Lesung mit der Autorin Katja Petrowskaja

Katja Petrowskaja was born in Kyiv in 1970 and has lived in Berlin since 1999. She studied literature and Slavic studies in Tartu and earned her doctorate in Moscow. From 2000 to 2010, she wrote for various Russian- and German-language media outlets (Neue Zürcher Zeitung, taz, Deutsche Welle, Radio Liberty). Since 2011, she has been a columnist for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagzeitung. Her literary debut, *Vielleicht Esther* (2014), has been translated into more than 30 languages and has received numerous awards. In 2022, her essay collection *Das Foto schaute mich an* was published, followed in 2025 by *Als wäre es vorbei. Texte aus dem Krieg*. Katja Petrowskaja has received numerous awards. Among others, she was awarded the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize in 2013 for *Vielleicht Esther*, the Ernst Toller Prize in 2015, the Schubart Prize in 2015, in 2022 the Human Rights Prize from the Gerhart and Renate Baum Foundation, the Gustav Regler Prize in 2023, and the Jakob Wassermann Prize in 2026.

The event is part of the “Ukraine is here” series organized by the Gerhart-Hauptmann-Haus Foundation, the Karl Arnold Foundation, and the Consulate General of Ukraine in Düsseldorf, in collaboration with the Düsseldorf Public Libraries, Respekt und Mut Düsseldorf, the Association for the Promotion of the Düsseldorf–Chernivtsi Sister City Partnership, Studyon Institute for Language and Intercultural Studies Düsseldorf, and Ridne Slowo e.V., and is co-funded by the European Union.

The “Ukraine is here” series features renowned Ukrainian authors, scholars, and cultural figures. The series showcases Ukraine’s history, culture, and language and often invites a (non-Ukrainian) guest to participate in a dialogue.