Michael Köhlmeier
Michael Köhlmeier | |
|---|---|
 Michael Köhlmeier in Olomouc | |
| Born | 15 October 1949 |
| Education | University of Marburg |
| Occupations | writer, musician |
| Spouse | Monika Helfer (1981-) |
Michael Köhlmeier (born 15 October 1949 in Hard, Austria)[1] is a contemporary Austrian writer and musician.
He studied Politics and German (1970–1978) at the University of Marburg, Germany, and Mathematics and Philosophy at the universities in Giessen and Frankfurt, Germany.[1] Recent acclaim hailed from his radio broadcasts of casually told antique myths (Telemachus and Calypso) and biblical stories (Moses), which were later issued as CDs and in book form.[1][2]
Together with Reinhold Bilgeri he has composed cabaret programs and song lyrics, which both artists presented in public as the Duo Bilgeri & Köhlmeier.[3] With the group Schellinski he has been writing song texts in Vorarlberg dialect since 2004.
In 1981 he married the writer Monika Helfer. Their daughter Paula Köhlmeier died in an accident in 2003, at the age of 21, and he dedicated his book Idylle mit ertrinkendem Hund (Idyll With Drowning Dog) as a memorial to her and his surviving family.[4]
Other books include Abendland (Occident, Carl Hanser Verlag, August 2007, ISBN 978-3-446-20913-8), about the memoirs of a mathematics professor, telling the history of two families over the past 95 years.[5] It has met with critical acclaim.[6]
In 2025 his latest novel Die Verdorbenen (The Corrupted) was placed on the longlist of the German Book Prize.[7]
Michael Köhlmeier lives as a free-lance writer in Hohenems, Vorarlberg. In 1997 he received the Grimmelshausen Prize.
Awards
[edit]- Johann Peter Hebel Prize (1988)[2]
- Manès Sperber Prize for Literature (1994) [1][2]
- Golden Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service of Vienna (2007)[1]
- Prize Acknowledging Literary Achievements (2008)[1]
- Max Frisch Prize (2026)[8]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Prize Acknowledging Literary Achievements of Michael Köhlmeier", Austrian Federal Chancellery, 23 June 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
- 1 2 3 "KÖHLMEIER, Michael" Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Second Dimension press author page, 12 March 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
- ↑ "Bilgeri und Köhlmeier: Die Wiederbelebung des legendären Duos" Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Musikladen. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
- ↑ "Michael Köhlmeier: Idylle mit ertrinkendem Hund", review by Dietmar Jacobsen, 22 May 2009, PoetenLaden. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
- ↑ "Abendland (Occident)" Archived 14 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, New Books in German, Autumn 2009, Issue 26. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
- ↑ "Das ganze Leben: Michael Köhlmeiers monumentales Jahrhundertepos »Abendland« wagt viel und gewinnt.", review by Verena Auffermann, 20 September 2007, Die Zeit No 39. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
- ↑ "Longlist 2025". deutscher-buchpreis.de. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- ↑ "MAX FRISCH-PREIS 2026". Schauspielhaus Zürich (in German). 1 June 2026. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
