Anila Wilms (born 1971 in Tirana) is an Albanian-German novelist and essayist. She writes in Albanian and German and is known particularly for historical novels exploring Albanian history and its international dimensions.
Life
Wilms was born in Tirana and grew up in the Albanian port city of Durrës. Her maternal family belonged to a formerly wealthy and politically influential family of beys who, following the Communist takeover of Albania after the Second World War, were regarded as part of the old elite, expropriated and deprived of their former political influence. Her father, Bashkim Habibi, is an orthopaedic surgeon.
From 1989 to 1993, Wilms studied history and philology at the University of Tirana and experienced the political transformation of Albania following the collapse of the Communist regime. In 1994, she moved to Berlin on a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), where she lived until 2021 and continued her historical studies at the Free University of Berlin, where her research focused on Albania during the interwar period. After a period in Cyprus, she moved to London in 2025.
Work
Wilms's literary work is closely associated with the historical novel and draws on extensive historical research. Political upheaval, power structures, and twentieth-century Albanian history are recurring subjects in her fiction.
Her early novel Pritje të bukura (first published 2000; roughly, "Beautiful Receptions") deals with the social upheavals of post-Communist Albania. Set against the political and social transformation of the 1990s, the novel connects individual experiences with contemporary historical developments. At its centre is a female protagonist whose personal relationships and emotional conflicts are intertwined with the changes taking place in Albanian society.
Wilms's novel Vrasje në rrugën e veriut (2007; lit. "Murder on the Northern Road") is based on the 1924 murder of two Americans and the ensuing international competition for oil concessions in Albania. The novel, based on historical events of the 1920s, combines elements of crime fiction with political and cultural history and portrays competing domestic and international political and economic interests in the emerging Albanian state. The German version was published in 2012 as Das albanische Öl oder Mord auf der Straße des Nordens (lit. "The Albanian Oil, or Murder on the Northern Road").
In 2025, Wilms published the historical novel Dielli në mërgim (lit. "The Sun in Exile"). Set during the Second World War and its aftermath, the novel addresses the fate and survival of Jews in Albania. The story is based on historical events and is told from the perspective of the young Jewish protagonist Josef Jakoel, with particular attention to the Jewish community of Vlorë.
Wilms has described her fiction as influenced by Albanian narrative traditions and using humour and the grotesque in dealing with political and historical subjects.
In literary scholarship, Wilms's work has been discussed in the context of a proposed "South-Eastern Turn" in contemporary German-language literature.
Alongside her fiction, Wilms has published essays and journalistic writing. From 2016 she contributed to Deutsche Welle, including its Mein Europa (lit. "My Europe") series, writing about European identity, migration, belonging, and multilingualism. Her essays include:
Mein Europa: Ein Gefühl von Zuhause (2016; lit. "A Feeling of Home")
Mein Europa: Was auf dem Spiel steht (2017; lit. "What's at Stake")
Mein Europa: Der Zug fährt vorwärts (2017; lit. "My Europe: The Train Is Moving Forward")
Mein Europa: Himmel, Erde, Identität (2017; lit. "Heaven, Earth, Identity")
Mein Europa: Wie realistisch ist 2025? (2018; lit. "My Europe: How Realistic Is 2025?")
Deutsche Welle also published translations of Wilms's essays in several of its other language editions, including Albanian, Romanian, Bosnian and Croatian.Examples include translations of
Mein Europa: Wie realistisch ist 2025? published by Deutsche Welle in
Albanian,
Romanian,
Bosnian, and
Croatian.
Reception
Pritje të bukura (2000)
Pritje të bukura explores Albania's period of transformation during the 1990s, connecting personal experiences with political and social developments. Wilms herself has described Pritje të bukura as a novel about Albania's post-Communist transition, acknowledging that its protagonist is based on herself and that the novel draws on people and experiences from her own life while combining fact with fiction.
Contemporary reviews also highlighted the contrast between its quiet, emotionally focused narrative passages and its depiction of a society marked by political and social crises. In a review published in Koha Jonë in December 2000, artist and writer Maks Velo contrasted the novel's restrained conversations and intimate situations with the troubled Albanian society forming their background.
Das albanische Öl oder Mord auf der Straße des Nordens (2012)
Das albanische Öl oder Mord auf der Straße des Nordens received substantial attention in German-language criticism. Deutschlandfunk described the novel as a work in which multiple perspectives allow the reader to reconstruct the political and economic conflicts surrounding the young Albanian state, while also noting Wilms's use of humour and grotesque elements. Die Zeit discussed the extensive archival research behind the novel and its use of a historical crime to explore the political struggles of Albania in the 1920s.
The novel has also been described as an unconventional form of crime fiction that resists clear genre classification and incorporates elements of the grotesque and Southeastern European narrative traditions. Other reviewers highlighted the complexity of the plot, its large cast of characters, and its literary treatment of political and social tensions.
The work has also attracted academic attention. Fagan analysed it as part of the "South-Eastern Turn" in contemporary German-language literature, arguing that its shifting perspectives and historical framing contribute to a more nuanced image of Albania and challenge Balkanist stereotypes.
