Salzburg authors bring new books and a theatre premiere

Three Salzburg writers are in the spotlight with a posthumous collection, a new book and a theatre premiere, ORF reports. A new edition brings together previously unpublished work by Helena Adler, who died in 2024; Teresa Präauer’s play will premiere in Vienna in December, and Katharina J. Ferner has published her first novel.

Adler’s posthumous work enters a new edition

Adler, whose books include “Die Infantin trägt den Scheitel links” and “Fretten”, died on 5 January 2024. Her legacy has continued through the Helena Adler Prize for rebellious literature, awarded twice so far, and theatre productions of her work. Her literary estate is now being published in a three-volume edition edited by Günter Helmes and issued by Korrektur Verlag.

The first volume, “Die Atmung der Liebenden mit Anomalien”, contains eight texts, some of which Adler had considered for a short-prose collection. They range from a love story between a young woman and a considerably older man to “Quarantanamo”, a diary from the coronavirus lockdowns.

In “Schnee von gestern”, the Grossglockner appears in person. “Maulzeit” portrays Austria as a stomach-churning “land of plenty”, with meadows of roast capercaillies, moors full of pastries and forests of “Black Forest cherry clinics” staffed by doctors named Dr Oetker.

The book also includes visual works exploring the subject of masks. In a foreword, Adler’s widower, artist and painter Thomas E. Stadler, writes that her work as a writer and visual artist cannot be separated and that the two sides illuminate each other.

Präauer play to premiere in December

“Guten Abend, Herr Morgan!” by Teresa Präauer will receive its world premiere on 3 December at the Kammerspiele, a theatre in Vienna’s Josefstadt. The play is described as “a kind of biopic” of a Jewish artist. Präauer is also due to become Mainz’s city writer next spring.

Her new book, “Nie mehr weinen”, will be presented on 11 November. It explores what makes people cry, whether crying can be controlled, how tears are interpreted and what they are made of chemically. The presentation is scheduled for 6.30pm at the International Research Centre for Cultural Studies at Reichsratsstraße 17 in Vienna.

Ferner publishes a love story

Katharina J. Ferner’s novel “Wir lieben nachts” tells the love story of two women. In 2021, her micro-prose divided the jury of the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize. Ferner is a poet, performer and cultural educator.

The novel follows Paulina, a young journalist whose work has stalled at writing horoscopes, and Bella, a confident woman active in Vienna’s social scene. They meet at Café Venezia. Their relationship is complicated by self-doubt, contrasting temperaments and their circumstances. The book explores unconventional relationships and the gap between what seems clear at night and what can feel impossible the next day.

Adler’s 112-page collection is published by Korrektur Verlag and costs 19.80 euros. Präauer’s 112-page book is published by Residenz Verlag for 20 euros, while Ferner’s 224-page novel is published by Haymon Verlag and costs 23.90 euros.