Michael Kleeberg was born in Stuttgart in 1959 and grew up in Böblingen and Hamburg. Alongside his studies in politics and visual communication, he worked as a journalist, nurse and dockworker. He was praised for his gift for sharp observation, displayed in his first collection of short stories, »Böblinger Brezeln« (1984; t: Pretzels from Böblingen). Following stays in Rome, West Berlin and Amsterdam, he moved to Paris in 1986, where he was co-owner of an advertising agency, while continuing his writing. His first novel »Der saubere Tod« (1987; t: The clean death), an honest and unembellished depiction of the Berlin squatter scene in the eighties, was followed by the picaresque novel »Proteus der Pilger« (1993; t: Proteus the pilgrim), which sheds light on the Federal Republic after 1968.

Kleeberg’s specific interest is in showing the connections between personal and contemporary history. In his highly-praised novel »Ein Garten im Norden« (1998; t: A garden in the north) he also focuses on a specific era in German history, this time the early 20th century, which he brings to life with linguistic brilliance and precise observation. On a narrative level imagined by the main character himself, the novel tells the story of the banker Albert Klein, who constructs a park for artists, philosophers and politicians, to promote tolerance and democracy and develop measures to deal with momentous historical developments. The novel »Der König von Korsika« (2001; Eng. »The King of Corsica«, 2007) retells the life of Baron Theodor Neuhoff, whose fate guides the reader through 18th century Europe.

In 2003 Kleeberg spent four weeks visiting the renowned Lebanese author Abbas Beydoun in the course of the encounter programme »West-östlicher Diwan«. This stay in Beirut led to the travelogue »Das Tier, das weint« (2004; t: The animal that weeps), a vivid and multi-faceted document of his experiences there. Deeply personal thoughts as well as precise and sensitively observed everyday experiences are here combined with reflections on aesthetics and ethics.

Kleeberg’s latest novel »Karlmann« was published in August 2007. Through the painstaking analysis of isolated hours from the years 1985 to 1989 in the life of the thoroughly average German, Charly, the author uses greatly differing modes of language to shed light on his everyday life in all its aspects, delving into the fascination of the banal. »Since his work is clearly the start of a cycle«, stated the jury of the Irmgard Heilmann Prize in 2008, »may the conferment of this award continue to embolden the author.«

His further awards include the Anna Seghers Prize (1996), the Lion Feuchtwanger Prize (2000), and two working scholarships from the German Literature Fund. Kleeberg, who also works as a translator from French (Proust, Huysmans) and English (Dos Passos) lived in Burgundy before moving to Berlin in 2000. In 2008, he was Writer-in-Residence in the city of Mainz.

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