Martina Hefter (born 11 June 1965 in Pfronten) is a German author and performance artist. Her works have received numerous literature prizes both for poetry and for prose.
Martina Hefter initially trained as a gymnastics teacher with a focus on dance. She then did additional training in contemporary performance dance in Munich and Berlin. Afterwards, she studied at the German Institute for Literature in Leipzig where she lives since 1997. She works as a performance artist and author combining dance and language elements. [1]
After her debut novel Junge Hunde (2001), she published two more prose works before turning to poetry and publishing several poetry collections with the publisher Kookbooks. In 2024, she published her first novel in 16 years titled Hey guten Morgen, wie geht es dir?. Critics praised its poetic language. [2] According to the Jury of the German Book Prize, the novel "navigates between melancholy and euphoria, reflecting on trust and deception". [3] [4]
Hefters Novel Hey guten Morgen, wie geht es dir? (2024) tells the story of Juno, a dancer who lives with her sick husband Jupiter. At night, she escapes into the world of love-scamming. Juno uses online-connections to create an alternative identity and escape her everyday life. She forms an unexpected connection with the scammer Benu. The book has been awarded the German Book Prize 2024.