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 24/3/1927
Deceased 26/7/2023
Member since 1968
... für ein vielgestaltiges und erfindungsreiches Werk, das mit raschem Witz und stürmischer Sprachkraft in unermüdlichem Bemühen das Gesicht seiner Zeit und ihrer Menschen zu ergründen sucht.
Jury members
Juryvorsitz: Peter de Mendelssohn
Beda Allemann, Peter Benz (Stadt Darmstadt), Herman Dieter Betz (Hessisches Kultusministerium), Ludwig Harig, Geno Hartlaub, Herbert Heckmann, Hans Paeschke, Lea Ritter-Santini, Bruno Snell (Ehrenpräsident), Dolf Sternberger (Ehrenpräsident), Gerhard Storz (Ehrenpräsident), Bernhard Zeller, Eva Zeller, Ernst Zinn