Goethe-Institut New York | Current Writing Blog - Literary Prizes

Poet Tzveta Sofronieva wins Becker Prize

nospam@example.com (Edna McCown) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:52:00 +0200

White Pine Press in Buffalo, NY, has announced the first winner of its newly-established Cliff Becker Prize in Translation. A Hand Full of Water, a collection of poems by Bulgarian-born German writer Tzveta Sofronieva, will be published in a bilingual edition translated by Chantal Wright in fall 2012.

Renowned translator Willis Barnstone, the judge for this year's contest, stated: “Tzveta Sofronieva’s poetry sparkles...Her A Hand Full of Water is the most compelling volume in German verse since the work of Ingeborg Bachman and Hans Magnus Enzensberger....The lucent version by Chantal Wright captures the verve and fluid images of Sofornieva’s poetry....In the best sense her translation stands as an original book of poetry.”

Hotlist winner announced at Frankfurt Book Fair

nospam@example.com (Edna McCown) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 20:37:00 +0200

The Hotlist Prize of the Independents was awarded during this year's Frankfurt Book Fair, at the Sinkkasten Arts Club on October 14. Author Charlotte Roche und der Freitag publisher Jakob Augstein served as moderators of the awards ceremony.

Since 2009 the Hotlist of the 10 best books published by German independent houses is chosen annually by the public and a jury. The jury then names one of these titles to receive the 5,000 € Hotlist Prize. This year's award went to the Frankfurter Verlagsanstalt for Nino Haratischwili's novel, Mein sanfter Zwilling, "a fatal love story between two people who define each other's existence and yet who continually seek to go their separate ways."

In addition, 2011 marks the awarding of the first Melusine Huss Prize, chosen by German booksellers. Stroemfeld Verlag received a 4,000 € voucher toward future printing costs, presented for Peter Kurzeck's novel Vorabend, the fifth volume of his autobiographical chronicle, Das alte Jahrhundert.

Sondermann Prizes awarded at Frankfurt Book Fair

nospam@example.com (Edna McCown) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 21:30:00 +0200

One of the last award ceremonies at this year's Frankfurt Book Fair took place late Saturday afternoon in the Comic Center: the Sondermann Prize. Awards in six categories, four chosen by popular vote, were announced from a slate of best-selling comics and graphic novels as reported by booksellers.

This year's Best Comic Published in Germany went to Isabel Kreitz and Peer Meter for their graphic novel, Haarmann, named for the real-life serial killer who enticed his 24 victims to his apartment and then did gruesome things to them -- before and after he murdered them. Kreitz's drawings recreate 1920s Hannover in the finest detail and author Peer Meter's text reveals the corruption at the heart of the Haarmann scandal. It turns out that the serial killer was an informant for the Hannover police, and could have been stopped in his tracks years earlier.

Anike Hage won the German Manga Sondermann for her version of Gudrun Pausewang's classic novel, Die Wolke, and David Füleki received the Web Sondermann for Best Internet Comic with his "Entoman. Serial Sausage Slaughter". Asja Wiegand was named Best Newcomer and Eugen Egner carried home this year's Bernd Pfarr-Sondermann for Comic Art for his complete work, the latter two prizes being the only of the Sondermanns selected by jury.

The Goethe-Institut New York Library has titles by Isabel Kreitz, Peer Meter, and Anike Hage for loan.

Lewitscharoff wins Raabe Prize

nospam@example.com (Katherine Lorimer ) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 21:22:25 +0200

Sibylle Lewitscharoff's novel Blumenberg (Suhrkamp, 2011) - which was also shortlisted for the German Book Prize - was awarded this year's Wilhelm-Raabe Literature Prize. The purse of 30,000 € will be disbursed at an awards ceremony in Braunschweig on November 6th. The jury praised Lewitscharoff for "creating a biographical fantasy about the famous German philosopher that provocatively leaves the path of realistic storytelling with aplomb".

You may download a free, sample translation by Shaun Whiteside here (PDF).

German Book Prize to Eugen Ruge

nospam@example.com (Katherine Lorimer ) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:20:00 +0200

The 2011 German Book Prize was awarded to the 57 year old author Eugen Ruge for his debut novel, In Zeiten des abnehmenden Lichts (Rowohlt, 2011).

