Hans Fallada Prize

The Hans Fallada Prize is a German literary prize given by the city of Neumünster in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.^[1] Since 1981, it is typically awarded every two years to a young author from the German-speaking world. It is named in honor of Hans Fallada, a famous 20th-century German author known for addressing political and social problems of his day in fiction.^[2]

The prize was first awarded in 1981, the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Fallada's A Small Circus (Bauern, Bonzen und Bomben).^[3]

The prize comes with an honorarium of 10,000 euros. In the case that two authors win the award, the prize money is split evenly between the recipients.^[4]

Award winners

• 1981: Erich Loest
• 1983: Ludwig Fels (de)
• 1985: Sten Nadolny
• 1988: Ralph Giordano
• 1990: Jurek Becker
• 1993: Helga Schubert
• 1996: Günter Grass
• 1998: Bernhard Schlink
• 2000: Thomas Brussig
• 2002: Birgit Vanderbeke
• 2004: Wilhelm Genazino
• 2006: Iris Hanika
• 2008: Ralf Rothmann
• 2010: Lukas Bärfuss^[5]
• 2012: Wolfgang Herrndorf
• 2014: Jenny Erpenbeck
• 2016: Jonas Lüscher
• 2018: Sandra Hoffmann (de)
• 2020: Saša Stanišić
• 2022: Arezu Weitholz (de)^[6]
• 2024: Grit Lemke (de)^[7]
• 2026: Anja Kampmann^[8]