Andreas Steinhöfel grew up with two brothers in the Middle Hesse small town Biedenkopf, and did his A Levels there.

After his graduation in 1991, his first book Dirk und ich [de] was released.

One of his most famous books is Paul Vier und die Schröders (1992), which is now standard reading in German schools.

Die Mitte der Welt was translated into English (The Center of the World) by Alisa Jaffa and made into a film of the same name in 2016.

[citation needed] Steinhöfel lives and works in Hesse and was the cohabitee of Gianni Vitiello [de] until his death.