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Thea Dorn

b. 1970

German writer, literary critic and TV host

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About Thea Dorn

Born 1970. Thea Dorn is a German television presenter, screenwriter, literary critic, writer, radio personality and presenter.

Thea Dorn (pseudonym; Christiane Scherer, born 23 July 1970 in Offenbach am Main) is a German writer of crime fiction and TV host. She lives and works in Berlin.

Born in Offenbach am Main, Dorn was initially trained as a singer, and later studied philosophy and theatrical sciences in Frankfurt and Berlin. She graduated (Magistra) in philosophy with a work on self-deception. She worked as scientific assistant at the Free University of Berlin, then as dramaturge and writer at the Staatstheater Hannover. Thea Dorn's pseudonym alludes to Theodor Adorno, whose works she read and found hard to understand. (See the interview on Adorno.) After receiving her M. A. in philosophy, she became a freelance writer.

In 1995 she released her first book, Berliner Aufklärung, for which she received the Marlowe Prize. For her third book, Die Hirnkönigin, she received the German Crime Fiction Prize 2000. The same year she wrote the theatrical piece Marleni, a staged meeting of Marlene Dietrich and Leni Riefenstahl. This drama premiered on 15 January 2000 in Hamburg at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus.

In 2003 she wrote the script to the episode Der schwarze Troll (lit. The black troll) of the German TV series Tatort. The next year, with the book Die Brut, she left the genre of crime fiction and concentrated on characterisations of the milieu. {WP:OR}?

Beginning with 2003 together with Dirk Schümer she was host of the TV show Schümer und Dorn – Der Büchertalk, broadcast by Südwestrundfunk. Since 2004 she hosts the TV show Literatur im Foyer, presenting new books and talking to writers.

She lives in Berlin, has a brother and parents.

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Important facts

Born
1970, Offenbach am Main
Birth century
Nationality
Education
Lessing-Gymnasium, Freie Universität Berlin Fachbereich Philosophie und Geisteswissenschaften
Employers
ZDF, Südwestrundfunk, Arte, Schauspiel Hannover
Awards
German National Academic Foundation; Grimme-Preis; German Crime Fiction Award; Marlowe; Julius Campe award
Also known as
Christiane Scherer

People in Thea Dorn's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Thea Dorn's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Thea Dorn?

German writer, literary critic and TV host

When was Thea Dorn born?

Thea Dorn was born in 1970 in Offenbach am Main.

What is Thea Dorn's occupation?

Thea Dorn is a television presenter, screenwriter, literary critic, writer, radio personality and presenter.

What nationality is Thea Dorn?

Thea Dorn is German.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Thea Dorn

· Wikidata: Q95813

· DBpedia: Thea Dorn

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Thea Dorn. https://biography.guide/thea-dorn/

MLA: "Thea Dorn." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/thea-dorn/.

Chicago: "Thea Dorn." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/thea-dorn/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-22 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Portrait: Wikimedia Commons · author & licence

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