Maja Zade was raised in Germany and Sweden and studied at London University, Queen's University in Canada and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. She was Senior Reader at the Royal Court Theatre in London from 1997-99. She is a dramaturg at the Schaubühne Berlin, where she has worked with directors such as Thomas Ostermeier, Katie Mitchell, Ivo van Hove, Luk Perceval, Benedict Andrews and Marius von Mayenburg. Her translations into German include works by Lars von Trier and Caryl Churchill, and she has translated works by Marius von Mayenburg, Roland Schimmelpfennig and Lars Norén into English.