Festival of German-Language Literature

31. Festival of German-Language Literature / Ingeborg Bachmann Prize, 2007

The Festival of German-Language Literature (German: Tage der deutschsprachigen Literatur) is a literary event which takes place annually in Klagenfurt, Austria. During this major literary festival which lasts for several days a number of awards are given, the major one being the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize, first awarded in 1977 and one of the most important awards for literature in the German language.

History[edit]

In the mid seventies, the journalist and writer Humbert Fink and the chairman of the Austrian Radio and TV (ORF) studio in Carinthia at that time, Ernst Willner, decided to establish a literary competition based on an event held by Gruppe 47. They were able to enlist Marcel Reich-Ranicki amongst others onto the original jury. The result was the Festival of German-Language Literature, which has taken place annually since 1977 and is televised live by ORF.

The Ingeborg Bachmann Prize[edit]

The main prize of the Festival is given in memory of Ingeborg Bachmann (25 June 1926 – 17 October 1973), one of the most distinguished Austrian writers.

The prize winner is determined during a three-day reading event in which the invited candidates present their literary contributions, which have to be unpublished, to the nine-member professional jury and the public. Each presentation is about 25 minutes long and the original language of these contributions must be German.[1] A moderator presents and guides the readings and the discussions of the jury and the writers have to convince both the jury and the public of the quality of their contributions.

In 2008, the jury was reduced to seven members, the competing writers from eighteen to fourteen. Since 2006, the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize has been endowed with 25,000 EUR.

Other prizes[edit]

Several other literature prizes are awarded during the Festival, in total usually three to five awards. Over the years, additional sponsored prizes have been awarded:

  • Deutschlandfunk Prize (EUR 12,500)
  • Jury Prize, aka Kelag-Prize (since 2000, EUR 10,000)
  • 3sat Prize (given by 3sat, EUR 7,500)
  • BKS Bank Audience Prize (since 2002, EUR 7,000)
  • Ernst Willner Prize (EUR 7,000)
  • Editor's special prize

Prize winners[edit]

Sharon Dodua Otoo – Winner of the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize for 2016

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ See the announcement of the Bachmann Prize at the Uschtrin Service Archived 8 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved on 4 April 2011.
  2. ^ "Valeria Gordeev gewinnt Bachmann-Preis". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). 2 July 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  3. ^ Reichwein, Marc (26 June 2022). "Bachmannpreis 2022 geht an Ana Marwan". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  4. ^ Haas, Petra (26 June 2022). "Bachmannpreis für Ana Marwan". Bachmannpreis (in German). Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Bachmann-Preis: Birgit Birnbacher gewinnt mit "Der Schrank" – Kultur". Der Spiegel (in German). 30 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Literatur-Auszeichnung: Tanja Maljartschuk gewinnt Bachmann-Preis". Spiegel Online. 8 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  7. ^ "Ferdinand Schmalz gewinnt Bachmannpreis". Bachmannpreis (in German). 9 July 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  8. ^ "Bachmann-Preis 2016 an Sharon Dodua Otoo". Bachmannpreis (in German). 3 July 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  9. ^ "Bachmannpreis für Nora Gomringer". Bachmannpreis (in German). 5 July 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  10. ^ Rubinowitz gewinnt Bachmannpreis kaernten.orf.at, 6 July 2014
  11. ^ Petrowskaja gewinnt Bachmannpreis kaernten.orf.at, 7 July 2013

External links[edit]