Becoming a writer was unimaginable for Dita Zipfel for many years.

Not because she didn't feel like it, but because it never occurred to her that she might be gifted enough to do it.

The impetus came from her husband, Finn-Ole Heinrich, a successful author of children's books.

She found his texts great, his job fascinating, and his life as an artist anyway.

And since he kept encouraging her to try writing stories for herself, at some point she just started.

Children's books, plays and screenplays were written at a fast pace, and two years ago Dita Zipfel even received the German Youth Literature Prize for her debut book for young people, “How madness explained the world to me”.

That's why one thing is extremely important to her: she wants to encourage everyone who enjoys writing to do it too.

Her own path proves that if you love writing and dare, it is possible to achieve success.

And when you have someone who encourages you and believes in you.

Just like her and her husband: both are successful, both are happy for each other.

And if things don't go so smoothly for one of them, they are there to help and advise each other.

After the weird and humorous "Wahnsinns" book, "Brummps.

They called him Ant".

A sparkling and original story set in the animal kingdom.

Jonny Ant is not like other ants.

No matter how hard he tries, the others are better: they can carry more, they can smell and see better.

When Jonny's suspiciously large body also begins to tremble and "Brummps" is diagnosed as a contagious disease, he's had enough.

He elopes with his girlfriend Butz, the only ant in the world who doesn't feel like working.

Friendship and love, bullying and courage

"Brummps" isn't just a wonderfully funny, light story.

It is also about the big themes of friendship and love, bullying and courage.

But in such a delightfully wacky way that when the book ends, you're sad.

Of course, this also has a lot to do with Bea Davies' bright red, orange and black pictures.

The writer and illustrator became aware of each other through a mutual friend.

They met for the first time in snowy rain in Berlin on the Tempelhofer Feld.

When they waded through the mud together in a good mood and jumped over puddles with a lot of fun, it quickly became clear that they have the same kind of humor and that it would also work well together when working on a book.

The illustrator and comic artist Bea Davies has a colorful biography.

She was born in Italy in 1990, her father is from Korea, her mother is Italian.

She has lived in Berlin since 2012 and studied in New York for a year.

Her first book "A Child's Journey", a comic about funny episodes from her son's childhood, was first published online as a blog and then as a book in English - because she wanted her entire international family to share in the growing up of the child.

Working with Dita Zipfel was great fun for Bea Davies.

Together they planned and discussed the pictures, together they also decided that they should only be in two colors.

Because they appear so clear, contoured and rich in contrast.

And the combination of black-orange-red both liked best.

Bea Davies worked on Brummps at a large desk, conservatively using pencils and paint.

But her next project, which she doesn't want to reveal anything about, will be created on the screen - again a book, but drawn digitally.

Dita Zipfel also sometimes works at home, at the dining table, but mostly she writes in a shared office that she has rented with two other creative women.

She feels at home there, she likes the team, the chat and the exchange of opinions with her friends.

Not only does she write her books here, she also organizes everything that goes with the writing profession: readings, trips and fees.

Dita Zipfel loves nothing more than delving into stories.

In books and films, in her husband's stories or her own.

Even as a child, she devoured books and watched countless films because her grandfather had a cinema.

She watched some films five times, and at some point she was even able to speak in the dialogues.

Maybe some readers will feel the same after “Brummps” at some point.

On Sunday, November 6th, Dita Zipfel reads the FAZ Sunday stories in aid of the FAZ readers help fundraising project.

And Bea Davies will share how her amazing images for the book came about.