Markus Ostermair was born in 1981. He lives in Munich, where he studied German and English and works as a freelance writer, copywriter and translator from English. His involvement with the subject of homelessness began when he was doing his community service at the Munich railway station mission. In his debut novel „Der Sandler“, he describes the everyday lives of homeless people with a large cast of characters. The novel was published in September 2020 by Osburg Verlag, Hamburg, and was awarded the Tukan-Preis of the City of Munich in the same year. In October 2021, he was also awarded the Bayerische Kunstförderpreis in the category "Literature". He will live at the Künstlerhaus for 11 months.