Tommie Goerz – Crime Author, Storyteller, Chronicler of Franconian Lives

From Award-Winning Noir to Quiet Village Panorama: How Tommie Goerz Shapes German-Language Crime Literature and Contemporary Literature

Tommie Goerz, born in 1954 in Erlangen, is one of the most distinctive voices in the German-speaking crime and storytelling landscape. Under his birth name Marius Kliesch, he began a versatile music career as a writer – from copywriter and creative director in advertising to literary storyteller with a strong presence during readings. His work ranges from the Franconian-rooted "Bierkrimis" featuring Nuremberg Commissioner Friedo Behütuns to the hardboiled noir "Meier" and the literary novels "Im Tal" and "Im Schnee." Awards such as the Friedrich Glauser Prize (2021) and the Crime Cologne Award (2022) emphasize his artistic development and authority.

Biography: From University to the Creative Industry – and Beyond to Literature

Goerz initially studied law, then switched to sociology, philosophy, and political science, earning his doctorate in sociology in 1989. Between 1989 and 2009, he shaped the German-speaking advertising scene as a creative and copywriter – most recently as creative director at the international agency network Publicis – winning a Bronze Lion at the Cannes Lions in 2007. After teaching positions at the Technical University of Nuremberg and the Faber-Castell Academy, he has been focusing entirely on writing since 2017. These stages have shaped the craftsmanship behind his novels: precise language, economical arrangement, and pointed dramaturgy.

The Literary Entry: The Franconian Crime World Around Friedo Behütuns

In 2010, Goerz published his debut novel "Schafkopf" with ars vivendi, introducing the quintessential Franconian Commissioner Friedemann "Friedo" Behütuns. The series, colloquially known as "Bierkrimis," combined regionality with psychological depth and struck a chord with readers. Volumes like "Dunkles," "Leergut," "Auszeit," "Einkehr," "Schlachttag," "Nachtfahrt," "Stammtisch," "Sandmann," and "Brandsatz" demonstrate how Goerz compresses tension composition and environmental study into a distinct sound. With readings, both solo and with his ensemble "Hans, Hans, Hans & Hans," he maintains a lively stage presence, sharpening his texts in dialogue with the audience.

The Breakthrough in Noir: "Meier" (2020) and the New Hardness

With "Meier," Goerz departs from the familiar investigator format and transitions into a laconic, dark noir mode. Short sentences, harsh cuts, reduced dialogues – in short: an uncompromising arrangement that understands suspense as a literary composition. "Meier" made it to the crime bestseller list and was awarded the Friedrich Glauser Prize in 2021 for "Best Novel." The success opened new registers for Goerz: he showed that crime literature as a form not only solves cases but also measures states, negotiates justice, and reorchestrates narratives of guilt and retribution.

Minor Character Becomes Soloist: "Frenzel" (2022) and the Continuation of Tone

In "Frenzel," Goerz continues the minimalist, intense tonal quality. Again, short sentences, a strict rhythm, and a concentrated narrative voice dominate the dramaturgy. The novel was awarded the Crime Cologne Award in 2022 as "Best German-Language Crime Novel," confirming Goerz's authority in the scene: he masters both the serially structured, regionally anchored storytelling and the independent, noir-toned standalone novel, which resembles a score of silence, tempo, breaks, and subtleties.

Literary Turning Point: "Im Tal" (2023) – An Epic of Silence

"Im Tal" marks a conscious expansion of his artistic development. Goerz steps away from pure crime genre to portray the life of a hermit over several decades. The composition of the novel relies on sparse means: quiet tones, powerful images, a careful arrangement of memories and motifs. The press and the public praised the work as a "great little book," which operates with literary discipline and emotional precision and recognizes the retreat into simplicity as a cultural counter-movement to the noise of the present.

New Chapter: "Im Schnee" (2025) – Village Memories and a Long Farewell

With "Im Schnee," Goerz continues his literary course – now with the Munich-based Piper Verlag. The book accompanies Max through a night of vigil, allowing a village and its people to emerge in memories. Thematically, the novel looks at friendship, loss, milieu, and time; formally, it employs concise sentences, dense scenes, and a strictly coordinated arrangement of voices. Goerz demonstrates a close public stage presence with a series of readings in 2025 – including at the Park Readings in Fürth, the Erlangen Poets Festival, in Regensburg, Roth, Heide, and Ansbach – giving the texts a second, performative layer.

