Literature in Lockdown. Seán Williams in Conversation with Benjamin Quaderer

Wednesday 15 April 2020

Quaderer-Benjamin_byJensOellermann3104_c__Jens_width-900_large — Benjamin Quaderer © Jens Oellermann
Liechtenstein may be a country that is only 15 miles long in real life, but it now spans over 500 pages of Benjamin Quaderer's first novel *Für immer die Alpen* (Forever the Alps). Inspired by the case of the data thief - or whistleblower? - Heinrich Kieber and the 2008 tax scandal, Quaderer has written a story of international intrigue. But the book is also about the identity of a locality, nestled between Austria and Switzerland.

This podcast presents a conversation between Benjamin Quaderer and Dr Seán Williams. Following an introduction in English, the interview has been recorded in German, and translated into English by prize-winning emergent translator Jozef van der Voort. The venture is a co-production between the Austrian Cultural Forum, Ingeborg Bachmann Centre (Institute for Modern Languages Research), and the University of Sheffield.

Dr Seán Williams is Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield, and a specialist on German and European Cultural History. He covered the Principality of Liechtenstein for The Economist on the state's 300th anniversary.

The podcast will be available on the websites of the Austrian Cultural Forum and the Institute from 30 April 2020.