Hugo Hamilton, born in 1957, grew up in Dublin. He worked as a journalist and began writing short stories and novels. In 1992 he was awarded the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. In 2001/2002, he lived in Berlin on a DAAD scholarship and used the time to finish a book about his childhood: "The Speckled People" was published in 2003; the French translation "Sang impur" was awarded the Prix Femina Étranger in 2004. A sequel, "The Sailor in the Wardrobe" was published in 2006. After retracing the journey that Heinrich Böll's "Irish Diary" is about, he wrote the book "Die redselige Insel", which was published by German publisher Luchterhand Literaturverlag in 2007. In 2011, the novel "Der irische Freund" (original title: "Hand in the Fire") was published by the same publishing house, followed by the novel "Jede einzelne Minute" (original title: "Every Single Minute") in 2014. Hamilton made his debut as a playwright in October 2011 at Dublin's Gate Theatre with his own adaptation of "The Speckled People"; his play "The Mariner" also premiered there in September 2014. Hamilton lives in Dublin and is a member of Aosdána. He will live at the Künstlerhaus from October 2024 until March 2025.