Award for the novel ‘Ma by\u0107 czysto’. The film ‘Ostatni komers’ was based on this novel. Her next book ‘Lata powy\u017cej zera’ was considered by some reviewers to be a generational novel. The books ‘Lekki baga\u017c’ and ‘Rozp\u0142ywaj si\u0119’ are also set in settings close to the author. Asked about this, she replied in an interview: ‘My method is that I live close to the things I write about. They simply concern me, so I wrote the story of people whose features seemed interesting and familiar to me.’

Fot. Marcelo Morena

Leon Engler

(b. 1989 in \u00d6dwang/Bavaria) \u2013 writer, playwright and radio play author, creative writing teacher and journalist. Lives in Berlin. His first theatrical text won the young authors’ competition announced by Vienna’s Theater Drachengasse. Engler’s plays are published by Henschel Schauspiel. Next year, KiWi will publish his essay ‘Jenseits von Gut und Besser’. Leon Engler will use his stay in Krak\u00f3w to work on a novel.

Fot. Elżbieta Lempp

Patrycja Pustkowiak

(b. 1981) \u2013 writer and journalist, graduate of sociology at the Jagiellonian University, winner of the Adam W\u0142odek Award granted by the Wis\u0142awa Szymborska Foundation. Her debut book ‘Nocne zwierz\u0119ta’ (WAB, 2013) quickly gained recognition and was called the voice of a new generation. It was nominated for the Gdynia Literary Award and reached the final of the NIKE Literary Award. The translation of ‘Nocne zwierz\u0119ta’ was published in Argentina, among other countries. The novel ‘Maszkaron’ (Znak Literanova), published in 2018, a biting satire on contemporary life, also received critical acclaim. In Berlin she would like to begin her next novel.

Fot. Elżbieta Lempp

Leander Steinkopf

(b. 1985) \u2013 writer. Studied in Mannheim and Berlin (PhD in psychology). Published columns in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, essays and short stories in Merkur, Sinn und Form and Literarische Welt. In 2018 his prose debut ‘Stadt der Feen und W\u00fcnsche’ (Hanser Berlin) was published. The book was nominated for numerous literary awards, including Kranichsteiner Literaturf\u00f6rderpreis, Tukan-Preis and Ulla-Hahn-Autorenpreis. Also in 2018 he made his non-fiction debut with ‘Die andere H\u00e4lfte der Heilung’. In 2019 he published ‘Kein Sch\u00f6ner Land \u2013 Angriff der Acht auf die deutsche Gegenwart’ with C.H.Beck. In Krak\u00f3w he plans to work on a new collection of short stories.

Fot. Elżbieta Lempp

Jakub Małecki

(b. 1982) – writer and translator. Author of twelve books, including ‘Dygot’ and ‘Ślady’, nominated for the NIKE Literary Award. Also nominated for the Central European Literary Award ‘Angelus’, the Stanisław Barańczak Award, the Empik Discovery Award and the Janusz A. Zajdel Award. Winner of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage’s ‘Young Poland’ scholarship (2017). Translated into Russian, Dutch and Finnish. His book ‘Rdza’ will soon appear in German translation published by Secession Verlag.

Fot. Elżbieta Lempp

Susanne Fritz

(b. 1964) \u2013 writer. Lives in Freiburg im Breisgau. In her book ‘Wie kommt der Krieg ins Kind?’ (Wallstein Verlag 2018), nominated for the Deutscher Buchpreis, she traces her mother’s fate through the Polish-German history of the 20th century. ‘With the disappearance of the witness generation, new challenges arise for memory, commemoration and narrative.’ This is a challenge that the author intends to take up in Krak\u00f3w as well. In her new prose project ‘Ein zweites Leben’, Susanne Fritz ‘searches for fragments of a forgotten, repressed, lost life’.

Fot. Elżbieta Lempp

Małgorzata Rejmer

(b. 1985) – writer and reporter, graduate of cultural studies at the University of Warsaw. In 2009 she published the novel ‘Toksymia’, for which she received nominations for the Gdynia Literary Award and the PTWK Award. In 2013 she published the reportage collection ‘Bukareszt. Kurz i krew’, for which she received the ‘Newsweek’ Teresa Torańska Award, the Gryfia Author’s Literary Award and the TVP Kultura Culture Guarantee. She was also nominated for the NIKE Literary Award, the ‘Polityka’ Passport and the Beata Pawlak Award. For her third book ‘Błoto słodsze niż miód’ she received the ‘Polityka’ Passport. Her books have been translated into Romanian, Serbian, Ukrainian and Spanish.

Fot. Elżbieta Lempp

Julia Wolf

(b. 1981) \u2013 writer. Studied American studies, Latin American studies and German studies at the Free University of Berlin. Lives in Leipzig. Her debut novel ‘Alles ist jetzt’ (Frankfurter Verlagsanstalt 2015) won the Kunstpreis der Lotto Brandenburg GmbH. The novel ‘Walter Nowak bleibt liegen’ (Frankfurter Verlagsanstalt 2017) received the Nicolas-Born-Deb\u00fctpreis distinction and was longlisted for the German Book Prize 2017.

Fot. Elżbieta Lempp

Isabelle Lehn

(b. 1979) \u2013 writer. Her debut novel ‘Binde zwei V\u00f6gel zusammen’ reached the shortlist of the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize 2016. She is currently working on the novel ‘Fr\u00fchlingserwachen’, which will be published by S. Fischer.

