Denis Scheck

Denis Scheck (born 15 December 1964) is a German literary critic, journalist, television presenter and former translator.

Biography Born in Stuttgart, he studied German studies, contemporary history and political science at the universities of Tübingen, Düsseldorf and Dallas, and earned a master's degree at the University of Texas at Dallas. He was a visiting professor at the University of Göttingen in 2004.

Scheck has been a literary agent, translator of American and British authors, publisher and independent critic. In 1997, he was appointed literary editor at Deutschlandfunk. He has presented the ARD programme Druckfrisch since February 2003.

Scheck lives with his wife in Cologne.

Controversy Scheck criticized the decision by German publisher Thienemann to change racist and racially insensitive terms in newer editions of children's books by Otfried Preußler and Astrid Lindgren. In response, and as an act of protest, in January 2013, he appeared on TV in blackface. Scheck, who describes himself as a critic of political correctness and censorship in the literary world, does, however, condemn the use of racist terms in contemporary and everyday language.

Scheck has been criticised several times for his harsh treatment of books, which he considers inferior. In the ‘Anti-Kanon’ section of his show Lesenswert, he presents what he considers to be the worst works in the history of literature. At the end of the review, the book is destroyed by an animated explosion. Critics drew comparisons with the burning of books, whereupon the animation was changed. His handling of books was also criticised by the German literary critic Elke Heidenreich, with whom he had already clashed several times, including through mutual insults.

Publications 1993: King Kong, Spock & Drella – ein Lexikon amerikanischer Trivialmythen 1994: Hell's Kitchen – Streifzüge durch die zeitgenössische US-Literatur 2011: Sie & Er, der kleine Unterschied beim Essen und Trinken 2014: Kurt Vonnegut 2019: Schecks Kanon: Die 100 wichtigsten Werke der Weltliteratur 2022: Hungrig auf Berlin 2022: Schecks kulinarischer Kompass 2023: Der undogmatische Hund 2024: Schecks Bestsellerbibel: Schätze und Schund aus 20 Jahren

Television Druckfrisch (since 2003) Lesenswert Quartett (2014–2025) Lesenswert (2016–2025) Kunscht! (2016–2018)

Honours Kritikerpreis des Deutschen Anglistentages, 2000 Übersetzerbarke des Deutschen Literaturübersetzerverbandes, 2007 Hanns-Joachim-Friedrichs-Award, 2012 Bavarian TV Awards, 2013 Hildegard von Bingen Prize for Journalism, 2014 Julius-Campe-Preis, 2015