The Kleist Prize is an annual

German literature German literature () comprises those literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy and to a less ...

prize. The prize was first awarded in 1912, on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the death of

Heinrich von Kleist Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (18 October 177721 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays '' Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'', ''The Broken Jug'', ''Amph ...

. The Kleist Prize was the most important

literary award A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony. M ...

of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a Constitutional republic, constitutional federal republic for the first time in ...

, but was discontinued in 1933. In 1985 the prize was awarded for the first time in over fifty years. Between 1994 and 2000 it was awarded biennially. A monetary sum of €20,000 accompanies the award.

Winners

Listings of the Kleist Prize winners are maintained by the Kleist-Archiv Sembdner. and Kleist Gesellschaft

1912–1932

*1912

Hermann Burte Hermann or Herrmann may refer to: * Hermann (name), list of people with this name * Arminius, chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe in the 1st century, known as Hermann in the German language * Éditions Hermann, French publisher * Hermann, Miss ...

and

Reinhard Sorge Reinhard Sorge (29 January 1892, Berlin, German Empire – 20 July 1916, Ablaincourt, France) was a German dramatist and poet. He is best known for writing the Expressionist play '' The Beggar'' (''Der Bettler''), which won the Kleist Pr ...

*1913 Hermann Essig and

Oskar Loerke Oskar Loerke (13 March 1884, Jungen – 24 February 1941, Berlin) was a German poet, prose writer, literary critic and essayist. Loerke was a prominent representative of Expressionism and magic realism in Germany. Life and career Loerke was ...

*1914

Fritz von Unruh Fritz von Unruh (; 10 May 1885 – 28 November 1970) was a German expressionist dramatist, poet, and novelist. Biography Unruh was born in Koblenz, Germany. A general's son, he was an officer in the German army until 1912, when he ...

and Hermann Essig *1915

Robert Michel Robert Henry Michel (; March 2, 1923 – February 17, 2017) was an American Republican Party politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives for 38 years. He represented central Illinois' 18th congressional distric ...

and

Arnold Zweig Arnold Zweig (10 November 1887 – 26 November 1968) was a German writer, pacifist and socialist. He is best known for his six-part cycle on World War I. Life and work Zweig was born in Glogau, Prussian Silesia (now Głogów, Poland), the son ...

*1916

Agnes Miegel Agnes Miegel (9 March 1879 – 26 October 1964) was a German author, journalist and poet. She is best known for her poems and short stories about East Prussia, but also for the support she gave to the Nazi Party. Biography Agnes Miegel was born ...

and

Heinrich Lersch Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...

*1917

Walter Hasenclever Walter Georg Alfred Hasenclever (8 July 1890 – 22 June 1940) was a German Expressionist poet and playwright. His works were banned when the Nazis came to power and he went into exile in France. There he was imprisoned as a "foreign enemy". H ...

*1918

Leonhard Frank Leonhard Frank (4 September 1882 in Würzburg – 18 August 1961 in Munich) was a German expressionist writer. He studied painting and graphic art in Munich, and gained acclaim with his first novel ''The Robber Band'' (1914, tr. 1928). When a Be ...

and Paul Zech *1919 Anton Dietzenschmidt and

Kurt Heynicke Kurt is a male given name of Germanic or Turkish origin. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. In Turkish, Kurt means "Wolf" and i ...

*1920

Hans Henny Jahnn Hans Henny Jahnn (born Hans Henny August Jahn'';'' 17 December 1894 – 29 November 1959) was a German playwright, novelist, and organ-builder. Personal life Hans Henny Jahn was born in 1894 in Stellingen, one of Hamburg's suburbs, and was the s ...

*1921 Paul Gurk *1922

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

*1923 Wilhelm Lehmann and

Robert Musil Robert Musil (; 6 November 1880 – 15 April 1942) was an Austrian philosophical writer. His unfinished novel, '' The Man Without Qualities'' (german: link=no, Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften), is generally considered to be one of the most importan ...

*1924

Ernst Barlach Ernst Heinrich Barlach (2 January 1870 – 24 October 1938) was a German expressionist sculptor, medallist, printmaker and writer. Although he was a supporter of the war in the years leading to World War I, his participation in the war made hi ...

*1925

Carl Zuckmayer Carl Zuckmayer (27 December 1896 – 18 January 1977) was a German writer and playwright. His older brother was the pedagogue, composer, conductor, and pianist Eduard Zuckmayer. Life and career Born in Nackenheim in Rhenish Hesse, he was ...

