Christoph Ransmayr is an Austrian writer, born on March 20, 1954, in Wels, Upper Austria. He grew up in Roitham near Gmunden and the Traunsee. From 1972 to 1978, Ransmayr studied philosophy and ethnology in Vienna. His career in journalism began as a cultural editor for the newspaper Extrablatt from 1978 to 1982. He also published articles and essays in renowned magazines such as GEO, TransAtlantik, and Merian.

His literary prominence was marked by the 1988 publication of his novel Die letzte Welt, after which he traveled extensively in Ireland, Asia, North and South America. In 1994, attracted by a favorable lease offer and Irish tax exemptions for artists, Ransmayr moved to West Cork, Ireland.