Book presentation

Crime thriller for children: young author invites you to a haunted castle

At the age of 15, Matthias Pogatschnig has already written his first book, and a second is already in the works.

(Bild: zVg)

Things get exciting when Matthias Pogatschnig talks about his book. The up-and-coming author and his "adventurers" visit a haunted castle where strange things are going on. He presents the book today, Saturday (5 pm), at the Europahaus Klagenfurt.

"I quite like being an artist - above all I like doing readings, that's what you should do as an author," says the 15-year-old young author, bursting with energy in an interview with the "Krone". The pupil at the CHS in Villach, where he attends art classes, is not only creative in his free time, he is also a bit of a sportsman: "I play a lot of soccer, I like to read, do handicrafts and draw - anything that has to do with art." The 15-year-old is also active in the theater: "I play in the TURBO Theater and have my own radio show there with a colleague. We're currently rehearsing for a play that will premiere in February."

Adventurers experience adventures
But above all, Matthias is passionate about writing. The young author is already used to readings, so his nervousness is correspondingly low: "It works - I've already had a few readings - six in public and 15 in elementary school," says the young artist. His debut work "Welcome to the Ghost Castle" was published in 2023 - a crime thriller for children aged eight and up: "In the first volume of the planned crime thriller series 'Adventurers Experience Adventure', four children are at a vacation boarding school in Salzburg where strange things are happening - which they naturally want to get to the bottom of. This leads them back to their home in Carinthia to the fictional town of Kleinkirchen." 

Matthias writes up to 6000 words in one evening
Matthias prefers to write at night when it's dark: "That's when I'm alone and listen to a radio play like 'The Three Question Marks' or 'TKK' - that's when I get a bit of inspiration. I usually write for four to six hours straight, so I can write up to 6,000 words in one evening." In addition to theater, soccer and school, the aspiring author unfortunately doesn't get to write as often as he would like, but he wants to change that during the Christmas vacations.

The young author is also already busy signing autographs.

(Bild: zVg)

The 15-year-old presents his crime novel "Welcome to the Ghost Castle"

(Bild: zVg)

Further readings are already scheduled
Anyone who wants to see his exciting stories for themselves will have the opportunity on Saturday, December 14 (at 5 p.m.) at the Europahaus in Klagenfurt. Matthias will also be presenting some of his drawings here.

Further dates have already been set: "I'll be at the Heyn bookstore in Klagenfurt on February 1 - I'm really looking forward to that. This is also the first time I've been paid a fee. Then on February 8 I'll be in Wernberg in the community center." The young Wernberg native is always available for further readings.