Zoë Beck (born 12 March 1975 as Henrike Heiland in

Ehringshausen Ehringshausen is a municipality in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Ehringshausen lies in the valley of the Dill between Wetzlar and Herborn. Neighbouring communities Ehringshausen borders in the north on the community ...

in the Lahn-Dill district) is a German writer, publisher, translator, dialogue book author and dubbing director. She has won multiple awards for her books and translations.

Life

At the age of three she began to play the piano. Numerous performances and multiple awards at competitions followed. After graduating from high school she studied German and English literature in Giessen, Bonn and Durham as a scholarship holder of the

German National Academic Foundation The German Academic Scholarship Foundation (German: , or ''Studienstiftung'' for short) is Germany's largest and most prestigious scholarship foundation. According to its statutes, it supports "the university education of young people who, on ac ...

. She completed her studies with a master's thesis on the crime writer

Elizabeth George Susan Elizabeth George (born February 26, 1949) is an American writer of mystery novels. She is best known for a series of novels featuring Inspector Thomas Lynley. The 21st book in the series was published in January 2022. The first 11 were ...

. She then worked as an editor and TV producer for the

Kirch Group KirchGruppe (KirchGroup) was a German media group founded by Leo Kirch in the 1950s. It was the dominant buyer and seller of TV programming rights in Germany. By 2000, it controlled a 52.5 percent stake in what became the country's biggest broa ...

. Since 2004 she has been working as a freelance author and lives in Berlin. Beck first wrote screenplays, including the Christmas film "In der Weihnachtsbäckerei" (In the Christmas Bakery) with

Rolf Zuckowski Rolf Zuckowski (born 12 May 1947) is a German singer-songwriter. He has written and composed music especially for children, but his songs are very popular among adults, too. His compositions involve children in music throughout their childhood an ...

for ZDF children's television, various episodes of Tabaluga tivi, Nelly Net(t) and the German version of the sitcom Disney's

Kurze Pause ''Disney's Kurze Pause'' (Disney's Short Break) is a German sitcom series broadcast on Disney Channel Germany since 2006, with no firm scheduling except for its Sunday broadcast. It consists of vignettes approximately five to eight minutes long. ...

for the Disney Channel. Since 2006 she has been publishing mainly prose as a writer. After surviving cancer in 2007 she changed her name to Zoë Beck. Together with Jan Karsten Beck, she founded the literary publishing house CulturBooks in 2013. The publishing house emerged from the online feuilleton Culturmag. In addition to her writing, Zoë Beck works as a literary translator and dubbing director for film and television (including

Hackerville ''Hackerville'' is an international co-produced Romanian and German language television drama series consisting of six episodes, which aired on HBO Europe and German TNT Serie channel in November–December 2018. Cast * Anna Schumacher * Andi ...

, Dietland,

The Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to ...

The Mist Mist is a weather phenomenon similar to fog. Mist, MIST or The Mist may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fiction * ''Mist'' (novel), a 1914 novel by Spanish author Miguel de Unamuno * ''The Mist'' (novella), a 1980 horror novella by Ameri ...

Fear the Walking Dead ''Fear the Walking Dead'' is an American post-apocalyptic horror drama television series created by Robert Kirkman and Dave Erickson for AMC. It is a spin-off to '' The Walking Dead'', which is based on the comic book series of the same na ...

Orange Is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Pr ...

, Followers). From September 2013 to August 2014, she was the columnist for the SWR2 programme LiteraturEN, a radio column that is awarded to a different contemporary author each year, and subsequently wrote literary reviews for the station. Zoë Beck acts as their German voice on reading tours of international authors, for example for

Denise Mina Denise Mina is a Scottish writer active since 1996. Her debut novel ''Garnethill'' (1998 Transworld) was a bestseller and won the Crime Writers’ Association John Creasey Award for best debut. It was followed by ''Exile'' and ''Resolution'', c ...

Val McDermid Valarie McDermid (born 4 June 1955) is a Scottish crime writer, best known for a series of novels featuring clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Hill and his collaborators in the police department. Her work is considered to be part of a sub-genre k ...

Louise Welsh Louise Welsh (born 1 February 1965 in London) is an English-born author of short stories and psychological thrillers, resident in Glasgow, Scotland. She has also written three plays, an opera, edited volumes of prose and poetry, and contributed ...

and

Carl Nixon Carl Nixon (born 1967) is a New Zealand novelist, short story writer and playwright. He has written five novels and a number of original plays which have been performed throughout New Zealand, as well as adapting both Lloyd Jones' novel ''The ...

. She is on the board of directors of

LitProm LitProm was a German registered literary organization active in the promotion of literature from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Arab world. Between 1980 and 2024, LitProm promoted literary developments in the regions mentioned through their su ...