*1926

Alexander Lernet-Holenia Alexander Lernet-Holenia (21 October 1897, in Vienna — 3 July 1976) was an Austrian poet, novelist, dramaturgist and writer of screenplays and historical studies who produced a heterogeneous literary opus that included poetry, psychological ...

and Alfred Neumann ( Rahel Sanzara did not accept her prize), Honorable Mention:

Martin Kessel Martin Kessel (14 April 1901 – 14 April 1990) was a German writer. In 1954, he was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize by the Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung. He was born in Plauen and died in Berlin. The New York based literary website ...

*1927

Gerhard Menzel Gerhard Menzel (29 September 1894 – 4 May 1966) was a German screenwriter. He wrote for nearly 40 films between 1933 and 1965. He was supportive of Nazism and worked for Nazi propaganda. He was responsible for writing the script of ''Heimk ...

and Hans Meisel *1928

Anna Seghers Anna Seghers (; born ''Anna Reiling,'' 19 November 1900 – 1 June 1983), is the pseudonym of a German writer notable for exploring and depicting the moral experience of the Second World War. Born into a Jewish family and married to a Hungarian ...

*1929 Alfred Brust and Eduard Reinacher *1930 Reinhard Goering *1931

Ödön von Horvath Ödön is a male given name of Hungarian origin, since the 19th century Ödön became variant of Edmund. It may refer to: * Ödön Bárdi (1877–1958), actor * Ödön Batthyány-Strattmann (1826–1914) nobleman * Ödön Beöthy (1796–1854), ...

and Erik Reger *1932 Richard Billinger and Else Lasker-Schüler

1933–1984

Discontinued

1985–present

*1985

Alexander Kluge Alexander Kluge (born 14 February 1932) is a German author, philosopher, academic and film director. Early life, education and early career Kluge was born in Halberstadt, Province of Saxony (now Saxony-Anhalt), Germany. After growing up durin ...

for ''Die Macht der Gefühle'' *1986 Diana Kempf for ''Der Wanderer'' *1987 Thomas Brasch for ''Robert, ich, Fastnacht und die anderen'' *1988

Ulrich Horstmann Ulrich Horstmann (born 31 May 1949 in Bünde) is a German literary scholar and writer, who has also written under the pseudonym Klaus Steintal. Life Ulrich Horstmann finished his studies of English and Philosophy in 1974 with a doctoral thesis on ...

*1989 Ernst Augustin for ''Der amerikanische Traum'' *1990 Heiner Müller for ''Hamletmaschine'' *1991 Gaston Salvatore for ''Lektionen der Finsternis'' *1992 Monika Maron for ''Stille Zeile Sechs'' *1993

Ernst Jandl Ernst Jandl (; 1 August 1925 – 9 June 2000) was an Austrian writer, poet, and translator. He became known for his experimental lyric, mainly sound poems (''Sprechgedichte'') in the tradition of concrete and visual poetic forms. Poetry Inf ...

for life works *1994 Herta Müller for '' Herztier'' *1996 Hans Joachim Schädlich for ''Der Kuckuck und die Nachtigall'' *1998

Dirk von Petersdorff A dirk is a long bladed thrusting dagger.Chisholm, Hugh (ed.), ''Dagger'', The Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., Vol. VII, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press (1910), p. 729 Historically, it gained its name from the Highland Dirk (Scot ...

for ''Wie es weitergeht'' & ''Zeitlösung'' *2000

Barbara Honigmann Barbara Honigmann (born 12 February 1949 in East Berlin) is a German author, artist and theater director. Honigmann is the daughter of Jewish emigrant parents, who returned to East Berlin in 1947 after a period of exile in Great Britain. Her pare ...

for ''Alles, alles Liebe!'' *2001

Judith Hermann Judith Hermann (born 15 May 1970) is a German author. She has published several books of short stories and her first novel was published in 2014. She is a leading figure of the ''Fräuleinwunder'' ("girl wonder") group of women writers. Life ...

for ''Sommerhaus, später'' *2002

Martin Mosebach Martin Mosebach (born 31 July 1951, in Frankfurt am Main) is a German writer. Biography He has published novels, stories, and collections of poems, written scripts for several films, opera libretti, theatre and radio plays. His first major non ...

for ''Eine lange Nacht'', ''Der Nebenfürst'' & ''Das Grab der Pulcinellen'' *2003 Albert Ostermaier for ''Vatersprache'' *2004 Emine Sevgi Özdamar for ''Seltsame Sterne starren zur Erde. Wedding – Pankow 1976/77'' *2005 Gert Jonke for ''Seltsame Sache'' & ''Die versunkene Kathedrale'' *2006

