Literary award · Germany · since 1975

Petrarca-Preis

German/European literary and translation award. Established 1975 in Germany.

About Petrarca-Preis

Petrarca-Preis was a European literary and translation award named after the Italian Renaissance poet Francesco Petrarca or Petrarch. Founded in 1975 by German art historian and publisher Hubert Burda, it was primarily designed for contemporary European poets, but some occasional non-Europeans appear in the list of laureates. The award was first distributed over a twenty-year period (1975–95) and included the categories Literature and Translation. Then it was followed for a decade (1999–2009) by a Hermann-Lenz-Preis and resumed in 2010. The first jury consisted of fluxus participant Bazon Brock, poets Michael Krüger and Nicolas Born, and novelist Peter Handke. When the prize resumed in 2010, Peter Handke and Michael Krüger still were on the jury, together with the authors Alfred Kolleritsch (himself awarded in 1978) and Peter Hamm.

From the Wikipedia article “Petrarca-Preis”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Recent winners

YearWinnerWinning work
2014Tomas Venclova—
2010Pierre Michon—
1993Gennadiy Aygi—
1990Paul Wühr—
1979Zbigniew Herbert—

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

Eligibility and entering

Check the official rules of the Petrarca-Preis 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