Carmen-Francesca Banciu, born in Romania, was banned from publication during the last years of the Communist regime. She moved to Berlin in 1990 on the invitation of the DAAD Berlin Artists-in-Residence program. She lives in Berlin as a freelance writer and writes in German. Banciu has received numerous literary prizes and scholarships; most recently, her novel Lebt wohl, Ihr Genossen und Geliebten was nominated for the 2018 German Book Prize (DBP). Four of her books were translated into English.