Austrian Book Prize 2022 goes to Verena Rossbacher
Verena Rossbacher has been awarded this year's Austrian Book Prize for her quirky, clever, linguistically brilliant and wildly funny novel Mon Chéri and Our Battered Souls.
From the jury's statement:
[The] novel’s heroine [is a] desolately funny female character and thus a rarity in literary history. Because funny women have a hard time with the readership. With her, Verena Rossbacher has not only succeeded in creating a character that will never be forgotten - she also allows her to develop an almost unbelievable personality. The quirky outsider with a penchant for advertising clips from the nineties (Mon Chéri!) becomes a pioneer of alternative models of life and love in the course of this fast-paced novel. [..] Mon Chéri and Our Battered Souls tells a story of letting go. In between, there is slapstick at its best. Funny women, we learn with Verena Rossbacher, are simply irresistible!" -
Italian rights are available. The shortlisted titles handled by B&G can be found here.