Wolfgang Kauer (born 20 February 1957) is an Austrian author who lives in Salzburg. He writes novels, short stories, audio plays, and poems in German.
Wolfgang Kauer was born in Linz, where he attended Adalbert-Stifter-Gymnasium until his graduation in 1975. He did his undergraduate studies in German Philology, Geography, and Arts at the University of Art and Industrial Design in Linz and the Mozarteum in Salzburg.
In 1999, after working as a free-licensed journalist and teacher in Linz, Kauer moved to Salzburg. He teaches at a grammar school there, the Humanistisches Gymnasium. Kauer is also a Professor of German Literature and Philology at the Linz Private Art University and works as a freelance writer. He writes lyric poetry, prose, short stories, novels, and audio plays.
In 2010, as part of an annual writers' competition held by the Salzburger Autorengruppe, Julian Schutting, a world-famous Viennese author, recognized Kauer as the best author in Salzburg. Schutting especially accentuated Kauer's research concerning contemporary history. Kauer was also given other prizes by the authors Sabine Gruber of Meran, Italy and Bettina Balàka of Vienna.[1][2] The linguist Dr. Eberhard Riedel, of Klagenfurt University, compares Kauer's style to the literature of the renowned German author Jean Paul Richter.[3] Professor Dr. Karl Müller of the Institute of German Philology at Salzburg University, associates music with the author's poetry, while Professor Dr. Erwin Streitfeld of the Institute of German Philology at Graz University, prefers landscapes in Kauer's prose. Dr. Brita Steinwendtner, former leader of a famous literature competition held in Rausis, appreciates the historical dimension in Kauer's texts. Wolfgang Kauer received the Salzburg Scholarship of Literature in 2013.
Kauer shows special interest in archeology, especially in the ancient Celtic beak flagon of Salzburg, the Dürrnberger Schnabelkanne, which can be seen in the Celtic Museum of Hallein. Kauer wrote three novels focusing on this cultic object.
