The Kleist Prize is an annual German literature 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 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 federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...

, 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 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 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

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

*1915 Robert Michel 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 and Heinrich Lersch *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 Ber ...

and Paul Zech *1919

Anton Dietzenschmidt Anton may refer to: People *Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name *Anton (surname) Places *Anton Municipality, Bulgaria **Anton, Sofia Province, a village *Antón District, Panama **Antón, a town and capital of th ...

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 Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

*1922 Bertolt Brecht *1923

Wilhelm Lehmann Wilhelm Lehmann was a German teacher and writer. References * * * * * * German writers {{German-bio-stub ...

and Robert Musil *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 Rahel Sanzara (also Sansara; pseudonym for Johanna Bleschke) (9 February 1894 – 8 February 1936) was a German dancer, actress and novelist. Biography Johanna Bleschke was the oldest of a town musician's four children. After graduating from a ...

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 Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...

*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 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 (Interl ...

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 Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

and

Else Lasker-Schüler Else Lasker-Schüler (née Elisabeth Schüler) (; 11 February 1869 – 22 January 1945) was a German-Jewish poet and playwright famous for her bohemian lifestyle in Berlin and her poetry. She was one of the few women affiliated with the Expressi ...

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 Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997) ...

for ''Der Wanderer'' *1987

Thomas Brasch Thomas Brasch (19 February 1945 – 3 November 2001) was a German author, poet and film director. Life Born in Westow, Yorkshire, England, Thomas Brasch was the son of German Jewish Communist émigré parents. In 1947, the family returned to Ea ...

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 o ...

*1989 Ernst Augustin for ''Der amerikanische Traum'' *1990

Heiner Müller Heiner Müller (; 9 January 1929 – 30 December 1995) was a German (formerly East German) dramatist, poet, writer, essayist and theatre director. His "enigmatic, fragmentary pieces" are a significant contribution to postmodern drama and postdr ...

for ''Hamletmaschine'' *1991

Gaston Salvatore Gaston Salvatore (29 September 1941 – 11 December 2015) was a Chilean writer living in Germany and writing in the German language. Salvatore was born in Valparaíso. Among other things, he is known for his collaborations with Hans Werner Henze, ...

for ''Lektionen der Finsternis'' *1992

Monika Maron Monika Maron (born 3 June 1941 in Berlin) is a German author, formerly of the German Democratic Republic. Biography She moved in 1951 from West to East Berlin with her stepfather, Karl Maron, the GDR Minister of the Interior. She studied theatre ...

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 Herta Müller (; born 17 August 1953) is a Romanian-born German novelist, poet, essayist and recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature. Born in Nițchidorf (german: Nitzkydorf, link=no), Timiș County in Romania, her native language is G ...

for ''

Herztier ''The Land of Green Plums'' (german: Herztier) is a novel by Herta Müller, published in 1994 by Rowohlt Verlag. The novel portrays four young people living in a totalitarian police state in Communist Romania, ending with their emigration to Ger ...

'' *1996 Hans Joachim Schädlich for ''Der Kuckuck und die Nachtigall'' *1998 Dirk von Petersdorff 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 pa ...

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 Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...

for ''Vatersprache'' *2004

Emine Sevgi Özdamar Emine Sevgi Özdamar (born 10 August 1946) is a writer, director, and actress of Turkish origin who resides in Germany and has resided there for many years. Özdamar's art is unique in that it is influenced by her life experiences, which straddl ...

for ''Seltsame Sterne starren zur Erde. Wedding – Pankow 1976/77'' *2005

Gert Jonke Gert Jonke (8 February 1946 – 4 January 2009) was an Austrian poet, playwright and novelist. Life Jonke was born and educated in Klagenfurt, Austria. He attended the Gymnasium (university preparatory school) and the Conservatory. After h ...

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'' and for ''Lesezeichen''. From the early 1970s, he was a freelance writer who became ...

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 t ...

*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 ...

*2019

Ilma Rakusa Ilma Rakusa (born 2 January 1946) is a Swiss writer and translator. She translates French, Russian, Serbo-Croatian and Hungarian into German. Biography Ilma Rakusa was born in 1946 in Rimavská Sobota, Slovakia to a Slovenian father and a Hunga ...

*2020 Clemens J. Setz *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