The Heinrich Mann Prize () is an essay prize that has been awarded since 1953, first by the East German Academy of Arts, then by the Academy of Arts, Berlin. The prize, which comes with a €10,000 purse, is given annually on 27 March, Heinrich Mann's day of birth. The laureate is selected by an independent three-member jury which usually includes the previous year's laureate.

Recipients

*1953: Stefan Heym, Wolfgang Harich,

Max Zimmering Max Zimmering (16 November 1909 – 15 September 1973), was a German writer. Life Max Zimmering was born as a son of a clock maker in Pirna, Saxony. From 1914, he lived with an uncle in Dresden since his father would be drafted into the militar ...

*1954:

Gotthold Gloger Gotthold Gloger (17 June 1924 – 16 October 2001) was a German writer and painter. Life Gotthold Gloger was born in Königsberg, East Prussia. He received painting and drawing lessons as a child. He attended the Kunstgewerbeakademie in Kön ...

Theo Harych Theo Harych (19 December 1903 – 22 February 1958) was a German writer. Life Born in Doruchow, Province of Posen, Theo Harych was the son of a farmer. From 1910 to 1918, he worked as a herder and servant in Silesia. He stopped attending a ...

*1955: – *1956: Franz Fühmann, Rudolf Fischer, Wolfgang Schreyer *1957: Hanns Maaßen,

Herbert Nachbar Herbert Nachbar (12 February 1930 in Greifswald – 25 May 1980 in East Berlin) was a German writer resident in the German Democratic Republic. Life Herbert Nachbar was the son of a fisherman in Greifswald, Province of Pomerania (1815–1945 ...

Margarete Neumann Margarete Neumann (19 February 1917 – 4 March 2002) was a German writer and lyrical poet. Life Margarete Neumann was born in Pyritz, Pomerania, German Empire. She studied at the social educational seminar in Königsberg and worked until 1945 a ...

*1958: Hans Grundig, Herbert Jobst, Rosemarie Schuder *1959: Heiner Müller, Hans Lorbeer,

Inge Müller Inge Müller (born Inge Meyer) (13 March 1925 – 1 June 1966) was an East German author and the second wife of East German playwright Heiner Müller. Life Inge Müller was born in Berlin in 1925. During World War II, she participated in the Reic ...

*1960: Helmut Hauptmann, Annemarie Reinhard *1961: Dieter Noll *1962: Günter Kunert, Bernhard Seeger *1963: Christa Wolf *1964: Günter de Bruyn *1965: Johannes Bobrowski, Brigitte Reimann *1966: Peter Weiss *1967: Hermann Kant, Walter Kaufmann *1968: Herbert Ihering *1969:

Werner Heiduczek Werner Heiduczek (24 November 1926 – 28 July 2019) was a German writer. His works have been translated into more than 20 languages and name as author – depending on the language region – Verner Gajduček, Verners Heidučeks or Verneris Hei ...

Wolfgang Joho Wolfgang is a German male given name traditionally popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The name is a combination of the Old High German words '' wolf'', meaning "wolf", and '' gang'', meaning "path", "journey", "travel". Besides the reg ...

Alfred Wellm Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

*1970:

Fritz Selbmann Friedrich Wilhelm "Fritz" Selbmann (29 September 1899 – 26 January 1975) was a German Communist politician and writer who served as a member of the national parliament (Reichstag) during 1932/33. He spent the twelve Nazi years first in pris ...

Jeanne Stern Jeanne may refer to: Places * Jeanne (crater), on Venus People * Jeanne (given name) * Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc, 1412–1431) * Joanna of Flanders (1295–1374) * Joan, Duchess of Brittany (1319–1384) * Ruth Stuber Jeanne (1910–2004), Americ ...

Kurt Stern Kurt Stern (1907 in Berlin – 1989) was a screenwriter who worked for the DEFA (film studio), DEFA film studio in East Germany. He worked in partnership with his wife Jeanne (née Machin). In 1953, together with director Martin Hellberg, the S ...

Martin Viertel Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Aust ...

*1971: Jurek Becker,

Erik Neutsch Erik Neutsch (21 June 193 – 20 August 2013) was one of the most successful writers in East Germany. Life Early years Erik Neutsch came from a working family. After successfully completing his high school career he joined, in 1949, the rulin ...

Herbert Otto Herbert may refer to: People Individuals * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert Name * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert ...

*1972:

Karl-Heinz Jakobs Karl-Heinz is a German given name, composed of Karl and Heinz but with a hyphen dash. Notable people with that name include: * Hilarios Karl-Heinz Ungerer, German Bishop * Karl-Heinz Feldkamp (born 1934), football coach and former player * Karl-H ...

