Matthias Politycki

Matthias Politycki (born in Karlsruhe on May 20, 1955) is a German novelist and poet. He studied at LMU Munich and the University of Vienna and obtained a PhD in philosophy in 1987. His first novel Aus Fälle/Zerlegung des Regenbogens. Ein Entwickelungsroman. (Drop Outs / Disassembling the Rainbow. An Entwicklungsroman) appeared that same year. His breakthrough came in 1997 with Weiberroman (Novel of Women) and in 2008 with his cruise ship satire In 180 Tagen um die Welt (Around the World in 180 Days).

His lifetime passion to travel to foreign countries also influences his perception of his own culture, and provides a source of new ideas for his writing. Politycki's London for Heroes. The Ale Trail – an ale tale emerged from his excursions to London's East End pubs while he was Writer in Residence at Queen Mary University of London in 2009. His books have been translated into French, Italian, Japanese and Chinese. His Next World Novella (Jenseitsnovelle) was translated by Anthea Bell, OBE and published by Peirene Press in 2011.

Politycki has completed numerous book tours, including at the Edinburgh World Writers' Conference in August 2012 and the Belfast Festival at Queen's in October 2014. His collected poems were published by Hoffmann und Campe in 2018. He has won numerous awards including the Ernst-Hoferichter-Preis in 2009.