In explaining its decision, the jury wrote, "Eugen Ruge’s family saga is a reflection of East German history. He manages to tame the experiences of four generations over 50 years into a dramatically refined composition. His book tells the story of the socialist utopia, the price demanded of the individual, and its gradual extinction. At the same time, his novel is distinguished by its great entertainment value and strong sense of humour."

The novel also garnered this year's Aspekte Prize; a draft manuscript of the novel received the Alfred Döblin Prize in 2009. You can read an English-language excerpt from the novel on signandsight.

Rheingau Literatur Preis and Hannah Arendt Preis announced

nospam@example.com (Edna McCown) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:37:00 +0200

Two major literary prizes were recently announced: the Rheingau Literatur Preis, awarded to Austrian novelist Josef Haslinger, and the Hannah-Arendt-Preis, which this year goes to German-Iranian novelist Navid Kermani.

The Rheingau Literatur Preis comes not only with a € 10,000 purse, but with a cellar's worth of Rheingauer wine, 111 bottles to be exact. Josef Haslinger, who also serves as current director of the Leipzig Literaturinstitut, receives the award on September 25 for his novel Jáchymov (S. Fischer Verlag, 2011). Jáchymov is based on true events involving the Czech national hockey team, which after two world championships was accused by the Czechoslovakian government of subversive activities and sentenced to the labor camp of the Jáchymov uranian mines.

The Hannah-Arendt-Preis, awarded by the Bremen Senate and the Heinrich Böll Foundation, goes this year to orientalist and author Navid Kermani. The jury stated: "Like Denis Diderot and Hannah Arendt, who considered Jews to be the link between the nations of Europe, Navid Kermani sees Muslim immigrants of today as mediators between the states of Europe." Kermani's most recent novel, Dein Name, appears next week with Hanser Verlag

You will find titles by both authors in our library.

Heinrich Böll and Ingeborg-Bachmann Prizes announced

nospam@example.com (Edna McCown) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 20:52:32 +0200

Two major German-language literary prizes were announced over the weekend. In Klagenfurt, Austria, the 2011 Ingeborg-Bachmann-Preis and its 25,000 euro award went to Austrian Maja Haderlap, following a reading of "Im Kessel", a chapter from her debut novel, Engel des Vergessens, to be published this month by Wallstein Verlag. The novel relates the story of a village of Slovene Carinthians who offered resistance to the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War.

Meanwhile in Cologne, the Heinrich-Böll-Preis, awarded by the city of Cologne in honor of its native son, goes, in its 31st year, to novelist Ulrich Peltzer, who in the judgement of the jury is a "patient and sensitive guide to social change in the Federal Republic of Germany." The award and its 20,000 euro purse will be presented to Peltzer at Cologne's City Hall on December 2. Among the author's recent titles are Bryant Park (2002) and Teil der Lösung (2007).

Döblin-Preis to Der amerikanische Investor

nospam@example.com (Edna McCown) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 21:05:00 +0200

Jan Peter Bremer has won the Alfred-Döblin-Preis for his work-in-progress, Der amerikanische Investor, which Boersenblatt describes as a "Schriftstellerfamilienkatastrophenroman."

Funded by Günter Grass and awarded by the Berliner Akademie der Künste and the Literarisches Collquium Berlin (LCB), the prize was announced on May 29, following readings by 6 short-listed authors chosen by the jury from 500 entrants. Jury and public, this year joined by Günter Grass, discussed the merits of the 6 excerpts and the jury then came to its final decision. Grass presented Jan Peter Bremer with the award, which carries a 12,000 € purse.

Bremer's novel is written as a German author's attempt to address the American investor who has bought the dilapidated Berlin building the writer and his family call home, but each try at a suitable salutation repeatedly returns him to his desperate situation. The novel will be published in August by Berliner Verlag.

Büchner Prize to Friedrich Christian Delius

nospam@example.com (Edna McCown) — Thu, 19 May 2011 15:54:00 +0200

Germany's highest literary honor, the Büchner Prize, will be awarded this year to Friedrich Christian Delius, it was announced yesterday. In the opinion of the Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung jury, Delius, in his novels and stories, proves himself a "critical, resourceful, and inventive observor," who has "recounted the chronicle of German consciousness in the twentieth century", adding that his "politically-aware, ideology-resistant, humane texts" plumb the historical depths of the present day.