, Fred Wander *1973: Ulrich Plenzdorf, Helga Schütz *1974:

Kurt Batt Kurt is a male given name of Germanic or Turkish origin. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Conrad (name), Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. In Turkish, Kurt (surn ...

, Gerhard Wolf *1975: Irmtraud Morgner, Eberhard Panitz *1976:

Annemarie Auer Annemarie Auer (10 June 1913 - 7 February 2002) was a German author and literary scholar. Life Annemarie Auer was born in Neumünster and grew up in nearby Kiel on Germany's north coast. After the war her father took part in the 1918 Kie ...

, Siegfried Pitschmann *1977:

Erich Köhler Erich Köhler (June 27, 1892 – October 23, 1958) was a German politician. He was the 1st President of the Bundestag from 7 September 1949 to 18 October 1950. Köhler co-founded the Christian Democratic Union (Germany) in 1945. He was elected a ...

Joachim Nowotny Joachim (; ''Yəhōyāqīm'', "he whom Yahweh has set up"; ; ) was, according to Christian tradition, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Biblical apocryphal ...

*1978: Karl Mickel *1979: Fritz Rudolf Fries *1980: Volker Braun,

Paul Gratzik Paul Gratzik (30 November 1935 – 18 June 2018) was a German dramatist and novelist. He came to wider public attention in 2011 as the subject of the documentary film ''Vaterlandsverräter'' (English translation: Enemy of the State) by Annekatri ...

*1981: Peter Hacks *1982: Christoph Hein,

Werner Liersch Werner may refer to: People * Werner (name), origin of the name and people with this name as surname and given name Fictional characters * Werner (comics), a German comic book character * Werner Von Croy, a fictional character in the ''Tomb Rai ...

*1983:

Friedrich Dieckmann Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...

Helmut H. Schulz Helmut is a German name. Variants include Hellmut, Helmuth, and Hellmuth. From old German, the first element deriving from either ''heil'' ("healthy") or ''hiltja'' ("battle"), and the second from ''muot'' ("spirit, mind, mood"). Helmut may ref ...

*1984: Heinz Czechowski *1985:

Helga Königsdorf Helga Königsdorf (13 July 1938 – 4 May 2014) was an East German author and physicist. Life She was born in Gera, a farmer's daughter. She went into academia and was appointed to the East Berlin Academy of Sciences of the GDR from 1961 to 1990. ...

Bernd Leistner Bernd is a Low German short form of the given name Bernhard (English Bernard). List of persons with given name Bernd The following people share the name Bernd. *Bernd Brückler (born 1981), Austrian hockey player *Bernd Eichinger (1949–2011), ...

*1986: Helga Schubert,

Heidi Urban de Jauregui Heidi Urbahn de Jauregui (5 March 1940 – 12 August 2024) was a German-French Germanist and essayist who was an emeritus Professor of German Literature at the Jean Monnet University, France. Biography Heidi Urbahn de Jauregui came from an entrep ...

*1987: Luise Rinser *1988:

Fritz Mierau Fritz originated as a German nickname for Friedrich, or Frederick (''Der Alte Fritz'', and ''Stary Fryc'' were common nicknames for King Frederick II of Prussia and Frederick III, German Emperor) as well as for similar names including Fridolin a ...

*1989:

Wulf Kirsten Wulf Kirsten (21 June 1934 – 14 December 2022) was a German poet, novelist, and publisher. He is known for his nature poetry and his essays on the history and culture of Saxony. The son of a stonemason, Kirsten was born in Klipphausen, Meisse ...

*1990: Adolf Endler, Elke Erb *1991: Peter Gosse, Kito Lorenc *1992: – *1993/94

Lothar Baier Lothar Baier (16 May 1942 – 11 July 2004) was a German author, publisher, translator and co-founder of the Literary periodical Text+Kritik. Baier was born in Karlsruhe. He was accepted as one of the most profound German thinkers of the Francopho ...

*1995: Hans Mayer *1996: Julius Posener *1997:

Michael Rutschky Michael Rutschky (25 May 1943 in Berlin – 18 March 2018 in Berlin) was a German author. Life Michael Rutschky grew up in Spangenberg, Hesse. From 1963 to 1971, he studied Sociology, Literary Science and Philosophy at the Universities Frankfur ...

*1998: Karl Markus Michel *1999:

Katharina Rutschky Katharina Rutschky (25 January 1941, Berlin – 14 January 2010, Berlin) was a German educationalist and author. She coined the term '' Schwarze Pädagogik'' (literally ''black pedagogy'') in her eponymous book from 1977, describing physical and ...

