Margit Knapp, born in Schwaz, Austria, studied Italian, German and Theatre Studies in Innsbruck and Vienna, writing her dissertation on Italo Svevo. From 1984-1990 in Turin, Italy, she was a lecturer at the Università di Torina, Facoltà di Lettere, and later served as a lecturer at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. From 1990 in Berlin, she has worked as an editor at Wagenbach Verlag and as a screenwriter, including several films with Arpad Bondy. She has been the Editor of International Literature at Rowohlt Verlag since 2008.