Frenty Germanos

Freddy Germanos (1934-1999) was born in Athens, with roots in Mytilene. He studied at the then Panteion Higher School and the Olson School of Journalism. He was fluent in English and French. He began writing at the age of 18, starting by winning second prize in the Panhellenic Short Story Competition established by Babis Klaras in "Vradini." From 1953, as a freelance reporter, he undertook numerous journalistic assignments in various countries for newspapers and magazines. He worked as a reporter for "Eleftheria" (1954-1960), as a columnist for "Mesimvrini" (1960-1967) under Eleni Vlachou, for "Apogevmatini" (1968-1973), and concluded his journalistic career at "Eleftherotypia" (1975-1990), from which he resigned ("prematurely," some said) to devote himself to writing. He became widely known as a humorist with a natural wit, keen observation, and original style. In 1964, his first book was published by "Galaxias," featuring short humorous stories that were "not exactly humorous, nor exactly stories." It was "Excuse Me, Wrong Number," which sold 150,000 copies in the following years. He wrote a total of 25 books, placing him among the most widely read Greek authors of our time. He believed that his writing career truly began in 1978 when he wrote "Hostile Planet," a series of fictional stories, followed a year later by "A Smiling Afternoon." In 1985, with his historical novel "My Dear Sophia," he opened a new chapter that continued with books like "The Execution," 1986, "Elli Lambeti," 1996, "Teresa," 1997, and others. "The Object," which refers to the life of Nikos Zachariadis, is his last manuscript, published in 2000.