*2000:

Dubravka Ugrešić Dubravka Ugrešić (; born 27 March 1949) is a Yugoslav and later Croatian writer. A graduate of University of Zagreb, she has been based in Amsterdam since 1996 and refuses to identify as a Croatian writer. Early life and education Ugreši ...

*2001:

Walter Boehlich Walter Boehlich (16 September 1921 – 6 April 2006) was a German journalist, literary critic, literary editor and translator. Life Walter Boehlich was born in Breslau, Silesia, as a son of writer Ernst Boehlich. During the Nazi regime, Boelich w ...

*2002:

Götz Aly Götz Haydar Aly (; born 3 May 1947) is a German journalist, historian and political scientist. Life and career Aly was born in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg. He is a patrilineal descendant of a Mixed Turkish-Kurdish convert to Christianity na ...

*2003: Wolfgang Schivelbusch *2004:

Claudia Schmölders Claudia Schmölders, also Claudia Henn-Schmölders (born 25 October 1944 in Heidelberg) is a German cultural scholar, author, and translator. Life Schmölders completed a study of music, German studies, and philosophy at the Universities of Cologn ...

*2005: Ivan Nagel *2006:

Peter von Matt Peter von Matt (born 20 May 1937) is a Swiss philologist and author. Life Born in Lucerne, Peter von Matt grew up in Stans in the canton of Nidwalden. He studied Art History as well as German and English studies in Zurich and received a docto ...

*2007:

Karl Heinz Bohrer Karl Heinz Bohrer (26 September 1932 – 4 August 2021) was a German literary scholar and essayist. He worked as chief editor for literature of the daily ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, FAZ'', and became co-publisher and author of the cultural ...

*2008:

Heinz Schlaffer Heinz Schlaffer (21 June 1939 – 31 October 2023) was a German Germanist and Professor of Literary Science of the University of Stuttgart. He was best known for essays like "Die kurze Geschichte der deutschen Literatur" (The Short History of Germ ...

*2009: Hanns Zischler *2010:

Michael Maar Michael Maar (born July 17, 1960, in Stuttgart) is a German literary scholar, germanist and author. For his 1995 doctoral dissertation on Thomas Mann, titled ''Geister und Kunst'', he was awarded the Johann Heinrich Merck Prize by the Deutsche Ak ...

*2011:

Marie-Luise Scherer Marie-Luise Scherer (15 October 1938 – 17 December 2022) was a German writer and journalist. Biography Scherer began her career as a reporter for the ''Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger'' and later wrote for ''Berliner Morgenpost'' and ''Die Zeit''. She ...

*2012:

Uwe Kolbe Uwe or UWE may refer to * Uwe (given name) * University of the West of England, Bristol * UML-based web engineering * University Würzburg's Experimental miniaturized satellites for space research UWE-1 and UWE-2 * Uwe - Wreck in Blankenese Blank ...

*2013:

Robert Menasse Robert Menasse (born 21 June 1954) is an Austrian writer. Biography Menasse was born in Vienna. As an undergraduate, he studied German studies, philosophy and political science in Vienna, Salzburg and Messina. In 1980 he completed his PhD thesi ...

*2014:

Robert Schindel Robert Schindel (born 4 April 1944) is an Austrian lyricist, director and author. Life and career Robert Schindel was born on 4 April 1944 in Bad Hall, Upper Austria to Jewish communist parents. From 1950 to 1954, he attended elementary schoo ...

*2015: Adam Zagajewski *2016:

Gunnar Decker Gunnar is a male first name of Nordic origin (''Gunnarr'' in Old Norse). The name Gunnar means fighter, soldier, and attacker, but mostly is referred to by the Viking saying which means Brave and Bold warrior (''gunnr'' "war" and ''arr'' "warrior ...

*2017: Gisela von Wysocki *2018:

Christian Bommarius Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

*2019:

Danilo Scholz Danilo is a given name found in Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Serbian. Notable people with the name Danilo include: Athletes Footballers * Danilo (footballer, born 1979), Brazilian footballer Danilo de Andrade * Danilo (footballer, born 19 ...

*2020:

Eva Horn Eva or EVA may refer to: * Eva (name), a feminine given name Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment * Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in ...

*2021:

Kathrin Passig Kathrin Passig (born 4 June 1970) is a German writer. Life and Works Passig was born in 1970 in Deggendorf, a small town in Lower Bavaria. She is editor and programmer of the blog "Riesenmaschine" which received the Grimme Online Award 2006, aw ...

*2022:

Lothar Müller Lothar is a Danish, Finnish, German, Norwegian, and Swedish masculine given name, while Lotár is a Hungarian masculine given name. Both names are modern forms of the Germanic Chlothar (which is a blended form of ''Hlūdaz'', meaning "fame", an ...

Recipients

References

External links

See also