Radek Knapp was born in 1964 in Warsaw, and has lived in Vienna since 1976. He studied philosophy at the University of Vienna, supporting himself by giving tennis lessons, helping at a sauna and selling sausages. He was awarded the Aspekte literary prize for his debut collection of stories Franio. This is his first novel. Previous publication: Franio, 1994. (Deuticke Verlag) Critical acclaim for Franio 'Radek Knapp is a real discovery', Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 'The most interesting debut of the year', Focus '...exceptionally talented', Spiegel Translation rights available from Piper Verlag GmbH. Georgenstrasse 4 D-80799 Munich Tel: 0049 89 3818 010 Fax: 0049 89 3387 04 email:info@Piper.de Applications for assistance with translation costs - Austria Piper Verlag Reinhard Piper, who founded the firm in 1904, published many leading contemporary authors, a tradition followed by his son and grandson in succession. After 1945 the programme expanded to include philosophy, literature and non-fiction. Piper Verlag, which now includes Malik Verlag, an imprint of Piper, and Ernst Kabel Verlag GmbH, has been part of the Swedish group Bonnier since 1995. Authors include Ingeborg Bachmann, Gaby Hauptmann, Edgar Hilsenrath, Sten Nadolny and Gabriele Wohmann.