Thomas Melle, born in 1975, studied comparative literature and philosophy in Tübingen, Austin (Texas) and Berlin. He is the author of many plays and novels. Together with Martin Heckmanns he wrote ›4 Millionen Türen‹, which was premiered at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin in 2004 under the direction of Eike Hannemann. His debut novel ›Sickster‹ (2011) was nominated for the German Book Prize and was awarded the Franz Hessel Prize. With his novels ›3000 Euro‹ (2014) and ›Die Welt im Rücken‹ (2016) he was nominated for the shortlist of the German Book Prize. In 2008, he was awarded the Bremen Literature Prize for ›Raumforderung‹ (2007) and the Audience Prize at the ›Gimme Shelter‹ authors' festival for ›Partner‹ in 2016. He received the Berlin Art Prize in the literature category in 2015. The radio version of his play ›Bilder von uns‹ (2016) has been nominated for the Prix Italia 2019.