Awards and Recognition: EEAT in Practice

The specialized press and juries have repeatedly confirmed the quality of his work. In 2021, Goerz received the Friedrich Glauser Prize for "Meier" in the category "Best Novel." In 2022, the Crime Cologne Award followed for "Frenzel." Beyond crime literature, "Tante Emma lebt. Zu Besuch in kleinen fränkischen Läden" (with photographer Walther Appelt) was awarded "Germany's Most Beautiful Regional Book" in 2021 – an indication of how Goerz's sensitivity to regional milieus also convinces in documentary formats. These successes bolster his authority as a storyteller who equally masters genre craftsmanship, literary compression, and cultural embedding.

Style and Signature: Precision, Rhythm, Atmosphere

Goerz's prose is characterized by rhythmic precision and economical narrative technique: sentences remain short, dialogues condensed, and descriptions dramaturgically weighted. In the Behütuns novels, a serially conceived composition dominates with recurring motifs, while in noir, Goerz works with ellipses and omissions that generate tension through gaps. The more recent novels "Im Tal" and "Im Schnee" transition this expertise into a quieter form – an arrangement where pauses, resonance, and the topography of memory determine the tone. The artistic development from regional crime saga to literary village novel shows a conscious exploration of the boundaries of genres.

Cultural Influence: Franconia as a Resonance Space

For Goerz, Franconia is more than just a backdrop. The region becomes a resonance space where characters, dialects, pub culture, and landscapes develop their own musical logic. The audience thus receives not only crime suspense but also a poetic cartography of lived present. Through readings, festival appearances, and a consistent closeness to bookstores and libraries, Goerz strengthens literary public presence locally. "Tante Emma lebt" has documented this anchoring in a documentary-poetic album – a cultural contribution that establishes identity and makes regional stories visible.

Selected Works: From the "Bierkrimis" to Literary Novels

Behütuns Cycle: "Schafkopf" (2010), "Dunkles" (2011), "Leergut" (2011), "Auszeit" (2012), "Einkehr" (2014), "Schlachttag" (2016), "Nachtfahrt" (2018), "Stammtisch" (2019), "Sandmann" (2020), "Brandsatz" (2022). Additionally: "Der Tod kommt schnell" (2015) and "Das letzte Bier" (2021) with crime stories as well as the image and reportage books "In fränkischen Wirtshäusern" (2019) and "Tante Emma lebt" (2020/2021 awarded). The noir-tinged standalone novels "Meier" (2020) and "Frenzel" (2022) mark a formal intensification that transitions into literary breadth with "Im Tal" (2023) and "Im Schnee" (2025).

Current Projects, Publications, and Readings (2024–2025)

"Im Schnee" (Release: January 2025) continues Goerz's literary course with Piper and has been widely recommended by cultural editors in Franconia. In parallel, the author will tour multiple cities – including Fürth (Park Readings, July 27, 2025), Eisfeld (July 9, 2025), Erlangen (Erlanger Poets Festival, August 31, 2025), Regensburg (October 9, 2025), Roth (October 8, 2025), Heide (November 4, 2025) and Ansbach (November 14, 2025). Additionally, audiobook versions are available – read by Thomas Loibl ("Im Schnee") and Hans Jürgen Stockerl ("Im Tal") – which translate Goerz's voice into an acoustic arrangement and expand the reach of his texts.

Classification and Reception: Press, Awards, Audience

The literary trade press highlights Goerz's reduction, psychological accuracy, and atmospheric density. Public broadcasting services and regional editors recommended "Im Tal" and "Im Schnee" as exemplary reading beyond worn genre paths. The awards (Friedrich Glauser Prize; Crime Cologne Award) evidence the expert authority Goerz enjoys in the crime landscape; the award for "Tante Emma lebt" also marks his creative power at the intersection of literature, photography, and regional documentation. Together, this creates the image of an author who combines expertise with experience and cultural responsibility.

Conclusion: Why Read Tommie Goerz – and Experience Him Live?

Tommie Goerz represents craftsmanship precision, clear language, and emotional resonance. Those seeking suspense will find it in "Meier" and "Frenzel" as uncompromising noir compositions. Those wanting to explore milieu, memory, and time will discover in "Im Tal" and "Im Schnee" the quiet, resilient tones of an author who conveys big themes through small, concentrated scenes. Live readings make these qualities immediately experienceable – the voice, the rhythm, the eye for nuances. Take the opportunity to experience Goerz at a reading: literature as stage presence, dense and close.

Official Channels of Tommie Goerz:

Instagram: No official profile found
Facebook: No official profile found
YouTube: No official profile found
Spotify: No official profile found
TikTok: No official profile found

Tommie Goerz