Monika Czernin is an internationally renowned filmmaker and author who started her career as a journalist for Austrian Radio and Television. At that time, she also ran the contemporary art page of a national daily paper. Focusing on central figures and turning points in European history, her book Anna Sacher und ihr Hotel was on the Spiegel bestseller list for weeks and her book Der Kaiser reist incognito was chosen by the Süddeutsche Zeitung magazine in February 2022 in the list of the 100 books you should have read in your lifetime. She is also the 2023 winner of highly regarded Friedrich Schiedel Literature Prize of the city of Bad Wurzach.