Sharon Dodua Otoo: In Confidence

How do we talk about guilt, grief and anger in a fractured world? In her new book, Sharon Dodua Otoo weaves together personal letters to Black women writers with a nuanced analysis of the present day.

From the co-opting of terms such as ‘woke’, through memories of growing up in 1980s London, to the painful loss of loved ones: in order to understand and share these experiences and social developments, people will have to find new ways of connecting with one another – in a spirit of trust. A collective, empathetic practice for fostering connection in these times.

Sharon Dodua Otoo is a writer, editor of the English-language book series ‘Witnessed’ and curator of the Black literature festival ‘Resonanzen’. Otoo won the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize in 2016 with her text ‘Herr Gröttrup setzt sich hin’. In 2020, she delivered the Klagenfurt Lecture on Literature, ‘Dürfen Schwarze Blumen Malen?’, which was published by Heyn. Her first novel, *Adas Raum*, was shortlisted for the BücherFrauen ‘Christine’ Literary Prize in 2023 and has been translated into several languages. Further awards and fellowships followed; in 2025, she delivered the Zurich Poetry Lecture. Her second novel, *So, in etwa, ist es geschehen*, was published in 2026.