Florian Illies

Florian Illies was born in 1971 and studied Art History and Modern History at the Universities of Bonn and Oxford. In 1997, he began his career as a columnist for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. From 1999 to 2001, he served as the editor-in-chief of the "Berliner Seiten" of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and as a literary editor for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. In 2004, after leaving FAZ, he co-founded the art and culture magazine Monopol with his wife, Ameli von Heydebreck. In 2008, he joined the team at Die Zeit. Today, he is a partner at the Berlin Auction House Villa Grisebach, where he is responsible for the 19th-century art department. Illies gained international recognition with his bestseller "Generation Golf" (2000). His second international bestseller, "1913: The Year Before the Storm," has already been published in 23 languages, adapted for the stage, and performed at the renowned Oberhausen festival. He was honored with the Ludwig Börne Prize for his work in May 2014.