Michel Bergmann, born in Riehen, near Basel, in 1945, the child of interned Jewish refugees. He spent his early childhood in Paris and his youth in Frankfurt. After his studies he trained with the Frankfurter Rundschau before working as a journalist, then as a director and producer, and since 1990 as a screenwriter (his credits include Otto – The Disaster Movie and Bye Bye Germany). In 2010 he published his first novel, Die Teilacher, and six subsequent volumes. Michel Bergmann lives near and in Berlin.