Lilian Faschinger was born in Austria in 1950.

Since her 1983 debut, Selbstauslöser: Lyrik und Kurzprosa, Faschinger has written three novels, two radio plays, two short-story collections, a book of poetry, and several translations. In 1990, she won the Austrian National Award for Literary Translation. Her novels Magdalena the Sinner and Woman with Three Aeroplanes have been published in English.

She has been a writer-in-residence in the United States at Dartmouth College, Deutsches Haus of NYU, and Washington University.

Faschinger lives in Vienna.