Kim de l'Horizon

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Kim de l'Horizon
Kim de Horizon-62420.jpg
At the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2022
Born (1992-05-09) 9 May 1992 (age 33) [1]
Ostermundigen, Bern, Switzerland [2]
Occupation
  • Writer
  • thespian [3]
Alma mater University of Zurich
Notable worksBlutbuch [a]
Notable awards

Kim de l'Horizon (born 9 May 1992) is a Swiss nonbinary [4] novelist, playwright and thespian. [5] [6] In 2022, they [b] won the German Book Prize and the Swiss Book Prize for their debut novel Blutbuch. [9] [10] [11] [a]

Contents

Early life and education

De l'Horizon was born Dominik Holzer [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] in Ostermundigen, Bern, on 9 May 1992. [1] [c] De l'Horizon moved to the canton of Zürich at the age of seven, and attended gymnasium in Winterthur. [1] [19] De l'Horizon started using a pen name, an anagram of their legal first name and last name. [20]

De l'Horizon studied German studies, film studies, and theater studies at the University of Zurich and the University of Bern, as well as literary writing at the Swiss Literary Institute  [ fr ] in Biel, Bern. [1] [21] In 2022 De l'Horizon was completing a master's degree in transdisciplinary studies at the Zurich University of the Arts. [21]

Career

De l'Horizon is an editor of the literary magazine Delirium  [ de ]. [21] In 2014, de l'Horizon was a co/author of the Szenart production Industrial Radio in cooperation with Radio Kanal K and the Aargauer Literaturhaus Lenzburg. [22] [23] As a member of the collective E0b0ff, [21] [24] [25] de l'Horizon wrote the text of, acted in, and developed costumes for the production Wie eine Barke das Meer aus Testosteron durchpflügen ('Plow through the sea of testosterone like a barge'), which the collective staged in 2017. [3] Between 2017 and 2019 de l'Horizon contributed to the Swiss magazine Tsüri. [26]

De l'Horizon was the 2021–2022 resident author at the Bern Theatre. [17] In September 2022, the theater hosted the premiere of de l'Horizon's play Hänsel & Greta & The Big Bad Witch, the first in a planned series of what de l'Horizon classifies as "posthumanist theater" plays. [27] [28] They are also the author of the 2021 play Dann mach Limonade, Bitch ('Then make lemonade, bitch'). [29] [30]

De l'Horizon won numerous prizes, including the 2015 Treibhaus and the OpenNet competition at the Solothurn Literaturtage für Prosa (Literature Days for Prose), the Textstreich competition for poetry, the Dramenprozessor 2020 sponsorship award from the Winkelwiese theater and a short film competition from the German daily Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung. [31]

Blutbuch

External videos
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg German Book Prize award ceremony [32]

De l'Horizon's debut novel, Blutbuch, [a] is an autofictional novel about secrets and silences within a family and took de l'Horizon ten years to write. [9] [18] In the novel, the non-binary narrator resides in Zürich, after having escaped from life in a small conservative village in Switzerland. [9] Once the narrator's grandmother starts to suffer from dementia, the narrator begins to open up. [9]

In 2022, de l'Horizon won the Literature Prize of the Jürgen Ponto Foundation  [ de ], the German Book Prize, and the Swiss Book Prize for Blutbuch. [21] [6] [5] [11] The jury for the German Book Prize based their decision on the "urgency and literary innovative power" of de l'Horizon's novel, which they were "provoked and enthusiastic" about. [5] [6] [9] De l'Horizon became the first non-binary person to win the German Book Prize. [33] [4]

During the award ceremony for the German Book Prize, de l'Horizon intoned the song Nightcall by Kavinsky [34] before shaving their head in a sign of solidarity with women in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, and dedicated the prize to them. [10] [d] De l'Horizon's gesture was met with cheers and a standing ovation from the audience. [32] Sabine Kieselbach of Deutsche Welle stated that this sort of reception had never happened before in the history of the German Book Prize. [37] After the ceremony, de l'Horizon was the target of threats and online vitriol. [37] [38] [39] People gave Blutbuch one-star reviews on Amazon, and security was provided for de l'Horizon's appearances at the Frankfurt Book Fair. [38]

