Karl-Markus Gauss is a prolific Austrian essayist, editor, and literary critic. Among his numerous book publications are ethnographies and travelogues such as Die sterbenden Europaër and wide-ranging essay collections such as Das europaïsche Alphabet and Der Mann, der ins Gefrierfach wollte.
Gauss often focuses on the sociopolitical status of numerically small minority groups in Europe and on the cultural and ethical effects of scientific and technological innovation. Other emphases in his writing include the value of literature in lesser-known European languages and the dynamics of EU expansion. Gauss has won numerous literary awards, including the Austrian State Prize for Cultural Journalism (1994), the Manes Sperber Prize (2005), and the Georg Dehio Book Award (2006). He is editor and copublisher of the journal Literatur und Kritik (Salzburg).
