Florian Illies

Florian Illies has a remarkable talent for making creativity come alive – whether art or literature – and
for bringing the past into the present. His enthusiasm for art history is as infectious as his writing. Illies,
who studied “History of Taste” in Oxford, is the author of international bestsellers like “Generation
Golf” and “1913: The Year Before the Storm”, which the “Guardian” called “an absolute gem of a book”
and which has been translated into 28 languages. Florian Illies is the publisher of the weekly “DIE
ZEIT”, founder of the art magazine “MONOPOL” and former director of the “Grisebach” auction house.
The 47-year-old’s essays and non-fiction have won numerous awards – such as the Ludwig-Börne-
Preis and the Hessian Cultural Prize. Among European authors, Florian Illies counts as a
distinguished voice. Since January 2019 he has been leading Rowohlt Publishing House as managing
publisher.