The Lessing Prize of the Free State of Saxony is a German literary award. It was founded in 1993 by the Government of the

Free State of Saxony Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procure ...

and is awarded every two years. It consists of a main prize, which honours outstanding achievements in the spirit of

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (, ; 22 January 1729 – 15 February 1781) was a philosopher, dramatist, publicist and art critic, and a representative of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the developmen ...

, especially in the field of literature, literary criticism and the theater. This prize is worth 20,000 euros. In addition, two further "promotional prizes" are awarded, which seek to publicly recognize and promote promising beginnings in these fields. These prizes are each worth 5,500 euros. The award ceremony usually takes place on 21 January, the eve of Lessing's birthday (22 January 1729), as part of the celebrations organized by the Lessing Museum in his native town of

Kamenz Kamenz () or Kamjenc ( Sorbian) is a town (''Große Kreisstadt'') in the district of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany. Until 2008 it was the administrative seat of Kamenz District. The town is known as the birthplace of the philosopher and poet Gotthol ...

. The award builds on the tradition of the Lessing Prize of the GDR , which was awarded from 1955 to 1989 by the Ministry of Culture of the GDR.

Winners

* 1993:

Hans Sahl Hans Sahl (born Hans Salomon, 20 May 1902 in Dresden – 27 April 1993 in Tübingen) was a poet, critic, and novelist who began during the Weimar Republic. He came from an affluent Jewish background, but like many such German Jews he fled Germany ...

; also Lutz Graf * 1995: Rolf Hoppe; also Angela Krauss * 1997:

Wolfgang Hilbig Wolfgang Hilbig (31 August 1941 2 June 2007) was a German writer and poet. Life Wolfgang Hilbig was born in Meuselwitz, Germany. His grandfather had emigrated from Biłgoraj (Congress Poland, Russian Empire) before the First World War. In 194 ...

; also

Kerstin Hensel Kerstin Hensel (born 1961) is a German writer. Biography Hensel was born in 1961 in Karl-Marx Stadt in the former GDR. A trained nurse, she also studied at the Johannes R. Becher Institute of Literature in Leipzig. She has published numerous bo ...

and Ulrich Zieger * 1999:

Eduard Goldstücker Eduard Model Accessories is a Czech manufacturer of plastic models and finescale model accessories. Formed in 1989 in the city of Most, Eduard began in a rented cellar as a manufacturer of photoetched brass model components. Following the succ ...

; also Marion Titze and Marcel Beyer * 2001: Adolf Dresen; also Barbara Köhler and Oliver Bukowski * 2003:

Hans Joachim Schädlich 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 a ...

; also Anke Stelling together with Robby Dannenberg and Christian Lehnert * 2005:

Armin Petras Armin (Armyn) is a given name or surname, and is: * An ancient Indo-European name: ** a German/Dutch given name, *** a modern form of the name Arminius (18/17 BC–AD 21), a German prince who defeated a Roman army in the Battle of the Teutoburg F ...

; also Martina Hefter and Jörg Bernig * 2007:

Ruth Klüger Ruth Klüger (30 October 1931 – 5 October 2020) was Professor Emerita of German Studies at the University of California, Irvine and a Holocaust survivor. She was the author of the bestseller ''weiter leben: Eine Jugend'' about her childhood in ...

; also Volker Sielaff and Clemens Meyer * 2009: Kito Lorenc; also

Ulrike Almut Sandig Ulrike Almut Sandig (born 1979) is a German writer. She was born in Großenhain in the former GDR, and has lived in Riesa, Leipzig and Berlin. She studied religion and indology at university, and then studied at the German Institute for Literatur ...

and Dirk Laucke * 2011:

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 ...

; also Renatus Deckert and Andreas Heidtmann * 2013: Volker Lösch; also Franziska Gerstenberg and Judith Schalansky * 2015:

Carolin Emcke Carolin Emcke (born 18 August 1967) is a German author and journalist who worked for ''Der Spiegel'' from 1998 to 2006, often writing from areas of conflicts. From 2007 to 2014, she worked as an international reporter for ''Die Zeit''. Her book '' ...

; also Julius Fischer and Wolfram Höll * 2017: Kurt Drawert; also Thomas Freyer and

Anna Kaleri Anna Kaleri (born 1974 in Wippra) is a German writer and screenwriter. Biography Anna Kaleri was born 1974 in the Harz Mountains in the former GDR. She studied from 1996 to 2002 at the German Institute for Literature in Leipzig. After her dipl ...

* 2019:

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 a ...

; also

Anja Kampmann Anja Kampmann (born 1983) is a German poet and author. Biography Kampmann was born in 1983 in Hamburg. She studied at the University of Hamburg and at the German Institute for Literature () in Leipzig. She also attended the renowned International ...

and Bettina Wilpert * 2021: ; also Jackie Thomae, Anna Mateur and Jasna Zajček

Related awards

* * * * for the Cultural Award of the German Freemasons

References

External links

* {{German literary awards category:German literary awards