Daniel Kehlmann Daniel Kehlmann (; born 13 January 1975) is a German-language novelist and playwright of both Austrian and German nationality.Ich und Kaminski'' & '' Die Vermessung der Welt'' *2007

Wilhelm Genazino Wilhelm Genazino (22 January 1943 – 12 December 2018) was a German journalist and author. He worked first as a journalist for the satirical magazine ''Pardon (magazine), pardon'' and for ''Lesezeichen''. From the early 1970s, he was a freelance ...

for ''Mittelmäßiges Heimweh'' *2008

Max Goldt Max Goldt (pseudonym of Matthias Ernst) (born 23 November 1958) is a German writer, columnist and musician. Early life Goldt was born in the town of Weende, now Göttingen, to working-class parents originally from Silesia. In 1977, he moved to ...

for life works *2009

Arnold Stadler Arnold Stadler (born 1954) is a German writer, essayist and translator. Life He was born on 9 April 1954 in Meßkirch in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Stadler grew up on a farm in Rast, a small village adjoini ...

(destined by

Péter Esterházy Péter Esterházy (14 April 1950 – 14 July 2016) was a Hungarian writer. He was one of the best known Hungarian and Central European writers of his era. He has been called a "leading figure of 20th century Hungarian literature", his books being ...

) for ''Einmal auf der Welt. Und dann so'' *2010

Ferdinand von Schirach Ferdinand von Schirach (born 12 May 1964) is a German lawyer and writer. He published his first short stories at the age of forty-five. Shortly thereafter he became one of Germany's most successful authors. His books, which have been translated i ...

for ''Verbrechen'' *2011

Sibylle Lewitscharoff Sibylle Lewitscharoff (born 16 April 1954) is a German author. Among her novels are ''Pong'' (1998), ''Apostoloff'' (2009) and ''Blumenberg'' (2011). She has received several German literary awards, including the Georg Büchner Prize in 2013. E ...

for ''Blumenberg'' *2012

Navid Kermani Navid Kermani (; fa, نوید کرمانی; ; born 27 November 1967 in Siegen, Germany) is a German writer and orientalist. He is the author of several novels as well as books and essays on Islam, the Middle East and Christian-Muslim dialogue. ...

for life works *2013 Katja Lange-Müller for life works *2014

Marcel Beyer Marcel Beyer (born 23 November 1965) is a German writer. Life Marcel Beyer was born in Tailfingen, Württemberg, and grew up in Kiel and Neuss. From 1987 to 1991 he studied German language and literature, English studies and literary studies ...

for life worksBuchmarkt.de vom 12. Mai 2014: ''Hortensia Völckers verleiht den Kleist-Preis an Marcel Beyer
retrieved 12 May 2014. *2015

Monika Rinck Monika Rinck (born 29 April 1969 in Zweibrücken) is a German writer. Life and work After graduating from high school, Monika Rinck studied religious studies, history, and comparative literature in Bochum, Berlin and Yale. She writes poetry, pro ...

*2016

Yoko Tawada Yōko Tawada (多和田葉子 ''Tawada Yōko'', born March 23, 1960) is a Japanese writer currently living in Berlin, Germany. She writes in both Japanese and German. Tawada has won numerous literary awards, including the Akutagawa Prize, the Tan ...

*2017

Ralf Rothmann Ralf Rothmann (born May 10, 1953 in Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein) is a German novelist, poet, and dramatist. His novels have been translated into several languages with Knife Edge (''Messers Schneide'') and Young Light (''Junges Licht'') being ...

*2018

Christoph Ransmayr Christoph Ransmayr (born 20 March 1954) is an Austrian writer. Life Born in Wels, Upper Austria, Ransmayr grew up in Roitham near Gmunden and the Traunsee. From 1972 to 1978 he studied philosophy and ethnology in Vienna. He worked there as c ...

*2019 Ilma Rakusa *2020

Clemens J. Setz Clemens J. Setz (born 15 November 1982, in Graz), is an Austrian writer and translator. He debuted in 2007 with the novel ''Söhne und Planeten''. His second novel, ''Die Frequenzen'', was shortlisted for the German Book Prize. He won the 2011 L ...

*2021 ''not awarded'' *2022

Esther Kinsky Esther Kinsky (born 1956 in Engelskirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) is a German literary translator and the author of novels and poetry. Life and works Esther Kinsky grew up in North Rhine-Westphalia and read Slavonic studies at Bonn. Sh ...

References

External links

Heinrich von Kleist Gesellschaft
{{Authority control Heinrich von Kleist German literary awards