(Business Wire)  In honor of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Graphic Universe™, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, is pleased to announce the release of “The Other Side of the Wall,” Simon Schwartz’s acclaimed debut now available in English for the first time in the United States. The graphic novel reveals life in East Germany in short vignettes that are accessible and appealing to young adult audiences.

Born in 1982 in East Germany, Simon Schwartz was born at a time when the repressive Socialist Unity Party of Germany controlled the area. Shortly before Simon’s birth, his parents decided to leave their home in search of greater freedoms on the other side of the Berlin Wall. But East German authorities did not allow the Schwartzes to leave for almost two years. In the meantime, Simon’s parents struggled with the costs of their decision: the loss of work, the attention of the East German secret police, and the fragmentation of their family.

Simon Schwartz tells the true story of his parents’ coming of age in East Germany, their rejection of the communist way of life and the challenges of leaving that world behind. “The Other Side of the Wall” is a story that will stay with readers long after the last sentence is read.

Visit www.lernerbooks.com for free downloads!

About the Author
Simon Schwartz grew up in Berlin. In 2009, his debut graphic novel, “Drüben!,” now available in the United States as “The Other Side of the Wall,” won the ICOM Independent Comic Prize and was nominated for the German Youth Literature Prize. He currently teaches illustration at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences.

About the Publisher
Graphic Universe™, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, creates high-interest fiction and nonfiction titles through supreme graphic novel artwork and story lines created by experienced artists of this genre.

PUBLICATION DATE:
March 2015

The Other Side of the Wall
HC: 978-1-4677-5840-6
PB: 978-1-4677-6028-7
$29.32, Hardcover, Jacketed
$9.99, Paperback
eBooks Also Available
Ages 12–18
112 Pages ● 7 x 9

To Purchase: Visit your local bookstore, order by phone at 800-328-4929, or visit www.lernerbooks.com.

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