Faber reissues Bernhard fiction after 20 years out of print

Faber is reissuing the celebrated fiction of Austrian writer Thomas Bernhard after nearly 20 years out of print to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his death.

Faber is bringing five novels onto their frontlist with the reissues featuring new series artwork has been designed by Leanne Shapton, author, graphic novelist, and judge for the Man Booker Prize 2018. The reissues will also feature new afterwords by some of Bernhard's greatest advocates, including Geoff Dyer, Ben Lerner, Michael Hoffman, and Shapton.

Faber will publish Concrete and Extinction in March 2019, followed by Woodcutters, The Loser, and Wittgenstein's Nephew in September, in arrangement with Nora Mercurio at Suhrkamp. 

Editorial director Lee Brackstone said: "Bernhard is the missing link between Beckett and Knausgaard and to bring him back into print at Faber - to make some noise about one of the most eccentric and stimulating literary voices of the late 20th century - is an absolute privilege."

Assistant editor Ella Griffiths added: "We're delighted to be bringing these gorgeous reissues into the world and can't wait for both die-hard fans and newcomers alike to become addicted to Bernhard's inimitable prose."

Bernhard was born in the Netherlands to Austrian parents in 1931. He was raised in Austria and studied dramatic arts at Mozarteum University in Salzburg. His writing first appeared in newspapers in the early 1950s, and he published his first book, a poetry collection, in 1957. His first novel, Frost, was published in 1963, and his first full-length play, "A Party for Boris", premiered in 1970. In total he published nine novels, five autobiographical stories, around ten short story collections, 18 plays and five volumes of poetry, all of which have been awarded numerous German and European literary prizes. He died in Austria in 1989.