Delius, born in 1943 in Rome, grew up in Germany and worked for German publishers before turning full-time to writing in 1978. A member of Gruppe 47 in its final years, he is also a member of the Akademie der Künste in Berlin and the Freien Akademie der Künste in Hamburg. His works have received many awards and have been translated into 17 languages. Among his latest titles are the fictionalized tale of his mother, pregnant with her first child (him), in Rome in 1943, Bildnis der Mutter als junge Frau (Portrait of the Mother as a Young Woman, Pereine Press, 2010) and Die Frau, für die ich den Computer erfand.

The Büchner-Preis and its €50,000 purse will be awarded in Darmstadt on October 29 for the 60th time in its history.

You will find a number of titles by Friedrich Christian Delius in the library of the Goethe-Institut New York.

"Sodom and Gomorrah in the Alps" wins Glauser Prize

nospam@example.com (Edna McCown) — Mon, 09 May 2011 22:35:00 +0200

While certainly not a new genre in German literature, the Krimi is gaining fresh traction in Austria, Germany and Switzerland with authors such as Jan Costin Wagner and Heinrich Steinfest. The top prize in the field is the Friedrich Glauser Preis, and this year’s winner is Kurt Palm, with his attention grabbing title, Bad Fucking (Residenz Verlag, 2010). Which refers -- but not only -- to the name of the Austrian village in which this tale of murder and mayhem transpires. The cast of indisputably colorful characters includes the corpse Vitus Schallmoser, the gone-missing Interior Minister Karin Sperr, cleaning lady Jagoda Dragievi, who is blackmailing the village dentist based on some nude photos, and a group of cheerleaders-in-training (don’t ask).

In its statement, the Glauser jury declared Bad Fucking to be a “grandiose attack on the oppressiveness of everyday life, whether in an alpine village or the political sphere. Wicked, obscene and hilariously funny. That one is reminded of Thomas Bernhard is no accident.“ For a dose of what’s in store for readers, take a look at a slightly surreal reading by the author himself.

Nor is this the first highly individual title Palm has published. Consider Der Brechreiz eines Hottentotten: Ein James-Joyce-Alphabet von Aal bis Zahl or Suppe Taube Spargel sehr sehr gut: Essen und Trinken mit Adalbert Stifter. Ein literarisches Kochbuch.

Wolfgang Herrndorf wins Brentano-Preis with tschick

nospam@example.com (Edna McCown) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 16:41:36 +0100

Berlin novelist and short story writer Wolfgang Herrndorf has been named this year's recipient of the Clemens-Brentano-Preis, for tschick, his novel published last September by Rowohlt Verlag. The Clemens Brentano Preis is awarded to a German writer annually, alternating between stories, essays, novels and poetry.

Born in 1965 in Hamburg, Herrndorf studied painting, then worked as an illustrator for, among others, the satirical magazine, Titanic. His first novel, In Plüschgewittern (Zweitausendeins), appeared in 2002, and was followed by the story collection, Diesseits des Van-Allen-Gürtels (Eichborn Verlag, 2007), for which he was awarded the first Deutscher Erzählerpreis.

The Brentano-Preis jury praised Herrndorf's touching and comic work, particularly his ability to take the slang spoken by tschick's two adolescent misfits and turn it into "literature that will endure."

THe Goethe-Institut Library holds copies of In Plüschgewittern and tschick.

Berliner Literaturpreis for Thomas Lehr and Season's Greetings

nospam@example.com (Edna McCown) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 16:29:00 +0100

Novelist Thomas Lehr, author of the novel September. Fata Morgana (Hanser, 2010), which made the shortlist for the German Book Prize, has won the Berliner Literaturpreis der Stiftung Preußische Seehandlung.

Endowed at 30,000 euros, the prize honors authors who through narrative prose, drama or poetry have made a major contribution to contemporary German-language literature. The Berlin Prize for Literature will be awarded by Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit at the Rotes Rathaus in early January 2011.

Thomas Lehr, born in 1957 in Speyer, has lived in Berlin since 1979. Before becoming a writer he studied biochemistry and science at the Freie Universität Berlin and worked as a programmer in a science library. He has received a number of literary honors, including the Wolfgang-Koeppen-Preis (2000) and the Art Prize of Rheinland-Palatinate (2006). Keep your eye out here for news of a visit by Thomas Lehr to New York late this spring.

