Ruth-Maria Thomas

Ruth-Maria Thomas was born in Cottbus in 1993 and grew up there. She worked as a social worker in youth services, studied at the German Institute for Literature in Leipzig, and co-founded the erotic literary magazine Hot Topic!. In 2022, she was a finalist for the Open Mike. Her debut novel, »Die schönste Version« (2024), received the Ulla Hahn Prize and was nominated for the German Book Prize, the Aspekte Literature Prize, the Buddenbrookhaus Prize, and the Prize of the German Economy. In 2025, she hosted the rbb podcast »Der Bruch – Frauen zwischen Ost und jetzt«. »Die zweitgrößte Liebe« is her second novel.