Author Ruska Jorjoliani’s novel in Hotlist award for German-language literature

Young Georgian author Ruska Jorjoliani’s debut novel You Are in the Air With Me has been named among the 10 top German-language titles of 2018 from independent publishers.

Initially published in Italy, it has now been selected for Hotlist 2018, an award for books printed in German-speaking countries.

It was called “a double family saga [that is] fresh, free and with a soft sense of humour” in the top 10 selection that also features late Georgian author Rezo Cheishvili’s classic Blue Mountains.

The German edition cover for the novel ‘You Are in the Air With Me’. Photo: hotlist-online.com.

Jorjoliani’s novel centres around characters and antagonisms on the backdrop of Russia’s 1917 Revolution.

It was published in Italian in 2016, before being translated by Barbara Sauser into German language and printed by Rotpunktverlag.

Initially selected for a shortlist of 30 works for the Hotlist award earlier this year, the novel found itself in the final 10 works following a review by an international team of judges.

Born in Mestia in Georgia’s mountainous Svaneti province, Jorjoliani fled her birthplace following armed conflict in Georgia’s north-east in the early 1990s.

She later moved to Italy and has resided in Palermo since 2007. The young author has become known for her work in the country, marked with prizes for poetry.

The Hotlist award celebrates indie publishers’ contribution to the "richness, quality and success of German-language literary culture”.

The selection of the German edition of Jorjoliani’s work for the prize coincides with activities for the promotion of Georgian literature and culture in German-speaking countries this year.

Designed to augment the country’s preparations for its representation at the upcoming Frankfurt Book Fair as the official Guest of Honour, the events have involved book and author presentations, readings of prose, and more since 2017.