Portrait of Georg Büchner, pencil drawing by the Darmstadt theater painter Philipp August Joseph Hoffmann
Awarded for
authors writing in the German language whose work is considered especially meritorious and who have made a significant contribution to contemporary German culture
The Georg Büchner Prize (German: Georg-Büchner-Preis) is the most important literary prize for German language literature. The award is named after dramatist and writer Georg Büchner, author of Woyzeck and Leonce and Lena. The Georg Büchner Prize is awarded annually for authors "writing in the German language who have notably emerged through their oeuvre as essential contributors to the shaping of contemporary German cultural life".[1]
History
The Georg Büchner Prize was created in 1923 in memory of Georg Büchner and was only given to artists who came from or were closely tied to Büchner's home of Hesse.[2] It was first awarded in 1923. Among the early recipients were mostly visual artists, poets, actors, and singers.[3]
In 1951, the prize changed to a general literary prize, awarded annually by the Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung. It goes to German language authors, and the annual speech by the recipient takes place in Darmstadt. Since 2002, the prize has been endowed with €50,000.
The Georg Büchner Prize and the Nobel Prize in Literature
