Katja Oskamp

Katja Oskamp is a German writer known for her literary work focused on life in East Germany. She gained significant recognition for her novel Marzahn, Mon Amour, which explores the lives of elderly citizens in Berlin's Marzahn district, drawing from her experiences as a chiropodist.

Katja Oskamp was born in Leipzig and grew up in Berlin. Oskamp studied theater at Theaterhochschule Leipzig from 1989 to 1991. Later, she studied literature at the German Institute for Literature between 1999 and 2002. Oskamp resides in Berlin.

Initially, she worked as a playwright at the Volkstheater Rostock. In 2000, Oskamp won her first literary prize for her short story, Rolf und Mucki und so weiter. Her first short story collection, Halbschwimmer, was published in 2003. It focused on childhood and youth in East Germany. This collection won the Rauris Literature Prize. Her first novel, Die Staubfängerin, came out in 2007. It earned her the Anna Seghers Prize.

In 2019, Oskamp published Marzahn, Mon Amour. This novel is about the elderly in Berlin's Marzahn district. It draws from her experiences as a chiropodist there. The book was her first to be translated into English. The English adaptation by Jo Heinrich won the 2023 International Dublin Literary Award.

Other recognitions include several grants and fellowships. These include the Arbeitsstipendium from the Deutscher Literaturfonds Darmstadt in 2021 and 2010. Also, Katja Oskamp received the Arbeitsstipendium für Berliner Autorinnen und Autoren in 2009 and 2005. In 2009, she got the Else-Heiliger-Fonds scholarship from the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.

Katja Oskamp lives in Berlin.

Photo credit: www.katja-oskamp.com