Schlachtensee

  • 15 radical statements about life, written by one of Germany's most important literary voices
  • English sample translation by Katy Derbyshire available

With penetrating insight and great linguistic force, Helene Hegemann explodes all categories through which we try to understand the present.

Wandering through a world in which violence is most dangerous when it is being suppressed, where working through contradictions can be both painful and delightful, Helene Hegemann’s characters are damaged and powerful. Slowly but surely, a psychogram of our society emerges, both disturbing and exhilarating.

A treacherously constructed literary masterpiece that catapults us around the world and right into the heart of the present.

Contact Foreign Rights
Sample Translations
  • Publisher: Kiepenheuer&Witsch
  • Release: 09.06.2022
  • ISBN: 978-3-462-00168-6
  • 272 Pages
  • Author: Helene Hegemann

Awards

  • 2025: Nominiert für: Thomas-Valentin-Literaturpreis der Stadt Lippstadt – Helene Hegemann und »Schlachtensee«
Buchcover von Schlachtensee: Stories
Helene HegemannSchlachtensee
Portrait von Helene Hegemann
© Joachim Gern
Helene Hegemann

Helene Hegemann , born in 1992, lives in Berlin. In 2010, she made her debut as an author with the novel Axolotl Roadkill , which has been translated into 20 languages. The film adaptation, which she directed herself, won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Cinematography at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. In 2013, she published her second novel Jage zwei Tiger , followed by Bungalow in 2018, which was nominated for the German Book Prize. In 2022, her short story collection Schlachtensee was published. She works as an opera, theater, and film director.