Wolfgang Herrndorf (12 June 1965 in Hamburg – 26 August 2013 in Berlin) was a German author, painter, and illustrator.

Life and career

In 2002, his debut novel ''In Plüschgewittern'' was published by Zweitausendeins. Despite the protagonist's age of approximately 30 years, Herrndorf describes the novel as youth novel. Critics described the novel as

popular literature Genre fiction, also known as popular fiction, is a term used in the book-trade for fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre, in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre. A num ...

, a reworked version of ''In Plüschgewittern'' was republished by Rowohlt in 2008. A collection of interconnected short stories by Herrndorf was published by Eichborn Verlag under the title of ''Diesseits des Van-Allen-Gürtels'' in 2007; A fictional interview between Herrndorf and an untrustworthy Cosmonaut, which contained many elements from science-fiction, was released the same year, by SuKuLTuR-Verlag. Unreliable narrators are a recurring element in Herrndorf's fiction, which is attributed to the influence of Vladimir Nabokov. His critically and commercially biggest success was the novel ''Tschick'' (published as ''

Why We Took the Car ''Why We Took the Car'' (German: ''Tschick'') is a youth novel by Wolfgang Herrndorf first published in German by Rowohlt Verlag in 2010. The English edition, translated by Tim Mohr, was published by Scholastic in 2014. It deals with the uncon ...

'' in English), a

bildungsroman In literary criticism, a ''Bildungsroman'' (, plural ''Bildungsromane'', ) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood ( coming of age), in which character change is impo ...

about two fourteen-year-old boys. The book was featured on the German list of bestselling books for over a year. He published his next novel ''

Sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...

'' in November 2011. The novel contains elements of crime fiction, society novels and historical novels. Herrndorf quipped, the novel could belong to the genre of the "Trottelroman" (''idiot novel''). ''Sand'' won the Leipzig Book Fair Prize in 2012, ‘’Tschick’’ was nominated for the same prize the year before. Herrndorf's friend Robert Koall accepted the prize in Herrndorf's stead. ''Sand'' also made it to the shortlist of the

German Book Prize The German Book Prize (''Deutscher Buchpreis'') is awarded annually, in October, by the German Publishers and Booksellers Association (''Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels'') to the best new German language novel of the year. The books, publ ...

. Herrndorf, who lived in Berlin, regularly wrote in the web forum "Wir höflichen Paparazzi" (German web forum that reports about random encounters with celebrities), which is acknowledged to have had a strong influence on Herrndorf and worked as a space for resonance. He also participated with contributions for the web blog "Riesenmaschine" (German collaborative blog). He was a member of the national authors football team "Autonama". After being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour (

glioblastoma Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is one of the most aggressive types of cancer that begin within the brain. Initially, signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nonspecific. They may include headaches, personality ch ...

) in February 2010, he began a digital diary called "das Blog Arbeit und Struktur" (the blog Work and Structure) in which he reports about his deadly illness. It was posthumously published in December 2013 by Rowohlt in book form, as the author had requested. Doroth-friedrichwerd-friedhof-berlin - 101

Doroth-friedrichwerd-friedhof-berlin - 101

On 26 August 2013 Herrndorf committed suicide in Berlin. He was interred at the Dorotheenstadt cemetery in Berlin. In 2014 Rowohlt published the sequel of ''

Tschick ''Why We Took the Car'' (German language, German: ''Tschick'') is a youth novel by Wolfgang Herrndorf first published in German by Rowohlt Verlag in 2010. The English edition, translated by Tim Mohr, was published by Scholastic Corporation, Scho ...

'' from Isa's point of view as an unfinished novel with the title ''Bilder deiner großen Liebe'' ('' Pictures Of Your True Love''). The

epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the w ...

by Kathrin Passig and Marcus Gärtner states that Herrndorf himself approved the release and determined the title. The book was first performed as a play in 2015 at the

Staatsschauspiel Dresden The Staatsschauspiel Dresden (State Playhouse Dresden) is a theatre in Dresden. It is maintained by the Free State of Saxony, hence its name. It consists of a main auditorium, the ' (play house), and a studio theatre, the '. It was created in 19 ...

