Live your needs!

We are taught to set ourselves targets. We train our body and function in accordance with social protocols. We try to be successful and a perfect partner in matters of the heart. But this balancing act is often not achieved. The body becomes tired and threatens to buckle under the stress, or we experience inner conflict. But who is in the right: body, heart or mind? How do I become me, and who am I? Our thoughts appear to be free, but in truth are tied to our body. Georg Fraberger, himself severely physically disabled from birth, illustrates how we can lead a balanced life through the harmonious connection of body, heart and mind.

A courageous and deeply personal novel about strong women and the fight for a life after survival

Born into a Jewish pre-war family in Vienna, Fritzi’s childhood is characterised by visits to the Viennese Prater and early romances. As a young woman, she flees to England to escape Nazi persecution. She marries Theo, returns to Vienna and is a vivacious and warm-hearted mother to her daughter Lea. But sometimes, Fritzi is so overcome with a nameless sorrow that she cannot get out of bed in the morning. Later, her daughter Lea’s life also seems to be a success, full to the brim with marriage, children, grandchildren and career. Yet she too is haunted by dark dreams and family memories. When more and more people arrive in Vienna fleeing war and terror in Syria and Afghanistan, this challenges Lea’s feeling of helplessness and her successful life threatens to fall apart.

Rich in imagery, this novel takes us up close to one of the definitive feelings of our time: fear

Spending a year in Antarctica and enduring the polar night in a research station takes stamina and determination. That is what Erika appears to have: a renowned bioacoustics specialist, she listens to whales, goes on long dives and challenges herself by practising aikido. Barely anyone knows that she does all of this in order to fight back a paralysing fear, the fear of a world that threatens to overwhelm her. Then musicologist Judith, a young woman full of contradictions, appears in her circle of friends. As the two women grow close, Erika suspects that Judith has given in to the same force that Erika is battling against. Perhaps she went crazy, or then again, perhaps she found a counter-spell and saved herself...

The early 20th century’s most important political turning point from an Austrian perspective.

From an Austrian point of view, what relevance do the two Russian revolutions have? Many Austrian soldiers, serving under the Habsburg Monarchy’s army, were held prisoner in Russia following the First World War. What did they experience and what were their thoughts on the historic upheaval that not only forever changed Russia, but the entire world? What hopes and fears awaited them at home? How did Austrians comment on the development of a new world order, which would ultimately divide the world into two camps? Verena Moritz presents and analyzes personal diaries, letters, newspaper articles and further as of now unpublished material. She successfully paints a vivid portrait of an era marked by major historical changes that have had an effect to this day.

“Leben auf Sicht” (Living with the future in mind), our new book series on innovative sustainability solutions edited by Thomas Weber

When Barbara Nothegger became a mother in 2013, she and her family took the plunge and moved to a communal living project in Vienna. About 100 people got together and built an alternative living space with flexible apartments, communal gardens, open space for kids, and an ecological lifestyle. The community’s members wanted to be there for each other, just like people were in traditional villages. But how can community work in a world marked by individualism? Are communal living projects an answer to pressing issues of modern life such as isolation, rising rents, and increasingly depleted resources? Barbara Nothegger takes a look at similar living projects in Germany and Switzerland and demonstrates how good neighborhood ties create a better quality of life. She humorously portrays her own path to happiness in the communal living project.

With intelligence and tenderness, Rosemarie Poiarkov weaves the threads of quotidian life and its secrets, of memory and the present into a compelling contemporary novel.

At the flea market Luise discovers an old wax cylinder, used to record sound more than a century ago. The label reveals it was recorded in 1903, in Vienna’s second district, where Luise happens to live. What does the voice from the past have to say? How well do we listen and what are we willing to hear? The characters in Poiarkov’s immersive debut novel deal with these questions as they face their own issues: Luise’s boyfriend Emil, a sound archivist who loves recording cracking ice and rumbling streets; Luise’s friend Milan who passionately yearns for beautiful Zorica from Novi Sad; her other friend Julia who must face her alcoholic mother; and Josef Grasl, Luise’s father, who roams the streets in search of ghosts from the past.

Some moments feel like regular, everyday life, but turn out to be pivotal turning points that change our future forever.

One hot day in August Elena celebrates her 88th birthday. Everyone is there: her daughters Martina and Renate, her grandson Daniel and his girlfriend Sasha. Their celebration is abundant, with lots of honey schnapps, wild polkas, and much joy. And yet, all Elena can think about is Martina’s childhood friend Rike who fell to her death from the cherry tree right here in the garden fifty years ago. Tina Pruschmann’s intense and heart-felt debut novel delves deep into the lives and fates of its characters. It examines those special moments in life, those turning points that determine our future. They are days of irrevocable decisions; days when time and all its promises and desires come to a standstill.

A biography based on the personal notes of Emperor Franz Joseph's mother "Sophie impressed everyone with her tall, noble figure and fresh spirit" Prince Metternich

Archduchess Sophie is considered one of the most fascinating figures of the imperial court in Vienna. As the mother of emperor Franz Joseph she played an influential role in the imperial family. Despite her political interests, she was smart enough to stay in the background. Popular portrayals of Sophie as "Sisi's evil mother-in-law" or "the secret empress" are by no means confirmed in her personal notes. Ingrid Haslinger spent many years thoroughly researching archives and examining the complete diaries and letters written by Sophie. The result is a wholly new, highly personal look at a woman so relevant for Austrian history and an intimate portrait of a fascinating life.

Depression, dementia and burnout are the leading causes of illness in our times. A tour guide to our mental state.

What is good for our mental wellbeing, from our baby years to old age? We live in times where mental illness and confusion are on the rise, our society is rapidly changing, and people are more and more stressed and overwhelmed. Only a few years ago, philosophers described this phenomenon as "a society of fatigue". Increasingly this fatigue seems to expand into fear and helplessness. The authors take readers on a journey through the wondrous world of our psyche. They answer questions that we have all encountered when our minds enter a state of emergency and they ask further questions in a world that's becoming crazier each day.

A critical cultural history of terrorists claiming to act in the name of God while denying his very existence in their actions

Terrorists shoot into a crowd at Bataclan in Paris killing dozens; Guardians of public morals have thousands beheaded during the French Revolution with the aim of realizing the "ideals of enlightenment"; Dostojevsky's "Demons" murder because their nihilism has destroyed any sense of morals – What goes on in these minds? How can people declare themselves lords over life and death, thus putting themselves above God? When they act in the name of God or political ideals, Wali claims provocatively, they are in fact enacting the opposite: What drives these murderers is a fascination with violence, the feeling of absolute power, the desire to spread mortal fear, and the wish to destroy the social fundament of trust.