Jürg Laederach, born in 1945 in Basel, died in 2018, has published novels, short stories and essays since 1974. His work as a playwright began with the monologue Die Lehrerin verspricht der Negerin wärmere Tränen (1978). Jürg Laederach, who was also a jazz musician and critic, played the clarinet and bass saxophone. Alongside a number of other awards, he was given the Austrian State Award for European Literature in May 1997.