Solothurner Literaturpreis
1 appearances
-
Edition 15 (2008) Winner
Jenny Erpenbeck
ジェニー・エルペンベック
Jenny Erpenbeck
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1967-03-12 （East Berlin, East Germany）
- Nationality
- German
- Languages
- German
- Residence History
- Berlin → Italy (one year, childhood)
Career
- Occupations
- Writer, Opera director
- Active Years
- 1994-
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Humboldt University of Berlin | Theatre studies (attended) | — | — | 1988–1990 | Germany |
| Hanns Eisler Music Conservatory (Berlin) | Music theatre directing | — | — | 1990–1994 | Germany |
Humboldt University of Berlin
Theatre studies (attended)
Period:
1988–1990
Country:
Germany
Studied theatre 1988–1990; changed to music theatre directing in 1990.
Hanns Eisler Music Conservatory (Berlin)
Music theatre directing
Period:
1990–1994
Year of Graduation:
1994
Country:
Germany
Completed studies in 1994; produced opera-directing works.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Ingeborg Bachmann Competition — Jury Prize | — | — | Ingeborg Bachmann Competition (Klagenfurt) | 受賞 |
| 2015 | Independent Foreign Fiction Prize | The End of Days (Aller Tage Abend) | — | The Independent | 受賞（翻訳者Susan Bernofskyと共有） |
| 2016 | Thomas Mann Prize | — | — | Thomas Mann Prize committee | 受賞 |
| 2013 | Joseph Breitbach Prize | — | — | Joseph Breitbach Prize organization | 受賞 |
| 2014 | Hans Fallada Prize | — | — | Hans Fallada Prize committee | 受賞 |
| 2022 | Uwe Johnson Prize | Kairos | — | Academy of Sciences and Literature (Mainz) | 受賞 |
| 2024 | International Booker Prize | Kairos | — | The Booker Prizes | 受賞 |
Ingeborg Bachmann Competition — Jury Prize
2001
Organization:
Ingeborg Bachmann Competition (Klagenfurt)
Result:
受賞
Independent Foreign Fiction Prize
2015
Work:
The End of Days (Aller Tage Abend)
Organization:
The Independent
Result:
受賞（翻訳者Susan Bernofskyと共有）
Thomas Mann Prize
2016
Organization:
Thomas Mann Prize committee
Result:
受賞
Joseph Breitbach Prize
2013
Organization:
Joseph Breitbach Prize organization
Result:
受賞
Hans Fallada Prize
2014
Organization:
Hans Fallada Prize committee
Result:
受賞
Uwe Johnson Prize
2022
Work:
Kairos
Organization:
Academy of Sciences and Literature (Mainz)
Result:
受賞
International Booker Prize
2024
Work:
Kairos
Organization:
The Booker Prizes
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Hans Fallada Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 16 (2014) Winner
European Literature Prize (Europese Literatuurprijs)
1 appearances
-
Edition 5 (2015) Winner
National Book Award for Translated Literature
1 appearances
-
Edition 6 (2023) LonglistedWork: Kairos
Set against the collapse of East Germany, a love story gradually turns into a study of power, manipulation, and the way memory can trap people in time.
Love reveals another face as the era collapses around it.
336 pageslove storypowermemoryEast Germanycollapse
International Booker Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 15 (2024) Winner
Works
Major Works
Visitation (Heimsuchung)
2008 NovelA multi-generational narrative that intertwines memory and history, exploring personal lives against larger historical forces.
memoryfamily historyhistory vs. individual
Translations
- English translation: Visitation (Susan Bernofsky)
The End of Days (Aller Tage Abend)
2012 NovelA meditation on life and death, told through fragments of a protagonist's life, examining memory, time and loss.
deathmemorytime
Translations
- English translation: The End of Days (Susan Bernofsky)
Go, Went, Gone (Gehen, ging, gegangen)
2015 NovelAddresses migration and coexistence as a retired academic encounters migrants in contemporary society.
migrationcoexistencesocial critique
Translations
- English translation: Go, Went, Gone (Susan Bernofsky)
Kairos
2021 NovelFollows experiences from the disappearance of East Germany to the present, examining perceptions of time and pivotal historical moments.
timehistoryindividual experience
Translations
- English translation: Kairos (Michael Hofmann)
Bibliography
- The Old Child (Geschichte vom alten Kind) (1999)
- Trinkets (Tand) (2001)
- The Book of Words (Wörterbuch) (2004)
- Visitation (Heimsuchung) (2008)
- The End of Days (Aller Tage Abend) (2012)
- Go, Went, Gone (Gehen, ging, gegangen) (2015)
- Kairos (2021)
- Things That Disappear (Dinge, die verschwinden) (2009, essays)
- Not a Novel: A Memoir in Pieces (Kein Roman: Texte 1992 bis 2018) (2018)
Translations of Works
- Her works have been translated into many languages including English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Czech, Polish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Greek, Turkish, Arabic and others.
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- concise, restrained prosefragmented structures and layered treatment of timesubtle depiction of history and personal memory
- Recurring Motifs
- memorydeath and lossflow of timemigration and borders
Legacy
Recognized internationally for work that explores intersections of personal experience and history as a writer from East Germany. Gained wide attention through awards such as the 2015 Independent prize and the 2024 International Booker Prize.
Academic Societies
- Academy of Sciences and Literature (Mainz)
Quotes
-
"Thirty years have passed since the country in which I was born is gone, so I could dare to look back and take my time to carefully research what I lived through without really being aware of it."
Source: Quoted in interviews and coverage (e.g. The Guardian, The New York Times) (2024)
Trivia
- In 2024 she won the International Booker Prize for Kairos, the first novel originally written in German to win the prize.
- Daughter of translator Doris Kilias and member of a literary family (father John Erpenbeck; grandparents Fritz Erpenbeck and Hedda Zinner).
- Lives in Berlin; husband is conductor Wolfgang Bozic.