Literary award · Germany · since 1923

Georg Büchner Prize

Literature award in the German language area. Established 1923 in Germany.

About Georg Büchner Prize

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".

From the Wikipedia article “Georg Büchner Prize”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Recent winners

YearWinnerWinning work
2026Christine Wunnicke—
2025Ursula Krechel—
2022Emine Sevgi Özdamar—
2021Clemens J. Setz—
2020Elke Erb—
2019Lukas Bärfuss—
2018Terézia Mora—
2017Jan Wagner—
2016Marcel Beyer—
2015Rainald Goetz—
2014Jürgen Becker—
2013Sibylle Lewitscharoff—
2012Felicitas Hoppe—

From Wikidata; the list may be incomplete for some years.

Eligibility and entering

Check the official rules of the Georg Büchner Prize for the current eligibility window, accepted formats, residency or language requirements and any entry fee. For most established prizes the publisher submits on the author's behalf, often with a limit on entries per imprint.

If you are self-published, look for an explicit statement that independently published books are accepted, and budget for entry fees and copies for judges.

Sources & data