Klaus Modick, who wrote his dissertation about Lion Feuchtwanger, is a prolific novelist (more than 15 of his novels are published), essayist, and is a translator of the American authors William Gaddis, Charles Simmons, and John O'Hara. Modick has been a guest professor at both Dartmouth and Middlebury Colleges, and has enjoyed residencies at Villa Massimo (Rome) and the Cité Internationale des Arts (Paris).

He is a member of PEN and has received several awards and grants, most recently the Nicolas Born Award 2005. His latest published novels are Der kretische Gast (2003), Bestseller (2006) and Die Schatten der Ideen (2008).