Moritz Rinke, born in 1967 in Worpswede, studied at Gießen University’s drama department and worked as a journalist in the following years. In 1995 and 1997 he was given the prestigious Axel Springer Award for his reportages. Several of his plays have been nominated for the Mülheim Dramatists’ Award: Der Mann, der noch keiner Frau Blöße entdeckte (The Man Who Never Yet Saw Woman’s Nakedness, 1997), which also won the Liechtenstein PEN Club Literature Award, Republik Vineta (The Vineta Republic) (2001), Die Optimisten (2004), Café Umberto (2006) and Wir lieben und wissen nichts (2013). In the critics’ poll of the magazine Theater heute, Republik Vineta was also voted the best German-language play in the season 2000/2001. Rinke co-wrote the film script for the film September which premiered in Cannes in 2003 (directed by Max Färberböck).

His books include Der Blauwal im Kirschgarten (Rowohlt Berlin, 2001), Die Nibelungen (Rowohlt 2002), Trilogie der Verlorenen (Rowohlt 2002), Das große Stolpern (Kiepenheuer & Witsch 2005), Café Umberto (Rowohlt 2005), Die Nibelungen - Siegfrieds Frauen / Die letzten Tage von Burgund (Rowohlt 2007), Der Mann, der durch das Jahrhundert fiel (novel, Kiepenheuer & Witsch 2010), Der längste Tag im Leben des Pedro Fernandez Garcia (novel, Kiepenheuer & Witsch 2021) and Unser kompliziertes Leben (Kiepenheuer & Witsch 2023).