Personal life

De l'Horizon lives in Zürich and speaks Bernese German. [1] [19] They consider themself genderfluid. [1] [19] They regard Kim de l'Horizon as a fictional character (" Autorenkunstfigur  [ de ]") who studies witchcraft with the feminist writer Starhawk. [1] [19] [29]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 "Blutbuch" may be translated as either "copper beech" in Swiss German, or "blood book" in standard German, where "blood" could refer to the liquid, to violence, and to familial relations.
  2. ↑ De l'Horizon identifies as non-binary. [7] According to their Instagram profile, they either use no pronouns or dey/dem pronouns, German-language neopronouns equivalent to they/them. [8]
  3. ↑ A fictional biography of de l'Horizon states that they were born in 2666 on Gethen. [17] [18] De l'Horizon states that this is both a reference to the novel 2666 by Roberto Bolaño (which represents the future to de l'Horizon) and the novel The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (in which people on the planet Gethen do not have a fixed gender). [18]
  4. ↑ People have cut their hair to protest the September 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, who died after being taken into custody by the Iranian morality police for allegedly wearing a hijab in a manner that violated the dress code. [35] [36]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ""Wir werden insgesamt als Sündenböcke missbraucht"". Blick (in German). 12 November 2022. Archived from the original on 26 November 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ↑ "Kim de l'Horizon aus Ostermundigen gewinnt Deutschen Buchpreis - Regionaljournal Bern Freiburg Wallis - SRF". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) (in German). Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. 1 2 "Wie eine Barke das Meer aus Testosteron durchpflügen — e0b0ff". e0b0ff.ch. Archived from the original on 26 November 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. 1 2 "Bending Gender's Rules, in Life and in German Grammar". The New York Times. 30 November 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 "Kim de l'Horizon, née en Suisse, reçoit le Prix allemand du livre" [Kim de l'Horizon, born in Switzerland, receives the German Book Prize]. SwissInfo (in Swiss French). Keystone-ATS. 17 October 2022. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 "Deutscher Buchpreis für Kim de l'Horizon" [German Book Prize for Kim de l'Horizon]. RTL News (in German). 17 October 2022. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  7. ↑ Jandl, Paul (6 September 2022). "Wie es ist, in einem Körper zu leben, der sich wie Fiktion anfühlt" [What it's like to live in a body that feels like fiction]. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Zürich, Switzerland. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  8. ↑ de l'Horizon, Kim. "Instagram profile". Instagram. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Lehnen, Christine (17 October 2022). "Deutscher Buchpreis geht an Kim de l'Horizon" [German Book Prize goes to Kim de l'Horizon]. Deutsche Welle (in German). Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  10. 1 2 "Swiss author shaves head on stage after winning award". Radio France Internationale. Agence France-Presse. 17 October 2022. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  11. 1 2 swissinfo.ch/gw (20 November 2022). "Kim de l'Horizon wins Swiss Book Prize". SWI swissinfo.ch. Archived from the original on 26 November 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ↑ "Kim de l'Horizon". Viceversa Literatur (in German). Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  13. ↑ "Kim de l'Horizon writes about losses and injuries". Switzerland Times. 22 October 2022. Archived from the original on 23 December 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  14. ↑ "Dominik Holzer". Linkedin. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  15. ↑ "Alle artikel von Dominik Holzer". Tsri (in German). Archived from the original on 4 December 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  16. ↑ Busser, Harry (21 October 2022). "Schweizer Sieg bringt jetzt rund eine halbe Million Franken ein". Handelszeitung (in German). Archived from the original on 31 October 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  17. 1 2 "Akademie der Künste, Berlin". adk.de. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  18. 1 2 3 "Kim de l'Horizon: "Meine Klassenscham ist klarer als meine Geschlechterscham"". ZEIT ONLINE ze.tt (in German). 18 November 2022. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  19. 1 2 3 4 Roth, Rafaela (3 September 2022). "Blutbuch-Autor:in Kim de l'Horizon: Hype oder Befreiungsschlag?". NZZ Magazin (in German). Archived from the original on 23 October 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  20. ↑ Scheu, René (30 October 2022). "Das Sternchen und der Sprachputsch von oben". Blick (in German). Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 "Kim de l'Horizon | Autoren". DuMont Buchverlag. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  22. ↑ "Industrial Radio". www.ruthhuber.ch. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  23. ↑ Kuster, Sabine (18 November 2020). "«Industrial Radio»: Torfeld Nord erwacht dank Theaterverein Szenart zu Leben". Aargauer Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  24. ↑ "Theater im goldenen Käfig – Saiten – Ostschweizer Kulturmagazin und Veranstaltungskalender". Saiten – Ostschweizer Kulturmagazin und Veranstaltungskalender – Das Ostschweizer Kulturmagazin Saiten berichtet über Kultur und Politik – mit grossem, täglich aktuellem Veranstaltungskalender. (in German). Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  25. ↑ Kugler, Hansruedi (17 March 2019). "Auf dem Sprung zum Theaterprofi". St. Galler Tagblatt (in German). Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  26. ↑ "Dominik Holzer". Tsüri.ch #MirSindTsüri (in German). 21 April 2019. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  27. ↑ AG, update; www.update.ch. "Hänsel & Greta & The Big Bad Witch". buehnenbern.ch (in German). Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  28. ↑ Hofmann, Monika (20 September 2022). "Theaterstück «Hänsel & Greta & The Big Bad Witch»". RaBe Info (in German). Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  29. 1 2 "Dann mach Limonade, Bitch". schaefersphilippen (in German). Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  30. ↑ "Theater Winkelwiese - Kim de l'Horizon". Theater Winkelwiese (in German). Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  31. ↑ ""Deutscher Buchpreis 2022": Kim de l'Horizon gewinnt mit dem "Blutbuch"". Leadersnet » Business-News & Events (in German). 17 October 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  32. 1 2 "Preisverleihung 2022: Roman des Jahres" [Awards Ceremony 2022: Novel of the Year]. Deutscher Buchpreis (in German). 17 October 2022. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  33. ↑ "Nach Auszeichnung mit Deutschem Buchpreis: Kim de l'Horizon wird queerfeindlich bedroht". Aktuelle News (in German). 20 October 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  34. ↑ "Warum Kim de l'Horizon diesen Song sang (Podcast)". Deutschlandfunk Kultur (in German). 18 October 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  35. ↑ Badshah, Nadeem (29 September 2022). "Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe cuts her hair in protest over death of Mahsa Amini". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  36. ↑ Satran, Rory (6 October 2022). "Why Women Are Chopping Their Hair for Iran's Mahsa Amini". The Wall Street Journal . Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  37. 1 2 "Nonbinary author's win is exciting – DW – 10/19/2022". dw.com. Archived from the original on 25 October 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  38. 1 2 Nachrichten, Stuttgarter; Stuttgart; Germany (20 October 2022). "Nach Auszeichnung mit Buchpreis: Kim de l'Horizon wird bedroht". stuttgarter-nachrichten.de (in German). Archived from the original on 25 October 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  39. ↑ "Nach Buchpreis-Ehrung: Kim de l'Horizon wird bedroht - WELT". DIE WELT (in German). 20 October 2022. Archived from the original on 25 October 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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