Katja Behrens

Katja Behrens (1942–2021) was born in Berlin and grew up in Wiesbaden. From 1960 onward, she translated American literature, including works by William S. Burroughs and Henry Miller. She became a publishing editor in 1973 and worked as a freelance author from 1978. Her publications included short stories, novels, and biographies, among them “Die weiße Frau,” “Hathaway Jones,” and “Die Lebensgeschichte der Helen Keller.” From 2007 to 2009, she served as vice president and Writers-in-Prison officer of PEN Germany. Her honors included appointments as Mainz city writer and the Literature Prize of the City of Wiesbaden.