The Austrian Cultural Forum New York was very pleased to welcome Austrian writer Theodora Bauer in March. Theodora answered our questions about her current writer’s residency and teaching assignment at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, what she loves about New York, the differences between Austria and the US, the inspiration for her writing and the TV show she is hosting on Austrian TV. We hope you enjoy our conversation!

About Theodora Bauer

Born in Vienna in 1990, Theodora Bauer studied Philosophy and Communication Science  at the University of Vienna. Her debut novel „Das Fell der Tante Meri“ („Aunt Meri’s Fur“) was published in 2014, followed by her second novel „Chikago“ in 2017, both with Picus Verlag / Vienna.

Theodora Bauer participated in the „20th Klagenfurt Literaturkurs“organised in parallel with the Ingeborg-Bachmann-Preis in 2016, working on the manuscript of „Chikago“. The German newspaper “Süddeutsche Zeitung” listed „Chikago“ among the 10 best books of the year 2017. Her reading trips presenting the book brought her also to the US and Canada.

In 2018, Theodora Bauer was awarded a prize by the “Burgenland Foundation Theodor Kery” for „Chikago“ and a scholarship for playwrights by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Arts and Culture, Civil Service and Sport for a play that she had recently finished. She was also nominated for the Alpha Literary Prize 2018 for her second novel. In 2019 she received a literary award from the City of Vienna. In 2019/2020, Theodora Bauer was invited to spend two months in New York by Deutsches Haus at New York University for a writer’s residency.

She is currently in Bowling Green, Ohio, as a writer in residence and guest lecturer at BGSU (Bowling Green State University).

Theodora Bauer is also hosting the show „literaTOUR“ on the Austrian TV station ServusTV.

Theodora Bauer’s website: http://theodorabauer.at/

Chikago: https://www.picus.at/produkt/chikago/

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Fri ‒ Mon: 09am ‒ 05pm

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