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Peter Stamm wins 2018 Swiss Book Prize

Swiss author Peter Stamm
Peter Stamm has written 11 novels, which have been translated into 30 languages © KEYSTONE / PETER SCHNEIDER

Swiss author Peter Stamm has won the 2018 Swiss Book Prize for his latest novel "Die sanfte Gleichgültigkeit der Welt" [The sweet indifference of the world]. 

StammExternal link was awarded the prizeExternal link and a cheque for CHF30,000 on Sunday at the BuchBasel book festivalExternal link in the north-western city of Basel. 

The 55-year-old writer from canton Thurgau has won numerous awards for his novels, including the Rauris Literary Prize for his first book “Agnes”, published in 1998 by Éditions Arche. 

His books are a worldwide success and have been translated into 30 languages.

His other novels in English include Uniformed Landscape (2001), On a Day Like This (2006), Seven Years (2009), All Days Are Nights (2013) and To the Back of Beyond (2016). “Die sanfte Gleichgültigkeit der Welt” [The sweet indifference of the world] is due to be published in English next year. 

After completing a three-year accountancy apprenticeship, Stamm studied English, psychology, business and psychopathology at the University of Zurich.

After living in the United States, France and Scandinavia, he has settled in Winterthur, canton Zurich, since 1990 and works as a writer and freelance journalist. 

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