Michelle Steinbeck b. 1990 in Lenzburg, Switzerland. She studies philosophy and sociology at the University of Basel and Hamburg. Her debut novel Mein Vater war ein Mann an Land und im Wasser ein Walfisch (My father was a man on land and a whale in the water) was nominated for the German as well as the Swiss Book Prize 2016. In 2018, Eingesperrte Vögel singen mehr followed. In 2020 her collection of short stories, The Return of the Lobster, will be published translated by Jen Calleja.

Steinbeck is senior editor of the "Fabrikzeitung" and columnist for the WOZ - Die Wochenzeitung. Her literary and journalistic output has been translated into several languages. She is a co-founder of the authors collective RAUF .