Nils Mohl

Nils Mohl (right) together with the author Finn-Ole Heinrich (left) in 2012 at the 10th Steglitz Literature Festival in the Schwartzschen Villa in Berlin

Nils Mohl (born July 31, 1971 in Hamburg ) is a German writer . His book Once Upon a Time Indianerland (2011) was awarded the German Youth Literature Prize in 2012 and referred to in the German-language feature pages as a "novel like a storm [...] about growing up" (Spiegel Online) . In 2017 it was adapted as a film. With Stadtrandritter (2013) and Mogel (2014) further novels by Mohl about growing up were published.

life and work

Mohl grew up as the elder of two siblings on the outskirts of Hamburg. He studied modern German literature , linguistics and folklore in Kiel , Tübingen and Berlin , as well as cultural management in Weimar . His bibliography so far comprises six books: Cash box 53 (2008), I would tend to have a happy ending (2009), Ballad of Thin Men (2010), Once Upon a Time Indianerland (2011), Outskirts (2013) and Mogel (2014). Mohl's short stories were particularly successful. Among other things, the story to go dancing , with which he was one of the winners of the 11th MDR literature competition in 2006, is now reading textbooks. In 2012 Mohl led the first Berlin master class in Berlin , a cooperation between the international literature festival berlin and the young authors' meeting . As part of this, he was also a member of the jury for The Extraordinary Book award .

Mohl achieved greater fame through his novel Once Upon a Time Indianerland , which was staged in 2013 by the young DT of the German Theater in Berlin. For Once Upon a Time Indian Country , Mohl was awarded the Oldenburg Children's and Youth Book Prize (2011), a Kranichstein Youth Literature Grant (2011) and the German Youth Literature Prize in the youth book category.

In 2017 the film adaptation of the novel Once Upon a Time was released .

Mohl is a member of the Forum Hamburger Authors association and lives with his family in Hamburg.

Criticism

• I would tend to have a happy ending (2009)

“Time and again, Mohl's heroes struggle for orientation; do not know what has happened to them, do not know what will happen to them next. In addition, it is written briefly, unpretentiously and occasionally pleasantly laconic: Nils Mohl deserves not only to be honored, but more so to be read. "

- FK : Die Welt from June 29, 2009

• Once upon a time there was Indian land (2011)

“He breaks down the story of Mauser and his grueling journey to the coast, which takes place in just a few days of vacation, into the smallest of particles, breaks away from every chronological narrative and from every traditional scheme of a problem novel; Instead, he creates a mosaic of forwards and backwards that reads like a mirror of what goes on in Mauser's head when he gets tangled up between the two women and the problems in his own family. The novel moves back and forth as jerkily and quickly as the hero's mood swings. The sentences are pointed, often deeply ironic and create their own resonance space. The hero is rarely with himself: “A hand grabs my hair. I can see that it's mine, ”explains Mauser - and the reader knows: Living properly feels different. How one could get there, however, has to be clarified. Nils Mohl loves subjunctive II motifs, can be read in another interview with him, stories that only play in your own head, that answer the question “What if?” And completely obstruct your view of the here and now . With Once upon a time there was Indian land , he gave this confusion an impressive form. "

- Michael Schmitt : A hand in your hair - A boy from the suburbs rehearsing life , in: Süddeutsche Zeitung from April 5, 2012

“ Once upon a time there was Indian land is an artfully constructed novel, which with its numerous neologisms is also linguistically innovative and convincing. It offers the reader a new and exciting variant of an educational novel and a love story. Mohl succeeds in realizing demanding literary storytelling thematically close to his young readers - and with a lot of heart and ear for his addressees. "

- Jury of the German Youth Literature Prize : German Youth Literature Prize

"Lightning. Thunder. Quiet. [...] Nils Mohl wrote a novel like a storm about growing up in the suburbs. [...] Everything about this book is short: the sentences pop, are sometimes just lists, flashes of thought, the book races, time races. Twelve days of vacation to work through everything, to solve all problems and clear up all relationships and, oh yes, to grow up. Bang. "

- Sebastian Stier : Youth novel "Once upon a time there was Indian country": Blitz. Thunder. Quiet. , on: Spiegel Online from June 27, 2011

bibliography

• 2008: Cash register 53 , Achilla Presse, Butjadingen, ISBN 978-3-940350-03-9 .
• 2009: I would tend to have a happy ending , Plöttner Verlag , Leipzig, ISBN 978-3-938442-65-4 (12 short stories)
• 2010: Ballad of Thin Men , Hosentaschenverlag, Hanover, ISBN 978-3-941938-12-0 .
• "Outskirts Trilogy":
  • 2011: Once upon a time there was Indian country , Rowohlt Verlag , Hamburg, ISBN 978-3-499215-52-0 .
  • 2013: Outskirts Knight , Rowohlt, Hamburg, ISBN 978-3-499216-14-5 .
  • 2016: Time for Astronauts , Rowohlt, Hamburg, ISBN 978-3-499216-78-7 .
• 2014: Mogel , Rowohlt, Hamburg, ISBN 978-3-499215-37-7 .

