Helene Bukowski

Helene Bukowski, born in Berlin in 1993, studied at the Hildesheim Literature Institute. Her debut novel Milchzähne (Milk Teeth) was published in 2019 and adapted for the cinema. Die Kriegerin (The Warrior) followed in 2022. Her books have been widely reviewed and translated into several languages. She now lives as a freelance writer in her home town and in Lower Lusatia.

In Los Angeles, Helene Bukowski will be working on a novel that deals with the biography of a young musician. The novel will shed light on the performance-oriented system of the special schools for music in the GDR, which was closely linked to the systemic competition of the Cold War and its dynamics.

Selected Publications
2026 | Wer möchte nicht im Leben bleiben, novel, Claassen Verlag
2024 | ”Da fehlt noch Salz,” in: Der nächste Redner ist eine Dame, ed. Deutscher Bundestag, literary portrait, Ch.Links/Aufbau Verlag
2022 | Die Kriegerin, novel, Blumenbar/Aufbau Verlag (English translation: The Warrior, trans. Jen Calleja, MTO Press, forthcoming)
2019 | Milchzähne, novel, Blumenbar/Aufbau Verlag (English translation: Milk Teeth, trans. Jen Calleja, Unnamed Press, 2022)

Selected Awards
2023 | Prix Caméléon
2022 | Nomination for LiteraTour Nord 22/23
2021 | Working grant from the Berlin Senate
2020 | Residency at Künstlerdorf Schöppingen
2019 | Shortlist Mara-Cassens-Preis