, a member of the PEN Centre Germany, co-founder of the feminist writers' network "Herland" and co-initiator of the action alliance #verlagegegenrechts. At the

Leipzig Book Fair The Leipzig Book Fair () is the second largest book fair in Germany after the Frankfurt Book Fair. The fair takes place annually over four days at the Leipzig Trade Fairground in the northern part of Leipzig, Saxony. It is the first large trad ...

2018 and 2019, she organised, among other things, the event series "Die Gedanken sind bunt". Beck has been a member of the jury for the Kurt Tucholsky Prize since 2018.

Awards

* 2010 Friedrich-Glauser-Preis * 2011 Friedrich-Glauser-Preis, Nomination * 2012 September, KrimiZEIT-Bestenliste * 2013

Goldene Leslie Goldene Leslie is a literary prize for youth books in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its ...

, Nomination * 2014 January, February, March, KrimiZEIT-Bestenliste * 2014 Radio-Bremen-Krimipreis * 2014 Virenschleuder-Preis, Marketingpreis der Frankfurter Buchmesse, Kategorie „Persönlichkeit“ * 2014 25 Frauen für die digitale Zukunft * 2015 March, April, May, June KrimiZEIT-Bestenliste * 2015 Buchkultur: Die besten Krimis der Saison Top 10 * 2016

Deutscher Krimi Preis The Deutscher Krimi Preis (today's German spelling: Deutscher Krimipreis), or the ''German Crime Fiction Award'', is the oldest and most prestigious German literary prize for crime fiction. It has been awarded since 1985 by the Bochum Crime Archive ...

, Category „National“, 3. Platz * 2017 July, August Krimibestenliste der FAS/

Deutschlandfunk Kultur Deutschlandfunk Kultur (; abbreviated to ''DLF Kultur'' or ''DKultur'') is a culture-oriented radio station and part of Deutschlandradio, a set of three national radio stations in Germany. Initially named ''DeutschlandRadio Berlin'', the station ...

* 2017 Internationaler Literaturpreis des

Haus der Kulturen der Welt The Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), in English House of World Cultures, in Berlin is Germany's national center for the presentation and discussion of international contemporary arts, with a special focus on non-European cultures and societi ...

und der Stiftung Elementarteilchen, Nomination * 2018 Goldene Auguste, Award for her services to women's crime literature * 2018 Wiesbadener Krimistipendium 2019 * 2019 Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis for Best Translation to Science Fiction for Pippa Goldschmidt, "Von der Notwendigkeit, den Weltraum zu ordnen", nomination *2020 July, August, September Krimibestenliste of the FAS/Deutschlandfunk Kultur *2020 Krimifuchs of the City of Berlin (Berlin Crime Prize) *2020 German Crime Fiction Prize, "National" category, 1st place for Paradise City *2021 Friedrich-Glauser-Preis, category novel, nomination for Paradise City *2021 Political Crime Prize of the Heinrich Böll Foundation Baden-Württemberg 2021 for Paradise City *2021 Kurd-Laßwitz Prize for Best German-language science fiction novel, nomination *2021 Town Clerk in Tampere, Finland

Work

Novels (Name: Zoë Beck)

* ''Wenn es dämmert'', Kriminalroman, Lübbe, 2008, * ''Das alte Kind'', Kriminalroman, Lübbe, 2010, * ''Der frühe Tod'', Kriminalroman, Bastei Lübbe, 2011, * ''Edvard'', Jugendroman, Baumhaus, 2012, * ''Das zerbrochene Fenster'', Kriminalroman, Bastei Lübbe, August 2012, * ''Brixton Hill'', Thriller, Heyne, Dezember 2013, * ''Schwarzblende'', Thriller, Heyne, März 2015, * ''Die Lieferantin'', Thriller, Suhrkamp, Juni 2017, * ''Paradise City'', Thriller, Suhrkamp, Juni 2020,

Short Prose (Name: Zoë Beck)

