*
Now to the acknowledgements. I should like to point out that the thanks I’m offering here are also an apology. So let me say thank you and sorry to (in no particular order of importance): Hans-Peter Übleis, Theresa Schenkel, Josef Röckl, Bernhard Fetsch, Steffen Haselbach, Katharina Ilgen, Monika Neudeck, Patricia Kessler, Sibylle Dietzel, Iris Haas, Hanna Pfaffenwimmer, Carolin Graehl, Regina Weisbrod, Helmut Henkensiefken, Manuela Raschke and the rest of the family (including Karl and Sally), Barbara Herrmann, Achim Behrend, Ela and Micha, Petra Rode, Sabrina Rabow, Roman Hocke, Claudia von Hornstein, Gudrun Strutzenberger, Cornelia Petersen-Laux and Markus Michalek, Christian Meyer, Peter Prange, Gerlinde Jänicke, Arno Müller, Thomas Koschwitz, Jochen Trus, Stephan Schmitter, Michael Treutler and Simon Jäger, Clemens and Sabine Fitzek, Franz Xaver Riedel, Thomas Zorbach, Marcus Meier, the Krings brothers, Jörn Stollmann and all the booksellers and librarians out there. On this occasion all of you find yourselves just plonked onto a list, even though this book and my ten-year anniversary would have been impossible without all your efforts, love and friendship. But, as you can’t have failed to notice, I’ve needed the space for something more important: my readers.
And you on the sofa at home, in the car, on the beach or on the tram – if you’ve made it this far then all that remains for me to say to you finally (as I’ve been doing for ten years at this point) is ‘thank you’. Thanks for all your words, the time and the experiences we’ve shared. Either in real life or in the virtual world.
I hope you will continue to write to me at [email protected], because I’d still love to hear from you.
And I promise that I’ll strive to ensure that the reverse remains true.
Best regards
Sebastian Fitzek
On 8 May 2016, forty-four years old, 1.8 metres tall (so long as I don’t slouch) and weighing seventy-eight kilos, that’s two kilos heavier than when I started The Package. (Bloody chocolate bars between chapters.)
About the author
SEBASTIAN FITZEK is Germany’s most successful author. His books have sold 12 million copies, been translated into more than twenty-four languages and are the basis for international cinema and theatre adaptations. Sebastian Fitzek was the first German author to be awarded the European Prize for Criminal Literature. He lives in Berlin.
About the translator
JAMIE BULLOCH is the translator of almost forty works from German, including novels by Timur Vermes, Martin Suter and Robert Menasse. His translation of Birgit Vanderbecke’s The Mussel Feast won the 2014 Schlegel-Tieck Prize. He is also the author of Karl Renner: Austria.
An Invitation from the Publisher
We hope you enjoyed this book. We are an independent publisher dedicated to discovering brilliant books, new authors and great storytelling. Please join us at www.headofzeus.com and become part of our community of book-lovers.
We will keep you up to date with our latest books, author blogs, special previews, tempting offers, chances to win signed editions and much more.
Get in touch: [email protected]
www.headofzeus.com
@headofzeus
@HoZ_Books
Head of Zeus Books
The Package Page 23