Helene Hegemann

Axolotl Roadkill

The Goethe-Institut Los Angeles and Skylight Books present German writer Helene Hegemann, discussing her book Axolotl Roadkill. We'll also be screening a scene from Hegemann's film Torpedo. Refreshments will be provided by the Goethe-Institut. Helene Hegemann was born in February of 1992 in Freiburg and is considered to be a German wunderkind. She grew up with her divorced mother until age 13, and after her death moved to Berlin to be with her father. It was during that time that she started writing. In 2007, Helene’s drama Ariel 15 premiered in Berlin and was later turned into a radio play. Her screenplay Torpedo was turned into a movie in 2008. Hegemann directed it herself and won the Max-Orphühls-Prize. In 2010 her first novel Axolotl Roadkill was published in Germany and instantly received a lot of  praise by literary critics. But Hegemann was faced with accusations of plagiarism and eventually admitted to have copied some passages of her book from an online log. Her confession sparked a controversy about the issue of intertextuality and copyrights. Nevertheless, Axolotl Roadkill has been translated into 15 languages and made into a drama that had its premiere in November of 2010 in Hamburg. Hegemann is the artist-in-residence at the Villa Aurora. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS JUNE 15, 2011