* ''Das Haus im Lieper Winkel'' (in: ''Endstation Ostsee'', Hg. H.P. Karr; KBV), 2009, * ''Draußen.'' (in: ''München blutrot'', Hg. A. Izquierdo, A. Esser), Kölnisch-Preußische Lektoratsanstalt, 2009, * ''Rapunzel'' (in: ''Die Märchenmörder'', Hg. A. Izquierdo, A. Esser), Kölnisch-Preußische Lektoratsanstalt, 2010, * ''Ein zufriedener Mann'' (in: ''Berlin blutrot'', Hg. A. Izquierdo, A. Esser), Kölnisch-Preußische Lektoratsanstalt, 2011, * ''Dorianna'' (in: ''Maria, Mord und Mandelplätzchen'', Hg. Michelle Stöger), Knaur, 2011, * ''Welthauptstadt der Agoraphobiker'' (in: ''I hate Berlin'', Hg. Moritz Kienast), Lübbe, 2011, * ''Weihnachtsdrücken'' (in: ''Lasst uns roh und garstig sein'', Hg. Dietmar Bittrich), rororo, 2011, * ''Kerzenschein'' (in: Süßer die Morde nicht klingen, Hg. Cornelia Kuhnert, Richard Birkefeld), Heyne, 2012, * ''Stilles Wasser'' (in: Heide, Harz und Hackebeil, Hg. Cornelia Kuhnert, Richard Birkefeld), KBV, 2013, * ''Freundin.'' (in: Unter vier Augen – Sprachen des Porträts, Hg. Kirsten Voigt), Kerber, 2013, * ''Die Stimme'' (in: Eiskalte Weihnachtsengel, Hg. Cornelia Kuhnert), Heyne, 2013, * ''Berliner Leber'' (in: Mörderische Leckerbissen, Hg. Cornelia Kuhnert, Richard Birkefeld), dtv, 2013, * ''Rot wie Schnee'' (in: Den nächsten, der Frohe Weihnachten zu mir sagt, bringe ich um), Droemer, 2013, * ''Ein zufriedener Mann. Erzählungen'', CulturBooks, July 2014, * ''Remember, remember'', Knaur eBook, November 2014, * ''Pfau 117'' (in: Irgendwo ins grüne Meer: Geschichten von Inseln, Hg. Anne von Canal, Isabel Bogdan), Arche, May 2016, * ''Fake It Or It Didn't Happen'' (Ausstellungskatalog Kunst Museum Winterthur für die Ausstellung von Karin Sander), Verlag Walther König, September 2018,

Non-fiction books

* ''Depression. 100 Seiten'', Reclam, May 2021,

Novels (Name: Henrike Heiland)

* ''Späte Rache'', Kriminalroman, Bastei Lübbe, 2006, * ''Zum Töten nah'', Kriminalroman, Bastei Lübbe, 2007, * ''Blutsünde'', Kriminalroman, Bastei Lübbe, 2007, * ''Von wegen Traummann!'', Roman, Heyne, 2010, * ''Für immer und ledig?'', Roman, Heyne, 2011,

Prose (Name: Henrike Heiland)

* ''Der unglückliche Herr Dr. von und zu Wittenstein'' (in: ''Hell's Bells'', Hg. Christiane Geldmacher), Poetenladen, 2008, * ''Leaving Lüdenscheid, oder: Opa muss weg'' (in: ''Mord am Hellweg IV'', Hg. H. Knorr, H.P. Karr), Grafit, 2008, * ''Diese Sache in Rostock'' (in: ''Endstation Ostsee'', Hg. H.P. Karr), KBV, 2009, * ''Konkurrenzausschluss'' (in: ''München blutrot'', Hg. A. Izquierdo, A. Esser), Kölnisch-Preußische Lektoratsanstalt, 2009, * ''Bullets Over Bochum'' (in: ''Hängen im Schacht'', Hg. H.P. Karr; KBV), 2009, * ''Hell-go-land'' (in: ''Morden zwischen den Meeren: Kleine Verbrechen aus Schleswig-Holstein'', Hg. Jobst Schlennstedt), Pendragon, 2010, * ''Starnberger Strafvollzug'' (in: ''Tod am Starnberger See'', Hg. Sabine Thomas), Gmeiner, 2010, * ''Exile on Genfbachstraße'' (in: ''Nordeifel Mordeifel'', Hg. R. Kramp), KBV, 2010, * ''Die Dreizehn'' (in: ''Hamburg blutrot'', Hg. A. Izquierdo, A. Esser), Kölnisch-Preußische Lektoratsanstalt, 2010, * ''Zum Kuckuck!'' (in: ''Die Mütter-Mafia und Friends'': Das Imperium schlägt zurück, Hg. Kerstin Gier), Bastei Lübbe, 2011, * ''Gmundner Alibi'' (in: ''Tod am Tegernsee'', Hg. Sabine Thomas), Gmeiner, 2011, * ''Onkel Horst vom Schillerplatz'' (in: ''Das Mordshaus an der Lahn'', Hg. Klaus J. Frahm), KBV, 2011,

Translations (selected)

* Steve Caplin and Simon Rose: ''Best of Papa: Geniale Ideen, die Vätern und Kindern Spaß machen''.

Bastei Lübbe Bastei Lübbe is a major publisher of genre fiction, pulp fiction and non-fiction in the German language. It is based in Cologne, Germany. In 2010, it was the largest independent book publisher in Germany, and it claimed to be one of the three la ...

