Frank Witzel

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Frank Witzel (born 1955) is a German writer, illustrator, radio presenter and musician who lives in Offenbach am Main, Hesse. [1] [2]

Contents

Frank Witzel at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2015 Frank Witzel Frankfurter Buchmesse 2015.JPG
Frank Witzel at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2015

Life and work

Witzel was born in Wiesbaden, Hesse. After completing his secondary education Witzel studied at a musical conservatory in Wiesbaden having studied piano, cello and classical guitar since childhood. From 1975 onward Witzel published poems in alternative literary magazines including Das Nachtcafé, TJA and Machwerk. His first volume of poetry, Stille Tage in Cliché was published by Nautilus in 1978.

His breakthrough novel Bluemoon Baby (2001), the follow-up, Revolution und Heimarbeit (2003) and later works, include elements of conspiracy theory, espionage genre and politics in a heady mix of popular culture and literary theory that has led to his work being likened to that of Thomas Pynchon. [3]

For his projected novel Die Erfindung der Roten Armee Fraktion durch einen manisch-depressiven Teenager im Sommer 1969, Witzel received the 2012 Robert Gernhardt Prize. This was followed by the award of the German Book Prize in 2015 for the completed 800-page novel. [3] The jury praised its “mania, wit and formal daring and a contemporary historical perspective unique in German-speaking literature”. [4]

In 2025, Witzel is awarded the Joseph-Breitbach-Preis. [5]

Publications

Novels

Essays

Poetry

Translations

Illustrations

Sound

Radio drama

References

  1. "Frank Witzel – Perlentaucher". www.perlentaucher.de (in German). Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  2. "Frank Witzel". www.frankwitzel.de. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Frank Witzel — internationales literaturfestival berlin". www.literaturfestival.com (in German). Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  4. Germany, SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg. "Deutscher Buchpreis für Frank Witzel: Die alte Bundesrepublik als Irrenanstalt – SPIEGEL ONLINE – Kultur". SPIEGEL ONLINE. Retrieved 6 March 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. "Joseph-Breitbach-Preis 2025 geht an Schriftsteller Frank Witzel". wdr.de, 8 May 2025 (in German). Retrieved 8 May 2025.