Ladies Crime Night im Kulturhaus Schwartzsche Villa - Jubiläumsveranstaltung

The event takes place on Friday, 23 October, at 7.30 pm, at the Kulturhaus Schwartzsche Villa, in the Salon (Grunewaldstraße 55, 12165 Berlin).

Each author will read for a set period of time until a gunshot rings out, bringing the story to an end. Then the next contribution will follow. Look forward to an impressive variety of themes that delve deep into the abysses of the human soul, violence and death. Discover just how much power lies behind women’s crime fiction. Yet however dark the stories may be, in real life the Mörderischen Schwestern e.V. have been championing the exact opposite for 30 years: solidarity, cohesion and a strong sense of community.

The authors reading their work are Anne Bandel, Helene Baumann, Kerstin Finkelstein, Swenja Karsten, Slavica Klimkowsky, Norma K. König, Mika M. Krüger, Salean A. Maiwald, Katte Rosch and Susanne Rüster. The music will be provided by Seagull & Ventura, the psychedelic indie blues duo from Berlin. The event is organised and hosted by Slavica Klimkowsky.

Incidentally, ‘Mörderische Schwestern e.V.’ is Europe’s largest non-profit association of German-speaking crime writers, dedicated to promoting crime fiction written by women, and will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2026: this event is taking place as part of those celebrations. Around 750 female writers and women associated with crime fiction make up ‘Mörderische Schwestern’, organised into 14 regional groups. They live and work in 19 countries: Japan, Austria, Switzerland, England, France, Sweden, Portugal, Ireland and Germany. In Brandenburg and Berlin, there are around 70 authors; they meet regularly on the 13th of every month at the Kreuzberg pub ‘Max und Moritz’.

About the venue:

The Schwartzsche Villa Cultural Centre is a facility run by the Culture Department of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf District Office in Berlin. The Schwartzsche Villa is part of the Kulturkorso network, which brings together 16 museums and exhibition venues in south-west Berlin.

About the authors:

Anne Bandel has been working as a dentist for twenty-two years and has been performing jazz and chanson in concerts for ten years. Yet part of her heart beats for writing and, of course, for her unconventional protagonist, Theophil Kornmaier.

Helene Baumann – in more than 40 years’ professional practice as a doctor and psychotherapist (under her real name), she has heard many stories. She dresses them up in new guises and brings them to life.

Dr Kerstin Finkelstein, a political scientist who has written various non-fiction books on transport policy and migration, winner of the 2024 Kinderunfallhilfe Media Prize and a columnist for the *taz*, enjoys trying new things – in this case, writing a novel together with a friend.

Swenja Karsten, born in Lower Saxony, grew up in Middle Franconia, studied theatre studies in Hesse and screenwriting in Hamburg. She has called Berlin home since 2005 and has been a ‘Mörderische Schwester’ since 2010.

Slavica Klimkowski lives and works in Berlin as a freelance writer, literary educator and lecturer in creative writing. She has received numerous awards for her literature in plain language, her short prose and her poetry.

Norma K. Koenig was born in Eberswalde; she used to be a teacher and now devotes herself entirely to writing. Her works consist of crime novels and short stories, often with regional references to the Havelland and Berlin.

Mika M. Krüger publishes novels and short stories featuring morally ambiguous characters, malevolent animals and dystopian elements. Her debut is the crime novel *Seven Ravens*, which has been followed by further stories.

Salean A. Maiwald has been working as a freelance author since 1982, writing poetry and prose; until 2009, she was also active as a painter, with numerous exhibitions in Germany, Greece and Israel, amongst other places.

Katte Rosch is (under her real name) a qualified nurse. Born in Neuruppin (Mark Brandenburg), she now lives in Berlin. She writes crime novels set in Berlin during the Imperial era and in the GDR, centring on the everyday lives of nurses.

Susanne Rüster, a former public prosecutor and judge, currently works for the Chamber of Psychotherapists. She enjoys literary forays into other genres. She has published several crime stories and six crime novels.