The novel subsequently appeared in Dutch, Italian and French translations. The French edition, Les assassins de la route du Nord (2018; lit. "The Murderers of the Northern Road"), was published by Actes Sud. The publisher described the novel as combining historical subject matter with elements of the political thriller while addressing political, social and cultural conflicts. The work has also been placed in a literary tradition associated with the Albanian writer Ismail Kadare.
The Italian edition, La strada del nord (2016; lit. "The Northern Road"), was similarly discussed as a multifaceted portrayal of an Albania shaped by political and cultural tensions, with particular attention to the relationship between individual actions and historical processes.
Dielli në mërgim (2025)
Dielli në mërgim received critical attention in Albania following its publication. Reviews particularly emphasised the combination of historical research and literary fiction, the differentiated portrayal of Albanian society during the Second World War, and the integration of individual lives into wider historical processes. Critics also noted the careful reconstruction of historical settings. Writer and politician Preç Zogaj described it as a work in the tradition of the classical historical novel and highlighted its reconstruction of wartime Albanian society, its multiple perspectives, and the relationship between historical events and literary imagination.
Essayist Namir Lapardhaja interpreted the novel as a work of literary memory, emphasising its reconstruction of the Jewish community of Vlorë and its placing of the Albanian wartime experience within a broader European and Jewish historical context.
Journalist and publisher Mero Baze described Wilms's treatment of Albanian history as an example of literature's capacity to represent historical complexity and discussed her work in relation to the literary tradition of Ismail Kadare.
Awards and honours
2013: Promotional Prize of the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize
2013: Wittwer Debut Crime Fiction Prize (Wittwer-Debütkrimipreis) at the Stuttgart Crime Fiction Prize (Stuttgarter Krimipreis) for Das albanische Öl oder Mord auf der Straße des Nordens
2014: Comburg Literary Fellowship (Comburg-Literaturstipendium)
Bibliography
Pritje të bukura (roughly, "Beautiful Receptions"). First published by Onufri, Tirana, in 2000; republished by Onufri, Tirana, in 2020, .
Vrasje në rrugën e veriut (lit. "Murder on the Northern Road"). Onufri, Tirana, 2007, .
Das albanische Öl oder Mord auf der Straße des Nordens (lit. "The Albanian Oil, or Murder on the Northern Road"). Transit, Berlin, 2012, .
Dielli në mërgim (lit. "The Sun in Exile"). Botime Dudaj, Tirana, 2025, .
Translations
Wilms translated and reworked her Albanian novel Vrasje në rrugën e veriut into German herself; it was published in 2012 as Das albanische Öl oder Mord auf der Straße des Nordens.
Further translations include:
Dutch: Moord op de noordelijke bergweg. Translated by Dineke Bijlsma. Van Gennep, Amsterdam, 2014, .
Italian: La strada del nord. Translated by Franco Filice. Keller Editore, Rovereto, 2016, .
French: Les assassins de la route du Nord. Translated by Carole Fily. Actes Sud, Arles, 2018, .
Selected interviews
Author portrait on Das albanische Öl and the Chamisso Prize: "Adelbert-von-Chamisso-Preis 2013: Anila Wilms". Robert Bosch Stiftung, 2013 (in German).
Interview on historical research and the writing of Das albanische Öl: "Intervistë me shkrimtaren Anila Wilms". Deutsche Welle, 17 November 2013 (in Albanian). Interview on Wilms's historical research into interwar Albania, her transition from academic research to fiction, and the development of the Albanian and German versions of the novel.
Interview on migration, language and writing in German: Polistina, Francesca (20 March 2015). "Anila Wilms: Dankbarkeit muss ein Emigrant in seinem Herzen tragen". MiGAZIN (in German).
TV interview on Dielli në mërgim and its historical background: "Një Grusht Librash: Dielli në mërgim, Ani Wilms, Lufta e Dytë Botërore në sytë e një djali hebre". Një Grusht Librash (in Albanian).
TV interview on Dielli në mërgim and the history of Jews in Albania: "Rudina – Dielli në mërgim, libri i Ani Wilms, për historinë e hebrenjve gjatë Luftës II Botërore". Rudina (in Albanian).
TV portrait on Wilms's life and literary work: "Rrëfimi i Ani Wilms: Marrëdhëniet e mia me Kadarenë dhe Artan Hoxhën". Exclusive, Top Channel, 8 March 2026 (in Albanian). Extended interview including her relationships with Ismail Kadare and Artan Hoxha.
Podcast interview on Dielli në mërgim and Wilms's historical research: "Ani Wilms: Historia e patreguar e hebrenjve të Vlorës". Apostrof Podcast, episode 67, hosted by Bjorn Runa, 26 April 2026 (in Albanian). The interview discusses Josef Jakoel and his family, the Jewish community of Vlorë, and Albanian society during the Second World War.
Personal and literary TV interview: "Për dashuritë e Ani Wilms". ZëmeMirën, episode 206, hosted by Mira Kazhani, 1 May 2026 (in Albanian). Extended interview on Wilms's life, personal background, relationships and literary work.
References
External links
Anila Wilms reading from Das albanische Öl oder Mord auf der Straße des Nordens, recorded at Literaturhaus Schleswig-Holstein on 12 December 2012, Literaturtelefon Kiel, February 2013 (in German)