Kleist Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 44 (2010) Winner
Ferdinand von Schirach
フェルディナント・フォン・シーラッハ
Ferdinand von Schirach
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1964-05-12 （Munich, West Germany）
- Nationality
- Germany
- Languages
- German, English
- Residence History
- Munich → Trossingen → Bonn → Aachen → Berlin
Career
- Occupations
- Lawyer, Writer
- Active Years
- 1994-
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kolleg St. Blasien | — | — | — | — | Germany |
| University of Bonn (Law) | — | Law | — | — | Germany |
Kolleg St. Blasien
Country:
Germany
Attended the Jesuit secondary school
University of Bonn (Law)
Law
Country:
Germany
Studied law and completed referendariat (practical legal training) before beginning work as a lawyer in 1994
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Crime (Verbrechen)
2009 Short stories (legal/crime)A collection of short stories drawing on the author's experience as a lawyer; it explores legal dilemmas and human responsibility.
crimeresponsibilityethicslaw and morality
Adaptations
- [Film/TV adaptation] Verbrechen (adapted) (2013)
Translations
- English: Crime
Guilt (Schuld)
2010 Short stories (legal)A second collection of short stories focusing on guilt and aspects of legal culpability, told from varied perspectives.
guiltatonementjustice
Adaptations
- [TV/Drama] Schuld (adaptation) (2014)
Translations
- English: Guilt
The Collini Case (Der Fall Collini)
2011 Novel (legal drama)Tells the story of the murder of an industrialist and examines how post-war German justice treated former Nazis.
post-war historyaccountabilityjustice
Adaptations
- [Film] The Collini Case (film) / Marco Kreuzpaintner (2019)
Translations
- English: The Collini Case
Punishment (Strafe)
2018 Short stories (punishment/penal themes)A collection completing a trilogy begun with Verbrechen and Schuld, structured to correspond to stages of a criminal indictment.
punishmenttrial procedureethics
Translations
- English: Punishment
Terror
2015 Theatre (interactive play)A courtroom play staging the trial of an air force pilot accused of shooting down a hijacked plane; the audience acts as jury.
moral dilemmastate vs individualtrial
Adaptations
- [Stage/TV] Terror (stage) (2015)
Kaffee und Zigaretten
2019 Short storiesA collection of short pieces portraying everyday life and characters.
everyday lifecharacter studies
Bibliography
- Crime (Verbrechen) (2009)
- Guilt (Schuld) (2010)
- The Collini Case (Der Fall Collini) (2011)
- Terror (2015, play)
- Punishment (Strafe) (2018)
- Kaffee und Zigaretten (2019)
- Trotzdem (2020)
- Jeder Mensch (2021)
- Nachmittage (2022)
Adaptations
- Der Fall Collini was adapted into a 2019 film (director: Marco Kreuzpaintner)
- Several short stories and the play have been adapted for TV and stage productions
Translations of Works
- Verbrechen → Crime (English)
- Schuld → Guilt (English)
- Der Fall Collini → The Collini Case (English)
- Strafe → Punishment (English)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- concise, calm proseforensic/legal perspective in narrationfactual, minimalist description
- Recurring Motifs
- crime and responsibilityguilt and atonementcollision of law and moralityhuman frailty
Legacy
A writer who gained international attention for legal short stories grounded in his experience as a lawyer. A bestselling author translated into many languages, he has influenced legal fiction and theatre.
Archives
- German National Library (materials related to Ferdinand von Schirach)
In Popular Culture
- The play 'Terror' gained attention for its audience-participation format and was noted as a novel form of courtroom drama
Quotes
-
"an internationally celebrated star of German literature."
Source: Focus (Uwe Wittstock, 2013) (2013)
Trivia
- Comes from the noble Schirach family; his grandfather was Baldur von Schirach.
- Published his first short stories at age 45.
- Books have been translated into more than 35 languages.
- The play 'Terror' involves the audience acting as the jury.