As this will be our last post as we move into the holidays, Katherine and I send you season's greetings. See you in 2011!

David Dollenmayer wins ACFNY Translation Prize

nospam@example.com (Edna McCown) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 15:42:00 +0100

Translation Award/Discussion
12/06/10
Austrian Cultural Forum
11 East 52nd Street
New York, NY 10022
Phone: +1 (212) 319 5300
Free
RSVP required

David Dollenmayer, professor of German at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, MA, is the winner of the second translation prize to be awarded by the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York. His winning entry is a translation of Michael Köhlmeier’s novelle, Idylle mit ertrinkendem Hund [Idyll with drowning dog].

Recipient of the 2008 Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator's Prize for his translation of Moses Rosenkranz’s Childhood. An Autobiographical Fragment (Syracuse University Press, 2007), Dollenmayer also has published the translations Dearest Georg by Elias Canetti (2010), Crossing the Hudson by Peter Stephan Jungk (2009), and House of Childhood by Anna Mitgutsch (2006).

The work of Michael Köhlmeier, author of the 2007 novel Abendland, has yet to be translated into English. The ACF Translation Prize of 3,000 € is awarded to the translator only if the book is picked up by a publisher within three years.

Viennese literary critic Daniela Strigl will present the winner with a trophy at the award ceremony at the Austrian Cultural Forum on December 6. The evening also includes a conversation on literature in translation with Fatima Naqvi of Rutgers University, followed by a short reading of the award-winning text by David Dollenmayer and a reception.

Reservations are required for this event and can be made through the Austrian Cultural Forum.

Rattenfänger-Literaturpreis for Felicitas Hoppe

nospam@example.com (Edna McCown) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 20:55:00 +0100

The city of Hamelin, or Hameln, home to the Rattenfänger (Pied Piper) of legend, established the Rattenfänger-Literaturpreis on the 700th anniversary of the first appearance of the tale, purportedly familiar to a billion readers across the world. Every other year, the city of Hamelin awards the prize to the best book of phantasy, fairy tales or sagas, literary fairy tales or medieval tales.

This year's Rattenfänger-Literaturpreis goes to Felicitas Hoppe for her retelling of Hartmann von Aue's classic story from the Middle Ages, Iwein Löwenritter, first published by S. Fischer Verlag in 2008.

In announcing the prize the jury stated: "Is it possible to retell one of the most important works of the Middle Ages to children in such a way that they don't feel overburdened or bored, but instead become fascinated with a world that is foreign to them? Felicitas Hoppe has dared to do so and the result is a masterwork of phantasy."

Hoppe, a native of Hamelin, is the author of Pigafetta (2003), Paradiese, Übersee (2004), Verbrecher und Versager (2006), Johanna, a novel of Joan of Arc (2008) and, most recently, Sieben Schätze (2009). She is the recipient of numerous literary honors, has been a guest professor at Dartmouth College and Georgetown University.

The 5.000 € prize will be presented to the author in Hamelin on November 26.

You will find a number of titles by Felicitas Hoppe in the Goethe-Institut Library.

Christa Wolf Awarded Thomas Mann Prize

nospam@example.com (Edna McCown) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 23:39:00 +0200

Author Christa Wolf has been awarded the first Thomas Mann Preis der Hansestadt Lübeck und der Bayerischen Akademie der Schönen Künste, a marriage of the "Thomas Mann Preis der Hansestadt Lübeck" and the "Thomas-Mann-Preis der Bayerischen Akademie der Schönen Künste". The award ceremony, which will alternate annually between Lübeck and Munich, took place on October 24 in Lübeck, home of the Buddenbrookhaus, and came with a 25,000 euro purse.

Wolf was chosen by a seven-member jury, made up of three members each from the Academy and the City of Lübeck, and chaired by Professor Heinrich Detering of the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen. In its judgment, the jury stated, Christa Wolf raises questions, both critical and self-critical, on the struggles, hopes and mistakes of her time.

The role Wolf played as an East German writer working with the Stasi has been a source of controversy in the past, and is the subject of her novel, Stadt der Engel oder The Overcoat of Dr. Freud, which Wolf biographer Jörg Magenau cast a critical eye on in his review of the book. The review, originally published in taz, was translated into English by Signandsight.