Elias Hirschl is widely known for his bestselling 2021 political satire Salonfähig (‘Presentable’ or ‘Socially acceptable’), which made him the go-to authority on the meteoric rise and spectacular fall of Sebastian Kurz, Austria’s youngest ever Chancellor. A multi-talented artist, Hirschl is also a spoken word performer and, with rapper and producer Christopher Hütmannsberger, one half of the indie duo Ein Gespenst.
In this bilingual event, Hirschl will read from his latest novel Content, published by Hanser in February. Content explores the world of online content creation and job precarity. An excerpt from it won the 2022 ‘Publikumspreis’ at the annual Bachmannpreis competition. He will be joined by translator Ruth Martin for a discussion and Q&A, moderated by Andrea Capovilla, Director of the Ingeborg Bachmann Centre for Austrian Literature and Culture at the Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies (University of London).
Elias Hirschl was born in 1994 in Vienna. He is a spoken word artist, musician, playwright, and novelist. Hirschl has won many accolades for his spoken word performances, and the 2022 Reinhard-Priessnitz-Preis for literature. Content (2024) is his fifth novel.
Ruth Martin studied English and European Literature before gaining a PhD in German. Since 2010 she has been translating fiction and non-fiction books by authors ranging from Joseph Roth and Hannah Arendt to Volker Weidermann and Shida Bazyar. Ruth has taught translation at the University of Kent and the Bristol Translates summer school. Her co-translation (with Charlotte Collins) of Nino Haratischwili's The Eighth Life won the 2020 Warwick Prize for Women in Translation.
This event will be held at the Austrian Cultural Forum, 28 Rutland Gate, London SW7 1PQ. All are welcome to attend, however, advance online registration is essential as seats are limited.
Images: Elias Hirschl © Petra Weixelbraun; Ruth Martin (c) Michael Jershov