The Georg Büchner Prize was first established during the Weimar Republic by the State of Hesse. Its purpose was to recognise writers, artists, actors and singers. It was first awarded in 1923 in the state capital, Darmstadt.
Since 1951 the new Büchner Prize has been awarded annually by the German Academy for Language and Literature. According to the charter of the Academy, it is given to authors »writing in the German language whose work is considered especially meritorious and who have made a significant contribution to contemporary German culture.«
The prize is awarded at a ceremony held during the autumn conference of the German Academy in Darmstadt.
The prize currently comes with an award of €50,000.
Writer
Born 31/7/1951
Member since 2003
... dem Erzähler von weltweitem Horizont, der die klassischen und die modernen Traditionen des Romans zu einer kraftvollen neuen Synthese geführt hat, und dem Essayisten von universaler Bildung.
Jury members
Juryvorsitz: Klaus Reichert
Friedrich Christian Delius, Peter Hamm, Harald Hartung, Joachim Kalka, Peter von Matt, Uwe Pörksen, Ilma Rakusa, Gustav Seibt, Werner Spies, außerdem Peter Benz (Stadt Darmstadt), Albert Zetzsche (Hessisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst)