| Sebastian Fitzek | |
| Years Active: | 2000-present |
| Children: | 3 |
| Genre: | Crime thriller |
| Language: | German |
| Occupation: | Writer |
| Birth Place: | West Berlin, West Germany |
| Birth Date: | 13 October 1971 |
| Caption: | At the Leipzig book fair in 2017 |
| Notable Works: | Therapy, The Package |
| Birth Name: | Sebastian David Fitzek |
| Pseudonym: | Max Rhode |
Sebastian David Fitzek (born 13 October 1971 in West Berlin) is a German writer and journalist. His first book, Therapy (dt. German: Die Therapie), was a bestseller in Germany in 2006, toppling The Da Vinci Code from the first position.[1] Fitzek is currently one of the most successful writers of Germany.[2]
Sebastian Fitzek was born in West Berlin, West Germany and grew up with his father, headmaster of the Lilienthal-Gymnasium in Berlin-Lichterfelde, and his mother, a teacher. After High school in Charlottenburger Wald-Gymnasium, Fitzek started studying veterinary, but stopped after 3 months. He attended law school until the first state examination, earned his doctorate degree in copyright and worked then as editor-in-chief and program director for different radio stations in Germany.[3]
He wrote his first book titled Professor Udolphs Buch der Namen with Jürgen Udolph, which came out in 2005. Since 2006, Fitzek started to write psycho-thriller novels, which all became a best-seller.
His very first novel was Therapy (dt. German: Die Therapie). He got his idea for Therapy in 2000 while waiting for a girlfriend in the waiting room of an orthopedist's office. It contains similar themes to the urban legend the Vanishing Hotel Room (also known as The Vanishing Lady), however, inspiration from the story has not been officially confirmed. After 13 cancellations from different editors, he finally released his book in July, 2006 under Droemer Knaur Verlag. The Odeon Film AG bought the movie rights for Therapy and it was subsequently turned into a TV series in 2023. In 2007, Therapy was nominated for best crime-debut for the Friedrich-Glauser-Award.
His next novel, Amok game. (dt. German: Amokspiel.), was released in 2007 and Goldkind Film AG bought the movie rights for it. In 2012, his very first film version of The Child (dt. German: Das Kind) came out.
On 29 October 2016, he published his book The Package (dt. German: Das Paket.).
In 2017, he published EightNight. (dt. German: AchtNacht.) and his first children's book called Pupsi & Stinki together with illustrator Jörn Stollmann. In 2017, EightNight was the bestselling work of fiction in Germany.
In 2018, The Package was the bestselling work of fiction in Germany. The Inmate (dt. German: Der Insasse) peaked at number 3.
Near the end of February 2018, he created the Viktor Crime Awards, where a new voice for thriller and crime literature would be awarded. The first winner was writer Michaela Kastel with So Dark the Forest (dt. German: So dunkel der Wald).
In November, 2020 The Package was published in English by Head of Zeus, translated by Jamie Bulloch.
According to Fitzek himself, he was inspired by Enid Blyton, Michael Ende and Alfred Weidemann during his childhood and later by Stephen King, Michael Crichton and John Grisham. Today, he reads everything written by Harlan Coben.
Sebastian Fitzek lives in Berlin. He married his wife in 2010. In August 2019, he announced his separation from his wife via Facebook. Fitzek has 3 children.[4]
| Year | Original Title | English version | ISBN | Editor | Genre | Writer | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | German: Die Therapie | Therapy (transl. by Sally-Ann Spencer) | Knaur Taschenbuchverlag | Psycho-thriller | Sebastian Fitzek | [5] | |
| 2007 | German: Amokspiel. | Amok (transl. by Jamie Lee Searle) | [6] | ||||
| 2008 | German: Das Kind. | The Child (transl. by John Brownjohn) | [7] | ||||
| German: Der Seelenbrecher. | The Soul Breaker (transl. by John Brownjohn) | [8] | |||||
| 2010 | German: Splitter. | Splinter (transl. by John Brownjohn) | [9] | ||||
| 2011 | German: Der Augensammler. | The Eye Collector (transl. by John Brownjohn) | [10] | ||||
| German: Nicht einschlafen (Shortstory) | Do not fall asleep | [11] | |||||
| 2012 | German: Der Augenjäger. | The Eye Hunter | [12] | ||||
| 2013 | German: Der Nachtwandler. | The Nightwalker (transl. by Jamie Lee Searle) | [13] | ||||
| German: Noah. | Noah | Bastei Lübbe | [14] | ||||
| 2014 | German: Passagier 23. | Passenger 23 (transl. by Jamie Bulloch) | Knaur Taschenbuchverlag | [15] | |||
| 2015 | German: Die Blutschule. | The blood school | Bastei Lübbe | Max Rhode (Pseudonym) | [16] | ||
| German: Das Joshua-Profil. | The Joshua-profile | Sebastian Fitzek | [17] | ||||
| 2016 | German: Das Paket. | The Package (transl. by Jamie Bulloch) | Droemer Knaur Verlag | [18] | |||
| 2017 | German: AchtNacht. | EightNight | Knaur Taschenbuchverlag | [19] | |||
| German: Flugangst 7a. | Seat 7a (transl. by Steve Anderson) | Droemer Knaur Verlag | [20] | ||||
| 2018 | German: Der Insasse. | The Inmate (transl. by Jamie Bulloch) | [21] | ||||
| 2019 | German: Das Geschenk. | The Present (transl. by Jamie Bulloch) | [22] | ||||
| 2020 | German: Der Heimweg. | Walk Me Home (transl. by Jamie Bulloch) | [23] | ||||
| 2021 | German: Playlist. | ||||||
| 2022 | Mimik | ||||||
| 2023 | Die Einladung |
| Year | Original Title | English version | ISBN | Editor | Genre | Writer | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | German: Tierische Helden. | Animal Heroes | Der Club Verlag | Non-fiction | Charlotte Link, Sebastian Fitzek, Iny Lorentz, Jeffery Deaver, Amy Tan, Wolf Serno, Elke Heidenreich, Eva Völler (and many more) | [24] | |
| 2009 | German: Tödliche Gaben. | Deadly Gifts | Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag | Crime | Simon Beckett, Linwood Barclay, Sebastian Fitzek, Chris Mooney, Jay Bonansinga, Felicitas Mayall, Leena Lehtolainen, Kate Pepper, Oliver Bottini, Veit Heinichen, Friedrich Ani. | [25] | |
| 2010 | German: Weisser Schnee, rotes Blut: Mörderisch gute Weihnachtsgeschichten. | White Snow, red blood: Murderous good Christmas-Stories | Ullstein Hardcover Verlag | Friedrich Ani, Anne Chaplet, Zoran Drvenkar, Sebastian Fitzek, Elisabeth Herrmann, Robert Hültner, Linus Reichlin, Andrea Maria Schenkel, Heinrich Steinfest, Michael Theurillat, Jan Costin Wagner. | [26] | ||
| German: P.S. Ich töte dich. | P.S. I kill you. | Knaur TB Verlag | Thriller | Sebastian Fitzek, Val McDermid, Thomas Thiemeyer, Torkil Damhaug, Petra Busch,Michael Connelly, Markus Heitz, Michael Koryta, Steve Mosby, Judith Merchant,Jens Lapidus, Markus Stromiedel, Jilliane Hoffman. | [27] | ||
| 2012 | German: Abgeschnitten. | Cut off. | Sebastian Fitzek, Michael Tsokos | [28] | |||
| 2016 | German: Mord am Hellweg VIII. (Glaube.Liebe.Leichenschau) | Murder on Hellweg VIII. | GRAFIT Verlag | Crime | Bernhard Aichner, Mechtild Borrmann, Horst Eckert, Jürgen Ehlers, Sebastian Fitzek, Frl. Krise und Frau Freitag, Sascha Gutzeit, Georg Haderer, Kathrin Heinrichs, Carsten Sebastian Henn, Elisabeth Herrmann, Susanne Kliem, Ria Klug, Judith Merchant, Gisa Pauly, Till Raether, Arno Strobel, Su Turhan, Matthias Wittekindt, Rainer Wittkamp, Jörg Steinleitner, Christa Bernuth, Theresa Prammer | [29] | |
| 2019 | German: Auris. | Auris | Droemer TB Verlag | Thriller | Writer: Vincent Kliesch / Idea: Sebastian Fitzek | [30] | |
| 2020 | German: Auris 2. — "Die Frequenz des Todes" | Auris 2. - "The frequency of death" | [31] | ||||
| German: Identität 1142 | Identity 1142 | Droemer HC Verlag | Crime | Wulf Dorn, Andreas Gruber, Romy Hausmann, Daniel Holbe, Vincent Kliesch, Charlotte Link, Ursula Poznanski, Frank Schätzing, Michael Tsokos, Sebastian Fitzek, Melanie Bottke, Annika Bühnemann, Livia Fröhlich, Saskia Hehl, Robert Hönatsch, Vanessa Krypczyk, Pia Schmidt, Anne Schmitz, Julian Gabriel Schneider, Mordechai SImons, Gabriele Störzinger, Kathy Tailor, Michael Thode | [32] |
| Year | Original Title | English translation | ISBN | Editor | Writer | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | German: Die unbekannte Nutzungsart | The Unknown Type Of Use | Berliner Wissenschaftsverlag | Sebastian Fitzek | [33] | ||
| 2002 | German: Die 10 grössten Radio-Geheimnisse | The 10 Biggest Radio-Secrets | Books On Demand | Rüdiger Kreklau, Sebastian Fitzek | [34] | ||
| 2005 | German: Professor Udolphs Buch der Namen: Woher sie kommen – Was sie bedeuten | Professor Udolph's Book of Names: Where They Come From - What They Mean | C. Bertelsmann Verlag | Jürgen Udolph, Sebastian Fitzek | [35] | ||