Bergisch Gladbach Bergisch Gladbach () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in the Cologne/Bonn Region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and capital of the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis (district). Geography Bergisch Gladbach is east of the Rhine and abo ...

2008, . *

Pippa Goldschmidt Pippa Goldschmidt is a British fiction writer, formerly based in Edinburgh, Scotland but now living in Germany. Education Goldschmidt has a background in science, having completed an undergraduate degree in physics with astronomy at the Univer ...

: ''Der südlichste Punkt''. CulturBooks,

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

2013, . * Pippa Goldschmidt: ''Von der Notwendigkeit, den Weltraum zu ordnen''. CulturBooks, Hamburg 2014, digital edition . * Pippa Goldschmidt: ''Weiter als der Himmel''. Weidle Verlag,

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

2015, . *

James Grady James Grady may refer to: * James Grady (footballer) James Grady (born 14 March 1971) is a Scottish former professional footballer who spent the majority of his career in the top two divisions in Scottish football. He played as a striker, and ...

: ''Die letzten Tage des Condor''.

Suhrkamp Suhrkamp Verlag is a German publishing house, established in 1950 and is generally acknowledged as one of the leading European publishers of fine literature. Its roots go back to the "arianized" part of the S. Fischer Verlag. In January 2010, ...

, Berlin 2016, . *

Amanda Lee Koe Amanda Lee Koe (born ) is a Singapore-born, New York-based novelist and short story writer. She is best known for her debut novel, ''Delayed Rays of a Star'' (2019), which was named one of NPR's Best Books of 2019, and for being the youngest wi ...

: ''Ministerium für öffentliche Erregung''. CulturBooks, Hamburg 2016, . *

Karan Mahajan Karan Mahajan (born April 24, 1984) is an Indian-American novelist, essayist, and critic. His second novel, '' The Association of Small Bombs,'' was a finalist for the 2016 National Book Award for Fiction. He has contributed writing to '' The Be ...

: ''In Gesellschaft kleiner Bomben''. CulturBooks, Hamburg 2017, . *

Gerald Seymour Gerald Seymour (born 25 November 1941 in Guildford, Surrey) is a British writer of crime and espionage novels. Early life Gerald Seymour was born to William Kean Seymour and his second wife, Rosalind Wade.Denise Mina Denise Mina is a Scottish writer active since 1996. Her debut novel ''Garnethill'' (1998 Transworld) was a bestseller and won the Crime Writers’ Association John Creasey Award for best debut. It was followed by ''Exile'' and ''Resolution'', c ...

: ''Blut, Salz, Wasser''. Argument Ariadne, Hamburg 2018, . *

Helen Oyeyemi Helen Oyeyemi FRSL (born 10 December 1984) is a British novelist and writer of short stories. Life Oyeyemi was born in Nigeria and was raised in Lewisham, South London from when she was four. Oyeyemi wrote her first novel, '' The Icarus Girl' ...

: ''Was du nicht hast, das brauchst du nicht.'' CulturBooks, Hamburg 2018, . *

Lesley Nneka Arimah Lesley Nneka Arimah (born 13 October 1983 in London, United Kingdom) is a Nigerian writer. She has been described as "a skillful storyteller who can render entire relationships with just a few lines of dialogue" and "a new voice with certain sta ...

: ''Was es bedeutet, wenn ein Mann aus dem Himmel fällt.'' Culturbooks, Hamburg 2019, . *

Sally Rooney Sally Rooney (born 20 February 1991) is an Irish author and screenwriter. She has published four novels: ''Conversations with Friends'' (2017), ''Normal People'' (2018), ''Beautiful World, Where Are You'' (2021), and ''Intermezzo (novel), Interm ...

: ''Gespräche mit Freunden''.

Luchterhand Literaturverlag The Luchterhand Literaturverlag is a German publisher of contemporary literature based in Munich. It was founded in 1924, and was acquired by Random House in 2001. Luchterhand is considered one of the most prestigious publishers in Germany. Publi ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

2019, . *

: ''Klare Sache''. Argument Ariadne, Hamburg 2019. . * Sally Rooney: ''Normale Menschen''. Luchterhand Literaturverlag, Munich 2020, . * Camilla Grudova: ''Das Alphabet der Puppen''. Culturbooks, Hamburg 2020, . * Ling Ma: ''New York Ghost''. Culturbooks, Hamburg 2021, . * Sally Rooney: ''Schöne Welt, wo bist du''. Ullstein, Berlin 2021, .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Zoe 1975 births Living people People from Lahn-Dill-Kreis 21st-century German novelists German translators German publishers (people) 21st-century translators