Writer in Residence

Lena Anlauf, born in the Ruhr Area, studied book science and philosophy in Mainz and Leiden, completed a remote course on children’s and young adult literature at the STUBE in Vienna and is a certified literature teacher. Today she lives in Marburg and works as editorial director for children's and youth books at the kunstanstifter verlag. At the same time, she researches historical picture books, and writes and designs her own book projects.

In 2021, the collection Bartgeschichten (Beard Stories) was published by the homunculus verlag, followed by the series Geniale Nasen (Genius Noses; 2023), Geniale Ohren (Genius Ears; 2024) and Geniale Augen (Genius Eyes; 2025), released by NordSüd-Verlag. In 2026, Räuberbuch (Robber Book) illustrated by Judith Auer will be published by Tulipan Verlag (Penguin Random House). Lena Anlauf's children's books have been translated into eight languages, including English and Danish. The works have received numerous awards, including the International Youth Library's “White Raven” in 2023 as well as distinctions as one of the “Most Beautiful German Books” selected by the Stiftung Buchkunst and as “A Bank Street Best Book of the Year” (both 2024). In 2025, Genius Eyes received the Special Illustration Prize of the German Children's Book Award. 

During her residency in Reykjavík, Lena Anlauf will work on her first novel for children and young adults. The project revolves around polar foxes, Iceland's only native land mammals. Drawing on the literary tradition of nature writing, Lena Anlauf aims to explore the unique lifestyle of the polar fox and its ambivalent relations with other animals and humans. On the one hand, scientific findings will inform the narrative. On the other hand, in the spirit of magical realism, the new novel will also be inspired by legends about the Icelandic mythical creatures Skuggabaldur and Skoffin.
 

Inga Machel, born in 1986, lives and works in Berlin. She studied Creative Writing and Cultural Journalism at the University of Hildesheim (2005–2010), and has since cultivated a multifaceted career as a freelance radio author (RBB), editor (Aufbau Verlag, Suhrkamp Verlag), and copywriter. Since 2022, she has also been practicing as a certified naturopath for psychotherapy.

Her literary voice first gained wider recognition with the short story Lieber A. (Dear A.), which won the New German Fiction Prize and was subsequently published by Matthes & Seitz as an e-book. The English translation by Donal McLaughlin appeared with Readux Books. She later published Being with Paul through Tegel Media. Her debut novel Auf den Gleisen (On the Tracks) was released by Rowohlt in January 2024, earning a place on the SWR bestseller list shortly after publication and securing a nomination for the Leipzig Book Fair Prize.

Machel’s writing consistently foregrounds the lives of those on the margins of society. She is particularly drawn to Icelandic literature, which she regards as rich in narratives of antiheroes, from the 13th-century sagas to the contemporary works of authors such as Einar Kárason and Einar Már Gudmundsson. In this tradition, she envisions her stay in Iceland as an opportunity to engage with individuals whose stories are seldom told—whether a fisherman's wife in Bakkafjörður or a homeless person navigating addiction in Reykjavík. Her aim is twofold: to immerse herself in Icelandic literary traditions and to explore narrative strategies for portraying lives shaped by precarity and resilience. This research will inform a new, ambitious prose project, a tripartite novel with the working title Harte Strandparty (Hard Beach Party), which seeks to examine the conditions of human survival through the lens of three distinct antiheroes.