Albrecht Behmel German writer, historian and playwright. Date of Birth: 24.03.1971 Country: Germany

1. Biography of Albrecht Behmel
2. Family Background
3. Early Life
4. Writing Career
5. Other Endeavors
6. Themes in Behmel's Work

Biography of Albrecht Behmel

Albrecht Behmel was a German writer, historian, and playwright. He gained recognition both for his accomplishments in literature and his involvement in various other activities. He was one of the first publishers of e-books in the country and even established his own literary award in 2013.

Family Background

Albrecht Behmel was the son of geologist Hermann Behmel and the grandson of architect Paul Behmel. Their relatively unusual surname was a result of Germanizing the Czech name "Bogomil." The Behmel family moved to Saxony from Bohemia in the early 18th century. On his mother's side, Albrecht is a descendant of Christoph Martin Wieland, a Swabian poet and writer of the Enlightenment period.

Early Life

For a period of time, Albrecht Behmel worked as a bouncer and puppeteer in Paris, France. He later relocated to Germany, where he studied at Heidelberg University and Humboldt University in Berlin. Behmel was a student of Silvana Koch-Mehrin and Gerrit Jasper Schenk. In addition to his studies, Behmel published articles on ancient history, Greek naval warfare, and early German literature, such as the "Nibelungenlied."

Writing Career

While Behmel wrote a variety of works including radio plays, screenplays for computer games and films, and plays for the theater, he became particularly renowned for his series of self-help and self-improvement e-books aimed at fellow students. These books were notable not only for their content but also for their format, establishing Behmel as one of the pioneers of e-books in Germany. He initially published his works under the pseudonym "Timothy Patterson." Noteworthy among his published works are the novellas "Mitte 1" and "Homo Sapiens Berliner Art."

Other Endeavors

In addition to his writing career, Behmel collaborated with several major German and international television stations, such as "ARTE" and "ARD." He also founded a specialized network for professionals in the film industry and the media world called "FilmForum" in 2008. In 2013, Behmel created an annual literary prize, the "Samiel Award," which recognized the most compelling antagonists in recently published works of German fiction. The award came with a prize of 666 euros. The first recipient of the prize was Austrian writer Jan Kossdorff for his darkly humorous novella on slave trade and advertising.

Themes in Behmel's Work

Behmel suffered from severe insomnia. His books often explore two recurring themes: urban culture and the challenges of contemporary communication. However, Behmel's repertoire is not limited to these topics. His works also touch on subjects such as horse trainers, alcoholism, Irish folk music, formal ceremonies in the scientific world, and ancient mythology. Behmel skillfully juggles various German dialects and slang when creating dialogues. Some have compared his works to those of Israeli writer Ephraim Kishon. In examining Behmel's works, one can conclude that he was a libertarian, a proponent of science, and a staunch opponent of established doctrines and political ideologies. Behmel frequently criticized contemporary social institutions such as governments, schools, churches, and universities, believing that many of them had fallen behind the modern way of life by decades, if not centuries.