Lena Gorelik

Lena Gorelik is a German writer. She was born in St. Petersburg in 1981 in a Russian-Jewish family. Her family emigrated to Germany in 1992 as 'quota refugees'. She studied at the German School of Journalism in Munich and then took a course in Eastern European studies.

Her first novel, "Meine weißen Nächte" ("My White Nights") was published in the autumn of 2004, and was acclaimed by Bücher as “the best new book about Germany - an absolutely charming book”, while the Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote that “‘My White Nights’ proves that new German literature can possess both levity and gravitas.” In 2005, the book won the Bavarian art prize in the category of literature. Her second novel "Hochzeit in Jerusalem" ("Wedding in Jerusalem") was published in spring 2007, and was nominated for the German Book Prize 2007. She was honored for her work with the Ernst-Hoferichter Prize in 2009and a series of other awards.