| 2017 | German: Pupsi & Stinki | Pupsi & Stinki | Pattloch Geschenkbuch | Writer: Sebastian Fitzek / Illustrator: Jörn Stollmann | [36] | ||
| 2019 | German: Fische, die auf Bäume klettern. | Fish climbing trees | Droemer HC Verlag | Sebastian Fitzek | [37] |
| Year | Original Title | English version | Speaker | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | German: Die Therapie | Therapy | Simon Jäger | [38] |
| German: Amokspiel. | Amok game | |||
| German: Das Kind. | The Child | |||
| 2008 | German: Der Seelenbrecher. | The Soul Breaker | Simon Jäger, Sebastian Fitzek | |
| 2009 | German: Splitter. | Splinter | Simon Jäger | |
| 2010 | German: Der Augensammler. | The Eye Collector | ||
| 2011 | German: Der Augenjäger. | The Eye Hunter | ||
| 2013 | German: Der Nachtwandler. | The Nightwalker | ||
| German: Noah. | Noah | |||
| 2014 | German: Passagier 23. | Passenger 23 | ||
| 2015 | German: Das Joshua-Profil. | The Joshua-Profile | ||
| 2016 | German: Das Paket | The Package | ||
| 2017 | German: AchtNacht. | EightNight | ||
| German: Flugangst 7a. | Seat 7a | |||
| 2018 | German: Der Insasse. | The Inmate | ||
| 2019 | German: Das Geschenk. | The Present | ||
| 2020 | German: Der Heimweg. | Walk Me Home |
| Year | Title | Director | Cast | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Eric Roberts, Christian Traeumer, Sunny Mabrey, Ben Becker, Peter Greene, Reiner Schöne, Clemens Schick, Dieter Hallervorden | [39] | ||
| 2018 | German: Das Joshua-Profil | Jochen Alexander Freydank | Torben Liebrecht, Lina Hüesker, Franziska Weisz, Armin Rohde, Inez Bjørg David, Max Hopp, Katy Karrenbauer, David Nathan | [40] |
| Cut Off | Christian Alvart | Moritz Bleibtreu, Jasna Fritzi Bauer, Lars Eidinger, Fahri Yardım, Barbara Prakopenka | [41] | |
| Oliver Schmitz | Franziska Weisz,, Eko Fresh, Manuel Mairhofer, Lena Reinhold,, Johann von Bülow, Christian Tramitz | [42] | ||
| German: Passagier 23 —Verschwunden auf hoher See | Alexander Dierbach | Lucas Gregorowicz, Oliver Mommsen, Picco von Groote, Kim Riedle, Annalee Ranft, Liane Forestieri, Judy Winter | [43] |
| Year | Original Title | Director | Cast | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | German: Der Seelenbrecher. | Benjamin Breutel | Moritz Stursberg, Moritz Heiermann, Jens Kalkhorst, Miriam Kalkreuth, Stephanie Spichala, Denny Pflanz, Doris Hartmann, Niklas Selz | [44] | |
| 2016 | German: Die Therapie. | Wolfgang Rumpf | Thomas Linke, Esther Esche, Silvio Hildebrandt, Martha Tham, Paulina Stöhr | [45] | |
| German: Passagier 23. | Thomas Wingrich | Silvio Hildebrandt, Katrin Martin, Vera Müller, Charlotte Neef, Katharina Zapatka, Helene Jany, Marlene Müller, Pauline Stöhr, Martha Tham, Josephine Nahrstedt, Greta Ipfelkofer, Alexandra Maria Johannknecht, Susanne Meyer, Carmen Zehentmeier, Matti Wien, André Zimmermann, Alejandro Ramon Alonso, Jean Maesér, Maria Jany, Gundula Piepenbring, Kristin Schulze, Jeanniene Gaspar, Nicole Bunge, Peter Dulke, Shero Khalil | [46] | ||
| 2019 | German: Das Paket. | Marc Gruppe | Unknown | [47] |
| Year | Name | Publisher | Creator | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Safehouse | moses Verlag | Marco Teubner | [48] |
| 2018 | Black Stories - Sebastian Fitzek Edition | Bernhard Skopnik | [49] | |
| 2019 | German: Safehouse - Das Würfelspiel | Marco Teubner | [50] | |
| 2019 | German: Killercruise | [51] |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Friedrich-Glauser-Awards | Best Crime-Debut | German: Die Therapie | [52] | |
| 2010 | LovelyBooks Awards | Tension (Crime & Thriller) | German: Der Augensammler. | [53] | |
| 2011 | German: Der Augenjäger. | ||||
| 2012 | German: Abgeschnitten. | ||||
| 2014 | Crime & Thriller | German: Passagier 23. | |||
| 2015 | German: Das Joshua-Profil. | ||||
| 2016 | European Crime Fiction Star Award | Best Crime Fiction Writer | HImself | [54] | |
| LovelyBooks Awards | Crime & Thriller | German: Das Paket. | |||
| Best Audio Book | |||||
| Best Book Cover | |||||
| 2017 | European Crime Fiction Star Award | Best Crime Fiction Writer | Himself | [55] | |
| LovelyBooks Awards | Crime & Thriller | German: Flugangst 7a. | |||
| Best Audio Book | |||||
| 2018 | Crime & Thriller | German: Der Insasse. | |||
| 2019 | German: Das Geschenk. |