Clemens Meyer
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Clemens Meyer (born 1977) is a German writer. He is the author of ''Als wir träumten'' (''As We Were Dreaming'', 2006), ''Die Nacht, die Lichter'' (''All the Lights'', 2008), ''Gewalten'' (''Acts of Violence'', 2010), ''Im Stein'' (''Bricks and Mortar'', 2013), and ''Die stillen Trabanten'' (''Dark Satellites'', 2017). Of Meyer's works, ''All the Lights,'' ''Bricks and Mortar,'' “As We Were Dreaming,” and ''Dark Satellites'' have been translated into English.


Early life

Meyer was born on 20 August 1977 in
Halle an der Saale Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (), is the second largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Magdeburg as well as t ...
. His studies at the German Literature Institute, Leipzig, were interrupted by a spell in a youth detention centre. He worked as a security guard, forklift driver and construction worker before he became a published novelist.


Work

Meyer won a number of prizes for his first novel ''Als wir träumten'' (''As We Were Dreaming''), published in 2006, in which a group of friends grow up and go off the rails in East Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall. He received the
Rheingau Literatur Preis Rheingau Literatur Preis is a literary prize of Hesse. It is awarded annually since 1994 by the which follows the Rheingau Musik Festival. An author is awarded whose prose gained the attention of the literary critics ("") The prize of 11,111 Eu ...
in 2006. It has been adapted into a film As We Were Dreaming, released in 2015. His second book, ''Die Nacht, die Lichter'' (''All the Lights'', 2008), was translated by Katy Derbyshire and published by independent London publisher
And Other Stories And Other Stories is an independent British book publisher founded in 2009, notable for being the first UK publisher of literary fiction to make direct, advance subscriptions a major part of its business model as well as for its use of foreign l ...
in 2011.And Other Stories
Retrieved 23 January 2013
It won the
Leipzig Book Fair Prize The Leipzig Book Fair Prize () is a literary award assigned annually during the Leipzig Book Fair The Leipzig Book Fair () is the second largest book fair in Germany after the Frankfurt Book Fair. The fair takes place annually over four days a ...
in 2008. His third book, ''Gewalten'' (''Acts of Violence''), is a diary of 2009 in eleven stories. His 2013 novel ''Im Stein'' (''Bricks and Mortar'') was translated by Katy Derbyshire and included in the long list for the International Man Booker Prize. The novel won the prestigious Bremer Literaturpreis in 2014, and was shortlisted for the Deutsche Buchpreis in 2013. The English translation won the "Straelener Übersetzerpreis" of the
Kunststiftung NRW Kunststiftung NRW (''Art Foundation NRW'') is a foundation created by the government of the Germany, German state North Rhine-Westphalia. It was established on September 12, 1989, and started operations in the spring of 1990. It is based in Düssel ...
in 2018 and was shortlisted for the 2019
Best Translated Book Award The Best Translated Book Award was an American literary award that recognized the previous year's best original translation into English, one book of poetry and one of fiction. It was inaugurated in 2008 and was conferred by Three Percent, the onl ...
. His third novel, ''Die Projektoren'', was in 2024 also shortlisted for the Deutsche Buchpreis. When he again failed to win, he called the jury "bloody wankers" ("verdammte Wichser") and left the prizegiving ceremony, explaining later that he considered the decision "a shame for literature


Awards

*Winner of the
Leipzig Book Fair Prize The Leipzig Book Fair Prize () is a literary award assigned annually during the Leipzig Book Fair The Leipzig Book Fair () is the second largest book fair in Germany after the Frankfurt Book Fair. The fair takes place annually over four days a ...
2008 *Winner of the German Screenplay Award 2015 for '' In the Aisles''


Bibliography

Novels * ''Als wir träumten'' (2006). trans. Katy Derbyshire, ''While We Were Dreaming'', London: Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2023. * ''Im Stein'' (2013). trans. Katy Derbyshire, ''Bricks and Mortar'', London: Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2016 * ''Die Projektoren'' (2024). S. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main.

Short stories and collected writings *''Die Nacht, die Lichter'' (2008). trans. Katy Derbyshire, ''All the Lights'', London: And Other Stories, 2011. *''Gewalten'' (''Acts of Violence'', 2010) *''Der Untergang der Äkschn GmbH: Frankfurter Poetikvorlesungen'' (''The Downfall of Action Ltd.: Frankfurt poetics lectures'', 2016) *''Die stillen Trabanten'' (2017). trans. Katy Derbyshire, ''Dark Satellites'', London: Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2020. Other publications *''Zwei Himmelhunde: Irre Filme, die man besser liest'' (''Movies that you better read'', with Claudius Nießen, 2016)


Filmography

Screenplays *''Herbert'' (directed and co-written by Thomas Stuber, 2015) *''Der Dicke liebt'' (short film, directed and co-written by Alexander Khuon, 2016) *'' In the Aisles'' (directed and co-written by Thomas Stuber, 2018) *''
Tatort ("Crime Scene") is a German-language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with 30 feature-length episodes per year, making it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed by the German public-se ...
: Angriff auf Wache 08'' (TV film, directed and co-written by Thomas Stuber, 2019) Acting roles *''Als wir träumten'' (2015) *''Herbert'' (2015) *''In the Aisles'' (2018) *''Tatort: Angriff auf Wache 08'' (2019)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Clemens 1977 births Living people Writers from Halle (Saale) German male writers