Daniel Kehlmann (; born 13 January 1975) is a German-language novelist and playwright of both Austrian and German nationality.
[Interview with Kehlmann]
in the ''Tagesspiegel''.
His novel ''Die Vermessung der Welt'' (translated into English by
Carol Brown Janeway as ''
Measuring the World'', 2006) is the best selling book in the German language since
Patrick Süskind's ''
Perfume'' was released in 1985. In an ironic way, it deals with
Alexander von Humboldt, one of the world's best-known naturalists of the 18th and 19th centuries, and Humboldt's relationship with the mathematician
Carl Friedrich Gauss. According to ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', it was the world's second-best selling novel in 2006.
All his subsequent novels reached the number one spot on Germany's ''
Spiegel'' bestseller list and were translated into English. He collaborated with
Jonathan Franzen and Paul Reitter on Franzen's 2013 book ''
The Kraus Project''. Kehlmann's play ''The Mentor'', translated by
Christopher Hampton, opened at
Theatre Royal, Bath, in April 2017 starring
F. Murray Abraham and transferred to the London
West End in July 2017. In October 2017, his play ''Christmas Eve'', also translated by Christopher Hampton, premiered at the Theatre Royal. His novella ''
You Should Have Left'' (2016) was adapted into a movie starring
Kevin Bacon
Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. Known for various roles, including leading man characters, Bacon has received numerous accolades such as a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Bacon made his featu ...
and
Amanda Seyfried. Kehlmann's highly praised novel ''
Tyll'' (2017), which sold more than 600,000 copies in German alone and was published in the US in February 2020, is currently being adapted into a TV series for
Netflix by the makers of ''
Dark''. The novel was shortlisted for the
2020 International Booker Prize. Kehlmann's play ''Die Reise der Verlorenen'' was adapted for BBC radio by
Tom Stoppard under the title ''The Voyage of the St. Louis''.
Life and career
Kehlmann was born in Munich, the son of the television director
Michael Kehlmann and the actress Dagmar Mettler. His family moved to his father's hometown Vienna when Daniel was six years old. His paternal grandparents were born Jewish, and his father was in a concentration camp during WWII. Kehlmann currently lives in Berlin.
Since 2015, Kehlmann has held the Eberhard Berent Chair at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
. He is a member of the
Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung.
From 2016–2017 he was a fellow at the
New York Public Library's Cullman Center for Writers and Scholars.
The novel ''
Tyll'' was shortlisted for the
International Booker Prize.
Kehlmann also works as a screenwriter and wrote the script for the TV film ''Das letzte Problem''. He adapted
Thomas Mann's novel ''
Confessions of Felix Krull Confidence Man'' for an upcoming movie.
He is married and has a son.
Awards and honors
*2006
Kleist Prize
*2007
WELT Literaturpreis
*2007 Grand Prix du livre des dirigeants
*2008
Thomas-Mann-Preis
*2008
PO Enquist Pris
*2010
Prix Cévennes du roman européen
*2012
Nestroy Theatre Prize, Best play – Authors prize for ''Geister in Princeton''
*2018
Friedrich-Hölderlin-Preis
*2018
Frank-Schirrmacher-Preis
*2019
Anton Wildgans Prize
*2019
Schubart Literaturpreis
*2021
Elisabeth-Langgässer-Literaturpreis
* 2022 Marbacher Schillerrede
* 2024
Ludwig Börne Prize
Bibliography
Novels
* ''Beerholms Vorstellung'' (1997).
* ''Unter der Sonne'' (1998).
* ''Mahlers Zeit'' (1999).
* ''Der fernste Ort'' (2001).
*''Ich und Kaminski'' (2003). ''
Me and Kaminski'', translated by Carol Brown Janeway (Pantheon, 2008).
* ''Die Vermessung der Welt'' (2005). ''
Measuring the World'', translated by
Carol Brown Janeway (Pantheon, 2006).
* ''Requiem für einen Hund'' (2008).
* ''Leo Richters Porträt'' (2009).
* ''Ruhm. Ein Roman in neun Geschichten'' (2009).
''Fame. A Novel in Nine Stories'', translated by Carol Brown Janeway (Pantheon, 2010).
* ''Lob: Über Literatur'' (2010).
* ''F''. (2013). ''F. A Novel.'' Translated by Carol Brown Janeway (Pantheon, 2014).
* ''Du hättest gehen sollen'' (2016). ''
You Should Have Left'', translated by
Ross Benjamin (Pantheon, 2016).
* ''Tyll'' (2017). ''
Tyll'', translated by Ross Benjamin (Pantheon, 2020).
* ''Lichtspiel'' (2023).
Plays
*''Geister in Princeton'' (2013).
*''Der Mentor'' (2014). ''The Mentor'', translated by Christopher Hampton (Faber and Faber, 2017).
*''Heilig Abend'' (2017). ''Christmas Eve'', translated by
Christopher Hampton (Faber and Faber, 2017).
* ''Die Reise der Verlorenen'' (2018)
Filmography
*''Unter der Sonne'' (directed by
Baran Bo Odar, 2006; short story)
*' (Isabel Kleefeld, 2012; novel)
*''
Measuring the World'' (
Detlev Buck, 2012; novel and screenplay)
*''
Me and Kaminski'' (
Wolfgang Becker, 2015; novel)
*''Das letzte Problem'' (
Karl Markovics, 2019; screenplay)
*''
You Should Have Left'' (
David Koepp, 2020; novel)
*
Verhör in der Nacht' (
Matti Geschonneck, 2020; screenplay, based on Kehlmann's stageplay ''Christmas Eve'')
*''
Confessions of Felix Krull'' (
Detlev Buck, 2021; screenplay)
*
Nebenan' (
Daniel Brühl, 2021; screenplay)
References
External links
*
James Wood reviews Daniel Kehlmann's novel ''Tyll,''''The New Yorker,'' February 2020
''New York Times,'' February 2020
Jonathan Franzen interviews Daniel Kehlmann Salon, August 2014
The Kraus Project: A Talk by Jonathan Franzen, Daniel Kehlmann, and Paul Reitter October 2014
Reading Daniel Kehlmann by Arnon Grunberg.
Words Without Borders, 6 April 2009
"Humboldt's Gift" ''The Nation'', 30 April 2007.
Daniel Kehlmann Profile ''Guardian'', November 2014
Q & A with Daniel Kehlmann ''Financial Times,'' 24 October 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kehlmann, Daniel
1975 births
Living people
20th-century German novelists
21st-century German novelists
20th-century Austrian novelists
21st-century Austrian novelists
German male novelists
Austrian male writers
Magic realism writers
Academic staff of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
German people of Austrian-Jewish descent
Kleist Prize winners
Anton Wildgans Prize winners
20th-century German male writers
21st-century German male writers