Paul Auster, born in 1947, is one of the most widely read and influential contemporary authors of the United States. After completing university degrees in English and comparative literature, he moved to Paris and worked for a number of years as a translator. In 1987 he achieved international acclaim for The New York Trilogy, a series of experimental detective novels that contain elements not usual to the crime genre. In his fiction Auster addresses questions of identity and the role of coincidence. He views all of his novels as part of a landscape. Auster is vice president of the P.E.N. American Center. His work has been translated into over thirty languages worldwide.

In Berlin he will read from his latest novel Man in the Dark, due to appear in German on October 1. The book is a brilliant parable, artistically daring, and unrelentingly critical – a book about aging, political nightmares, and the Bush era and its consequences. The German version will be read by Jan Josef Liefers, and the literary critic Denis Scheck will moderate the readings.

Reading with Paul Auster on Sept. 29, 2008, at 8:00 p.m. in the Berliner Ensemble

Bertolt-Brecht-Platz 1, Berlin-Mitte

Background Information on the Samuel Fischer Guest Lectures

Paul Auster is the fourth Samuel Fischer guest of honor. The Samuel Fischer Guest Lectures are held in conjunction with the Samuel Fischer Guest Professorship for Literature, instituted at Freie Universität Berlin in 1998 by publishers S. Fischer in association with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Freie Universität Berlin, and the Veranstaltungsforum of the Publishing Group Georg von Holtzbrinck. The previous guests of honor were Antonio Skármeta (2001), Carlos Fuentes (2005), and Orhan Pamuk (2007).

During the 10th anniversary year of the Samuel Fischer Guest Professorship, there will be additional guest appearances in Berlin by Kenzaburo Ôe and Raoul Schrott.

Requests for Interviews, Press Tickets & Additional Information

Christina Rühlmann, Tel.: + 49(0)30 2787-1822, Email: christina.ruehlmann@vf-holtzbrinck.de

www.vf-holtzbrinck.de/en/events/literature/samuel-fischer-guest-professorship-for-literature/

This event is being held in cooperation with the Berliner Ensemble.