Ann Esswein

Sound Residency Program | January 2026
Website | Social Media

About the work 

Force Majeure is a feminist novel that questions normative role expectations of women and romantic relationship constructs by default. After freeing herself from a suffocating relationship that had lasted since her youth, Tar meets the shameless Maritza, who is forty years her older and becomes not only a mentor figure but also her best friend. The book is based on a concept of Italian difference feminism, called Affidamento, which describes much more than just a friendship; it is a conscious political practice designed to help women find their own voice in a male-dominated world.

About the creative writing workshop

During her residency, Ann shared her practice in a creative writing workshop. The participants were invited to write a text and exchange words. Ten minutes to search for an object that inspires us. Thirty-five minutes for writing, having in mind the questions of how to describe the object of choice without naming it, or challenging yourself by using words you would usually not use. Ending with time to exchange words by physically cutting them out of the paper and giving them to the person with whom you agree to make the exchange.

The balancing sculpture is the result of the creative writing workshop. It combed the texts written during the workshop and pictures of the described objects, made by Katarzyna Myrda and Annie Chiclano Carrillo.

BIO

Ann Esswein is an author living in Berlin. She writes novels, short stories, theatre and radio plays. Her debut novel Mimikry was published in 2024, followed by Jahre ohne Sprache in 2025. Ann is a founding member of the Selbstlaut collective, which reports critically on power structures.