, directed by Jan Gehlers.

Bibliography

Novels

* 2002 – '' In Plüschgewittern'' * 2010 – ''

'' * 2011 – ''

'' * 2014 – '' Bilder deiner großen Liebe'' – unfinished

Nonfiction

* 2013 – '' Arbeit und Struktur''

Other works

* 1998 – with Jürgen Roth: ''

Heribert Faßbender Heribert Faßbender (born 30 May 1941 in Ratingen) is a German sports journalist. Life Faßbender worked since 1963 for German broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) and later for sport magazine ''Sportschau'' on German broadcaster ARD. He i ...

– Gesammelte Werke. Band IX/5: Europameisterschaft 1996, Italien–Deutschland.'' (As Editor) * 2007 – '' Diesseits des Van-Allen-Gürtels'' (A collection of six short stories) * 2007 – '' Die Rosenbaum-Doktrin'' (A fictional interview. Published in ''Schöner Lesen'', Issue #64) * 2018: '' Stimmen. Texte, die bleiben sollten'' (A collection of literary texts written between 2001 and 2010.)

Exhibitions

*2017: Das unbekannte Kapitel. Wolfgang Herrndorfs Bilder. Kunsthaus

Stade Stade (), officially the Hanseatic City of Stade (german: Hansestadt Stade, nds, Hansestadt Stood) is a city in Lower Saxony in northern Germany. First mentioned in records in 934, it is the seat of the district () which bears its name. It is l ...

, June – October 2017 *2015: Wolfgang Herrndorf: Bilder. Literaturhaus

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, June – September 2015 *2016: „Zitate" – Bilder von Wolfgang Herrndorf. Literaturhaus

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, July – September 2016

Awards

*2008 – Deutscher Erzählerpreis für ''Diesseits des Van-Allen-Gürtels'' *2011 – Leipzig Book Fair Prize ( Fiction) für ''Why We Took the Car'' (Nominated) *2011 –

Clemens-Brentano-Preis Clemens-Brentano-Preis of the city of Heidelberg is a literary prize of Germany. It was established in 1993, and named after the German poet Clemens Brentano (1778–1842). The prize money is €10,000. Recipients Source: * 1993 Günter Coufal ...

für ''Why We Took the Car'' *2011 –

Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis The (German Youth Literature Award) is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's and young adult literature. It is Germany's only ...

für ''Why We Took the Car'' *2012 – Hans Fallada Prize *2012 – Leipzig Book Fair Prize ( Fiction) für ''Sand'' *2012 –

Literaturpreis des Kulturkreises der deutschen Wirtschaft Literaturpreis des Kulturkreises der deutschen Wirtschaft is a literary prize of Germany. It was established in 1951. From 2009 to 2016 the prize was awarded in the prose, poetry, drama and translation categories. Since 2017 the award was renamed t ...

External links

*
''Arbeit und Struktur''
Wolfgang Herrndorf's Blog (in German)

(in German) * ttp://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/bestsellerautor-bestsellerautor-wolfgang-herrndorf-mit-48-jahren-gestorben/8699244.html ''Bestsellerautor Wolfgang Herrndorf mit 48 Jahren gestorben''

Der Tagesspiegel ''Der Tagesspiegel'' (meaning ''The Daily Mirror'') is a German daily newspaper. It has regional correspondent offices in Washington D.C. and Potsdam. It is the only major newspaper in the capital to have increased its circulation, now 148,000, s ...

, 27. August 2013. (in German) * Fokke Joel
''Schreiben gegen das Ende''

Die Zeit ''Die Zeit'' (, "The Time") is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The ...

, 27. August 2013. (in German) * Holm Friebe
''Aus der Welt gefallen''
'' Welt am Sonntag'', 1. September 2013. (in German)
Podcast of the Bayrischer Rundfunk (20min)
(in German) * Tillmann Prüfer
Unknown Pictures
(text in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Herrndorf, Wolfgang 1965 births 2013 deaths German male writers Artists from Berlin German caricaturists Suicides by firearm in Germany Artists who committed suicide