Sten Nadolny
Encyclopedia
Sten Nadolny, is a German novelist. His parents, Burkhard and Isabella Nadolny, were also both writers.
, in Upper Bavaria
. After receiving his Abitur, he studied history and political science in Munich, Göttingen, Tübingen and Berlin. Nadolny received his PhD in 1976 at the Free University of Berlin
. His dissertation was on German disarmament diplomacy at the 1932/33 Geneva Conference
shortly before Hitler came to power. Nadolny's grandfather, Rudolf Nadolny, had in fact led the German delegation.
Nadolny worked for about a year as a history teacher before entering the film industry as a production manager, an experience he wrote about in his first novel, the semi-autobiographical Netzkarte. He currently lives in Berlin
.
His best known work is The Discovery of Slowness
(1987; originally published in 1983 as Die Entdeckung der Langsamkeit), a fictionalized meditation on the life and lessons of British Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin
. A pre-publication portion of the novel titled Kopenhagen 1801 (which would become the fifth chapter) had earned Nadolny the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize in 1980.
Life
Nadolny grew up in the town of TraunsteinTraunstein
Traunstein is a town in the south-eastern part of Bavaria, Germany, and is the administrative center of a district by the same name. It is situated at the heart of a region called Chiemgau, approximately 11 km east of Lake Chiemsee between Munich and Salzburg, 15 km north of the Alps, and...
, in Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany.- Geography :Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered around the city of Munich. It is subdivided into four regions : Ingolstadt, Munich, Bayerisches Oberland , and Südostoberbayern...
. After receiving his Abitur, he studied history and political science in Munich, Göttingen, Tübingen and Berlin. Nadolny received his PhD in 1976 at the Free University of Berlin
Free University of Berlin
Freie Universität Berlin is one of the leading and most prestigious research universities in Germany and continental Europe. It distinguishes itself through its modern and international character. It is the largest of the four universities in Berlin. Research at the university is focused on the...
. His dissertation was on German disarmament diplomacy at the 1932/33 Geneva Conference
Geneva Conference
Several international or multinational conferences have been called the Geneva Conference, because they were held in the city of Geneva, Switzerland...
shortly before Hitler came to power. Nadolny's grandfather, Rudolf Nadolny, had in fact led the German delegation.
Nadolny worked for about a year as a history teacher before entering the film industry as a production manager, an experience he wrote about in his first novel, the semi-autobiographical Netzkarte. He currently lives in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
Literary works
Nadolny's first novel, Netzkarte was published in 1981. Originally, it was written as a script for a film that was never realized. It details the adventures of a young man named Ole Reuter, who purchases a "Netzkarte", or ticket that allows him to travel by train throughout (then West) Germany. Nadolny revisits the character of Ole Reuter in a sequel, Er oder Ich ("Him or Me"), published in 1999.His best known work is The Discovery of Slowness
The Discovery of Slowness
The Discovery of Slowness is a novel by Sten Nadolny, written under a double conceit: first, as a novelization of the life of British Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin, and second as a hymn of praise to "slowness," a quality which Nadolny's fictional Franklin possesses in abundance...
(1987; originally published in 1983 as Die Entdeckung der Langsamkeit), a fictionalized meditation on the life and lessons of British Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin
John Franklin
Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin KCH FRGS RN was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. Franklin also served as governor of Tasmania for several years. In his last expedition, he disappeared while attempting to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic...
. A pre-publication portion of the novel titled Kopenhagen 1801 (which would become the fifth chapter) had earned Nadolny the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize in 1980.
Awards
- 1980: Ingeborg Bachmann PrizeIngeborg Bachmann PrizeThe Festival of German-Language Literature, formerly Ingeborg Bachmann Prize, is a literary competition which takes place yearly in Klagenfurt, Austria...
- 1985: Hans Fallada PrizeHans Fallada PrizeThe Hans Fallada Prize is a German literary prize given by the city of Neumünster in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Since 1981 it has been normally awarded every two years to a young author from the German-speaking world...
- 1986: Premio Vallombrosa
- 1995: Ernst Hoferichter Prize
- 2004: Jakob Wassermann Literature Prize
- 2005: Mainzer Stadtschreiber
- 2010: Weilheimer Literature Prize