Kristof Magnusson

Kristof Magnusson, Leipzig Book Fair 2015

Kristof Magnusson (born Kristof Weitemeier-Magnusson; 4 March 1976 in Hamburg) is an Icelandic-German novelist and translator. He lives in Berlin. After his training as a church musician he studied literary and scenic writing in Leipzig and Berlin as well as Icelandic literature in Reykjavík. His works include not only novels and plays but also short stories and reportages in both German and foreign newspapers. In 2008 The Financial Times published his article Inflation will pay on the causes of the Icelandic financial crisis. Furthermore, he translated numerous Icelandic publications into German. In 2013, Magnusson was writer-in-residence at Queen Mary University of London; in 2014 at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

With the success of his comedy Männerhort^[1] (2002) about a men’s creche he became known to a wider audience. The play has been staged in over 80^[2] theatres across Germany and abroad. Amongst other languages, the play was translated into English^[3] (Men's Daycare). In 2005 Magnusson published his first novel Zuhause (At home). Both his debut and his second novel Das war ich nicht (It wasn’t me), described as “a fast-paced, cleverly crafted, genuinely funny and enjoyable read“,^[4] have been translated into several languages.^[5] His most recent novel Arztroman (Doctors. A novel)^[6] was published in 2014 and attracted plenty of media attention.

The general style of his works can be characterised as comical and entertaining with a certain lightness. “Kristof’s novels fall into the category of literary fiction, but demonstrate more humour than this genre typically offers“,^[7] says Steph Morris after a long conversation with Magnusson in spring 2015, during which the author provided information on several aspects of his oeuvre, including his extensive researches that allow him to gather substantial detailed knowledge about the different living environments he describes in his books.

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