Iren Nigg

Iren Nigg (born 1955) is a Liechtensteiner writer. She travelled widely before studying journalism at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. She first started publishing short works of fiction in literary magazines, and published her first book Fieberzeit in 1988. Her second book Man wortet sich die Orte selbst appeared in 2006; it won the EU Prize for Literature. She has also published numerous short pieces.

Life Nigg was born in 1955 in Schaan, in Lichtenstein, and grew up there. She was educated at the Höhere Töchterschule St. Elisabeth. After finishing her studies in 1984, she worked for newspapers and in public relations. She wrote often on equal rights, and women’s suffrage (Liechtenstein women did not gain the vote until 1984). Her work is noted for its simplicity and word play. When asked to talk about her writing after winning the EU Prize, Nigg described herself as “allergic” to interviews or discussing her writing, and preferred to sing instead.