Meyer, born in Halle an der Saale in 1977 and now living in Leipzig, is the 32nd recipient of this prestigious literary award.

Mayor Michael Ebling on the jury's choice: "Clemens Meyer embodies the authors who grew up in the East at the time of reunification, who often moved far away from the conventional genesis of a writer—he exudes the talented author who, far removed from stuffy conventions, has gone his own way—and has planted himself with great success in contemporary German literature with his expressive, eloquent and, against many odds, with great success. As a person and as a writer, Meyer often treads unfamiliar paths – this is precisely what makes him all the more interesting, especially since little in life has been handed to him on a silver platter: he is a writer who defies convention, with his own unique inclinations and perspectives. This fits in well with our young, bustling city – Clemens Meyer will find numerous points of contact in Mainz that will make his stays here rewarding and inspiring. We are delighted that he has been appointed City Writer 2016!"

Clemens Meyer is familiar with the secluded realms of our society. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung described him as a "master of the unvarnished." Meyer tells precise and sensitive stories of precarious existences, friendships on the brink, beer,
violence, and boxing, tender and sad, combative and touching, according to the jury. At the same time, Meyer is a lucid connoisseur of literature and a masterful stylist. His debut novel, "Als wir träumten" (As We Dreamed), was a sensational surprise success in 2006, which also made an impression as a play and a film adaptation.

Meyer, born in Halle an der Saale in 1977 and raised in the working-class district of Leipzig-Ost, wanted to be a writer even as a child. He experienced the period of reunification around 1989 as a "dance on the ruins." Meyer studied at the German Literature Institute in Leipzig from 1998 to 2003, interrupted by a spell in prison. He financed his studies with scholarships and by working as a furniture mover, forklift driver, and security guard. In 2006, his first novel, with autobiographical references, was published: "Als wir träumten" (When We Dreamed).

In it, he describes a wild life of techno parties, drugs, beer, and tattoos. In 2015, his debut novel was adapted into a film by
director Andreas Dresen. In 2008, he published a collection of short stories entitled Die Nacht, die Lichter (The Night, the Lights), for which he received the Leipzig Book Fair Prize. In addition to his work as a writer, Meyer was a guest lecturer at the Leipzig Literature Institute.

His third book, "Gewalten. Ein Tagebuch" (2010), is a collection of stories that chronologically depict the year
2009. Meyer gives a voice to gamblers, losers, bar patrons, rampage killers, and people in psychiatric wards. In 2013, his novel In
Stein (In Stone) was published, dealing with sex work, forced prostitution, and the economic entanglements and
scandals of Leipzig's reality in the 1990s.

In 2015, Meyer held the highly regarded poetry lectureship at Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main, which was titled "Der
Untergang der Äktschn GmbH" (The Downfall of Äktschn GmbH).

Clemens Meyer, who lives in Leipzig and is involved in both theater and the visual arts, is proud of his
tattooed body and loves horse racing as much as soccer. He has been honored with numerous awards. Like his predecessors Feridun Zaimoglu, Judith Schalansky, and Peter Stamm, Meyer will produce a documentary on a topic of his choice in collaboration with ZDF and move into the completely renovated city writer's apartment in the Gutenberg
Museum in Mainz.