Carmen Stephan is a Bavarian-born author of two novels, most recently It’s All True (S. Fischer Verlag, 2017). Now a resident of Geneva, she spent several years in Rio de Janeiro, the setting of her first novel, Mal Aria (S. Fischer, 2012), from which the excerpt in this issue is taken. Among other awards, it won the Debut Prize from the Buddenbrooks House in Lübeck. (updated 10/2021)

Photo credit: Nica Krauer