Fot. Elżbieta Lempp

Zyta Rudzka

(b. 1964) \u2013 writer, poet, author of plays published in international anthologies. Her novel ‘\u015alicznotka Doktora J\u00f3zefa’ was translated into German (Ammann Verlag 2006, trans. Esther Kinsky). Her latest novel, published after a break of more than 10 years, ‘Kr\u00f3tka wymiana ognia’ (WAB 2017), was very well received by critics.

Fot. Elżbieta Lempp

Kira Pietrek

(b. 1983) \u2013 poet, illustrator. In 2010 she published her first collection, ‘J\u0119zyk korzy\u015bci’, for which she received the Wroc\u0142aw Silesius Poetry Award in the debut category. For her second book, ‘Statystyki’ (2013), she was awarded the Pozna\u0144 Stanis\u0142aw Bara\u0144czak Literary Award.

Fot. Elżbieta Lempp

Mia Raben

(b. 1977) \u2013 studied Political Science and European Law in Amsterdam. After graduating from the School of Journalism in Berlin, she worked in Warsaw as a correspondent for ‘Spiegel’, ‘taz’ and ‘Berliner Zeitung’. She currently works as an author for ‘Die Zeit’, among others. In 2015 she published a photo album with reportages about Masuria.

Fot. Elżbieta Lempp

Renate Schmidgall

(b. 1955) \u2013 translator of Polish literature into German. From 1984 to 1996 she worked at the Deutsches Polen-Institut in Darmstadt, and since 1996 she has devoted herself to literary translation from Polish (including Huelle, Stasiuk, Krall, Kuczok, Sommer, Szymborska, Zagajewski). For her translations of Polish prose and poetry she has received numerous awards, including the European Translation Prize of the city of Offenburg (2006) and the Karl Dedecius Prize (2009).

Fot. Elżbieta Lempp

Marek Zagańczyk

(b. 1967) – writer, essayist, publisher, deputy editor-in-chief of ‘Zeszyty Literackie’. Graduate of the Theatre Studies Department at the Theatre Academy in Warsaw. Since 1989 lecturer at the Theatre Academy in Warsaw, editor of the ‘Journeys’ series (Zeszyty Literackie). Curator of the archive and legacy of Paweł Hertz. He has published essays, literary sketches and reviews in periodicals: ‘Kultura Niezależna’, ‘Teatr’, ‘Gazeta Wyborcza’ and ‘Zeszyty Literackie’.

Fot. Elżbieta Lempp

Krystyna Dąbrowska

(b. 1979 in Warsaw) – poet, translator and essayist. She has published three poetry collections: Biuro podróży (Zielona Sowa, 2006), Białe krzesła (WBPiCAK, 2012), Czas i przesłona (Znak, 2014). She received the Kościelski Award, the Wisława Szymborska Award and the Warsaw Literary Premiere Award in 2013 for the collection Białe krzesła. Her poems have appeared in leading Polish periodicals and been translated into German, English, Swedish, Russian and Italian. She also translates English-language literature.

Fot. Elżbieta Lempp

Tobias Schwartz

(b. 1976 in Osnabr\u00fcck) \u2013 since 2006 he has been adapting and presenting his own texts in scenic and performative presentations on Berlin’s off scene. He published the novel ‘Film B’ (2007, Satyr Verlag), whose stage adaptation reached the Volksb\u00fchne stage. His play ‘In der guten Stube’, directed by Anne Schneider, premiered in 2013 at Theater unterm Dach. He writes columns for TAZ, Tagespiegel and other newspapers. In Krak\u00f3w he is working on the novel ‘Emlichheimer’.

Fot. Elżbieta Lempp

Tomasz Różycki

(b. 1970) – poet and translator. Recently published the poetry collection ‘Księga obrotów’ (Znak, 2010), the novel ‘Bestiarium’ (Znak, 2012) and the essay ‘Tomi. Notatki z miejsca postoju’ (Fundacja Zeszytów Literackich, 2013). He translated poems by Arthur Rimbaud, Pierre Alferi and Stéphane Mallarmé. Finalist of the NIKE Award and the Gdynia Literary Award in 2007, winner of the Kościelski Award (2004) and the Josif Brodsky Zeszyty Literackie Award 2006. His poems have been translated into Spanish, French, English, Bulgarian, German, Lithuanian, Russian, Slovenian and Ukrainian, among others. During his fellowship at LCB he plans to work on a new volume of essays about Europe.

Fot. Elżbieta Lempp

Paulina Schulz

(b. 1973) \u2013 translator of Polish literature into German and writer. She has translated 16 Polish novels into German (by Jerzy Pilch, Zbigniew Mentzel, Jacek Cygan, Manuela Gretkowska, Brygida Helbig, Marek Krajewski and Maria Nurowska, among others), as well as many short stories, essays and poems. In Krak\u00f3w she plans to work on a German anthology of texts by Polish Futurists, containing poetry, prose and literary manifestos. The anthology will be published in 2015 by Reinecke & Vo\u00df in Leipzig.

Fot. Elżbieta Lempp

Justyna Bargielska

(b. 1977) \u2013 Polish poet and writer. She has published four poetry collections, which immediately made her one of the most interesting poets of the younger generation, and two prose volumes (‘Obsoletki’, ‘Ma\u0142e lisy’), which established her as one of the most interesting voices in Polish prose. During her fellowship at Literarisches Colloquium Berlin she plans to work on a new novel.

Fot. Elżbieta Lempp

Armin Senser

(b. 1964) \u2013 considered one of the most original poets of the German language, has lived in Berlin for many years. He has published four poetry books with Carl Hanser Verlag; ‘Wielkie przebudzenie’ has also been published in Polish. In Krak\u00f3w he wishes to meet Polish readers and work on a new volume of poetry. He is the winner of numerous creative fellowships (including Ledig House/New York) and distinctions.