Biography
Thomas von Steinaecker, born in Traunstein on February 6, 1977, began writing as a teenager. In 1996, he was awarded the Hattingen Prize for Young Literature. While studying literature in Munich and Cincinnati (USA), he worked as a freelance author for various publications. In 2003, he received an invitation to the 11th Open Mike Literature Prize and a residency grant from the Literary Colloquium Berlin. In 2006, Steinaecker completed his doctorate with a thesis on literary photo texts by Rolf Dieter Brinkmann, Alexander Kluge and W. G. Sebald.
His first radio play, "Meine Tonbänder sind mein Widerstand," was broadcast by Bayerischer Rundfunk in 2007. In the same year, his debut novel "Wallner beginnt zu fliegen" was published, which was shortlisted for the German Book Prize and for which Steinaecker received the Aspekte Literature Prize and the Bavarian Arts Promotion Prize. The next few years saw the publication of his novels "Geister" (2008), "Schutzgebiete" (2009), "Das Jahr, in dem ich aufhörte, mir Sorgen zu machen, und anfing zu träumen" (2012) and "Die Verteidigung des Paradieses" (2016), some of which won prizes. The latter was nominated for the German Book Prize and received the Carl Amery Literature Prize. In 2017, his graphic novel "Der Sommer ihres Lebens" was published, for which he received the Rudolph Dirks Award. Steinaecker is also the author of numerous radio plays, some of which have also won awards.
In the winter semester of 2013/14, he took on a poetry lectureship at RheinMain University. In 2017, he dramatized "Wer wir waren" ("Who we where"), the last text by Roger Willemsen, with whom he had already collaborated on the latter's TV series "Bewegte Republik Deutschland", for a one-off performance at the Staatstheater Darmstadt. In 2018/19, Steinaecker was a fellow at the German Academy in Rome Villa Massimo. In 2021, he published his highly acclaimed nonfiction book " Ende offen. Das Buch der gescheiterten Kunstwerke." Steinaecker writes comic reviews for the Süddeutsche Zeitung, and his essays on unfinished works of art appear regularly in the Neue Rundschau. He has been a member of the PEN Center Germany since 2017.
Thomas von Steinaecker had also began working as a filmmaker as early as 2008. Primarily for the TV channels 3sat and Arte, he realized documentaries and reports with a length between 45 and 60 minutes. These include "Stockhausen – Musik für eine bessere Welt" (2009, with Norbert Busè), "John Cage – Alles ist möglich" (2012), "Der Spielmacher – George Tabori in Amerika" (2014, with Norbert Busè), "Von Dada bis Gaga – 100 Jahre Performance-Kunst" (2015). His film "Richard Strauss and seine Heldinnen" (2014) received the International Classical Music Award. The documentary "Leonard Bernstein – Das zerrissene Genie" (2018) was awarded the Grand Prix at the International Television Festival in Prague; his film "Electronic Vibrations – Ein Sound verändert die Welt" was also screened there in 2022.
Thomas von Steinaecker made his big screen debut with the international co-production "Werner Herzog – Radical Dreamer," a portrait of the legendary filmmaker. The world premiere took place in September 2022 at the Telluride Film Festival (USA). The German theatrical release was at the end of October 2022.