Karl-Heinz Ott was born in Ehingen near Ulm in 1957. He attended a Catholic boarding school and studied philosophy, German and musicology. He then worked as a literary and artistic director in Freiburg, Basle and Zurich. In 1998 he made his debut as an author with Ins Offene ("Into the Open"), for which he was awarded the Hölderlin Prize and the Thaddäus-Troll-Prize.

Photo: © Sabine Schnell

Awards:

• 1998 Märkisches Literature Grant
• 1999 Friedrich Hölderlin Promotional Prize
• 1999 Thaddäus Troll Prize
• 1999 Konrad Adenauer Foundation grant
• 2001 Work-stay at Künstlerhaus Edenkoben
• 2004 Work-stay at Herrenhaus Edenkoben
• 2005 Alemannischer Literature Prize
• 2006 LiteraTour Nord Prize
• 2006 Candide Prize