Abbas Khider

Abbas Khadir (born 3 March 1973; German: Abbas Khider; Arabic:عباس خضر) is a German author and poet of Iraqi origin. He was imprisoned for his political activism against the regime of Saddam Hussein and took refuge in a number of countries before he was granted asylum in Berlin in 2000, where he continues to live.

He is mostly known for his novels written in German, for which he received several literary prizes and scholarships, including the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize and the Berlin Prize for Literature.

Personal life Khadir was born in Baghdad in 1973, and has eight siblings. He was born to illiterate parents who sold dates for a living.

By the age of 14, Khadir started reading religious books, which was the only genre his house possessed. He discovered his love for literature through these religious texts, realizing that they were often figurative in nature. This helped facilitate his reading and understanding of poetry. He found refuge in reading, and it opened doors to rediscovering the world. Through his readings, he "travelled" to Germany with Franz Kafka, to Russia with Alexander Pushkin, and to France with Charles Baudelaire. Despite being educated, none of Khadir's siblings had an interest in literature, except for his sisters and the literary critic, Saleh Zamel, a spouse to one of his sisters. Khadir spent most of his time reading in Zamel's library. There, Khadir discovered many new writers whom he later met personally. He confessed that his love for reading and the inspiration by the works of different authors initially started his desire to write.

Education During his stay in Germany, Khadir gained the necessary qualifications in order to be admitted to university. In five years’ time, he successfully completed studying in three different educational institutions: an Arabic school, an online school, and a college-preparatory school. He then enrolled at LMU Munich and the University of Potsdam, where he studied literature and philosophy.

Career Before arriving in Germany, Khadir earned his living with temporary jobs.

In 2014 and in cooperation with other writers, Khadir organized the “Cairo Short Stories” writers’ workshop for outstanding young writers at the Goethe-Institut in Egypt. The goal of the workshop was to assist the candidates in their development process as writers by giving them advice. In return, Khadir and the other writers learned about the candidates’ experience as writers who are influenced by both German and Arab culture. Khadir cleverly used the code-name "Aubergine Republic" to refer to Iraq at a time the eggplant was the most prevalent food in the country.

Awards

Prizes

Adelbert von Chamisso Prize, promotional prizes, 2010 Hilde Domin Prize, 2013 Nelly Sachs Prize, 2013 2013: Ten-week London scholarship from the German Literature Fund, as Writer-in-Residence at Queen Mary University of London (autumn 2014) Spycher Prize, 2016 Mainzer Stadtschreiber, 2017 Adelbert von Chamisso Prize, 2017 Berlin Prize for Literature, 2025

Scholarships

Alfred Döblin Scholarship, 2009 German Literature Fund working grant, 2010 Robert Bosch Foundation working grant, 2011 Villa Aurora scholarship, 2011 Edenkoben Künstlerhaus Scholarship, 2013 Cross-border commuter scholarship, 2013 London Scholarship, 2013 Berlin Senate Scholarship, 2015 Comburg Literature Scholarship, 2019 German Literature Fund working grant, 2019

Lectureships

Poetics lecture at the University of Koblenz and Landau, 2013. Visiting lecturer at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, 2016.

Literature Coury, David N., and Karolin Machtans. Abbas Khider. Peter Lang Ltd. International Academic Publishers, 2021.