The Blue of the Sky

Magdalena Schrefel reads from her debut novel "Das Blaue vom Himmel" (The Blue of the Sky), which envisions a dystopian future: a global geoengineering measure is meant to cool the Earth—but the sky forever loses its blue hue. The protagonist, Hannah, works on an exhibition to preserve the color and asks people with her recording device: "Can you describe the blue?" Her research leads her into her own family, where she encounters long-suppressed silence.

Schrefel weaves together natural and cultural historical research with a moving family story told as a "psychological mosaic" (FAZ) with great empathy. Born in 1984, the author studied European Ethnology and Literary Writing. She has received numerous awards for her plays, radio plays, and stories, including the 3sat Prize at the Ingeborg Bachmann Competition in 2026.