Elfriede Jelinek is an Austrian playwright and novelist, renowned for her remarkable contributions to German literature. Born on 20 October 1946, she has earned distinction as one of the most decorated authors writing in German.

Jelinek was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Literature for her "musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that, with extraordinary linguistic zeal, reveal the absurdity of society's clichés and their subjugating power." Her works are celebrated for their critical examination of social structures and power dynamics.