He was born in Hungary and came as a political refugee to Germany. He studied at the University of Tübingen and was a scholar of the philosopher Ernst Bloch. From 2005 – 2015, he was President of the German Writers’ Union.

He works as a freelance writer, journalist, Professor for creative writing. He published more than 30 books. His new novel "Die Königin von Ägypten in Berlin" has been translated into Turkish: "Haremden Berlin'e Cavidan", Ankara.