Organised in conjunction with the Ingeborg Bachmann Centre, London

Gabriele Petricek, born in Krems an der Donau, trained as a fashion designer, then moved into marketing and journalism, writing for the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, the Süddeutsche Zeitung and the Wiener Zeitung, before turning to creative writing. Petricek’s collection of short stories, Zimmerfluchten (2005), is an outstanding example of sensitive and considered use of language. She has received numerous awards including the Theodor-Körner-Förderungspreis für Literatur, the Hans Weigel-Literaturstipendium des Landes Niederösterreich and the Staatsstipendium für Literatur. She is currently working on another collection of short stories entitled Von den Himmeln and on the novel Bestürzt Geboren. Petricek will be Writer-in-Residence at the Ingeborg Bachmann Centre in London in June 2009.