Barbara Frischmuth © Thomas Smetana
Barbara Frischmuth (born in 1941), having enrolled in 1959 in courses of English, Turkish and Hungarian Studies, obtained a diploma as a Turkish-German interpreter in 1963 and a degree as a certified translator in 1964 from Graz University; from 1964 to 1966 she did a course in Oriental Studies in Vienna. Since 1966 Frischmuth has worked as a freelance writer and translator. She has received a great number of literary awards and prizes (e.g. Österreichischer Kinder- und Jugendbuchpreis 1972, Anton Wildgans-Preis 1973, Nabl-Preis 1999, Ehrenpreis des österreichischen Buchhandels für Toleranz in Denken und Handeln 2005). In her stories, novels and plays the focus is on the role of women in the world of work on the one hand and on encounters between Oriental and Western cultures on the other. In addition to this she has a great number of translations from English and Hungarian to her credit.