More books and texts by Mohl:

• 2006: High & Low Level Litbizz. About the professional and career start of writers today , Artislife, Hamburg, ISBN 978-3-938378113 .
• 2007: Short story to go dancing. In: EinFach Deutsch - Lesson models: The short story on the way into the 21st century , ISBN 978-3-140223966 .

Plays

• 2003: Revolution , text: Nils Mohl, Max Reinhold, world premiere: Basel (room 33), April 24, 2003
• 2013: Premiere of Once Upon a Time Indianerland at the Deutsches Theater Berlin , May 3, 2013, play based on the novel of the same name by Nils Mohl, direction and version: Kristina Stang, assistance: Willem Wassenaar, assistance: Leonie Arnhold, cast: Marie Domnig, Johanna Jessen, Maike Knirsch, Johanna Mirea, Anne Rohde, Louisa Schloussen, Ricarda Seifried, Annette Stoll, Helena von Werthern, Luisa Wolf

Awards

• 2000: Limburg Prize (endowment: 3000 DM)
• 2001: Scholarship holder of the authors' workshop Prosa at the Literary Colloquium Berlin
• 2001: Participation in the 9th Open Mike of the Berlin Literature Workshop
• 2002: Literature Prize of the City of Hamburg (endowment: 6000 €)
• 2003: Participation as Enno Zweyner (together with Oliver Kemmann) at the 11th Open Mike of the Berlin Literature Workshop
• 2003: 3rd place at the MDR Literature Prize (endowment: 1500 €)
• 2004: Scholarship holder at the 8th Klagenfurt literature course
• 2006: 3rd place at the MDR Literature Prize (endowment: 1500 €)
• 2008: Literature Prize of the City of Hamburg (endowment: 6000 €)
• 2011: Oldenburg Children's and Young People's Book Prize for Once Upon a Time Indian Country (endowment: € 7,600)
• 2012: Kranichsteiner youth literature scholarship for Once Upon a Time Indian Country (endowment: 12,000 €)
• 2012: Award as one of the "most beautiful books in Germany" for Once upon a time Indian country
• 2012: German youth literature award in the youth book category for Once Upon a Time Indian Country (endowment: 8,000 €)
• 2016: Lynx of the month August for time for astronauts

Event participation

• 2012: 2nd White Ravens Festival in Munich in July
• 2012: Children's and youth program at the 12th Berlin International Literature Festival in September
• 2012: 10th Steglitz Literature Festival in November
• 2013: Book Week at the German School New York in May

Web links

• Literature by and about Nils Mohl in the catalog of the German National Library
• Web presence of Nils Mohl
• Portraits of Mohl:
  • Hamburger Abendblatt
  • Southgerman newspaper
  • Northwest Newspaper
  • Hamburger Abendblatt
  • International Literature Festival Berlin
  • Reviews of the books by Nils Mohl at Jugendbuchtipps.de

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Sebastian Stier: Youth novel "Once upon a time there was Indian country": Blitz. Thunder. Quiet. In: Spiegel Online . June 27, 2011, accessed January 8, 2017 . 
2. ↑ Dedication in the novel "Once upon a time Indianerland" by Nils Mohl. In: sueddeutsche.de . March 9, 2015, accessed January 8, 2017 . 
3. ↑ It can be found in EinFach Deutsch - Lesson models: The short story on the way into the 21st century .
4. ↑ Maze of phantasms in the middle-class suburb :. In: welt.de . June 29, 2009. Retrieved January 8, 2017 . 
5. ↑ Once upon a time there was Indian land. In: buecher.de. March 1, 2011, accessed January 8, 2017 . 
6. ^ Once upon a time there was Indian country: German Youth Literature Prize. In: djlp.jugendliteratur.org. Retrieved January 8, 2017 . 
7. ↑ Once upon a time there was Indian country - by Nils Mohl ( Memento from October 24, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
8. ↑ deutscher-literaturfonds.de: Kranichsteiner youth literature scholarships
9. ↑ Nils Mohl - Once upon a time there was Indian land. In: stiftung-buchkunst.de. Archived from the original on September 16, 2012 ; accessed on January 8, 2017 . 
10. ↑ Book Week with Nils Mohl, May 6th - 9th, 2013  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. German School New York April 2013 (PDF)