To mark the 100th anniversary of Ingeborg Bachmann’s birth, the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Austria have established a new, joint German-Austrian Poetry Prize. The award, each worth 15,000 euros, goes to the German writer and translator Esther Kinsky and to the author and translator Ann Cotten, who lives in Vienna and Berlin.
Esther Kinsky Lat the eipzig Book Fair in 2018. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons / Heike Huslage-Koch / CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)
The two poets are being honored for their latest works: Kinsky is being recognized for her poetry collection “Heim.Statt” from the publisher Suhrkamp 2025, and Cotten for “Poller. Idyllen” from Suhrkamp.
In the tradition of Ingeborg Bachmann
Initiated by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) and the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (BMEIA), this special prize honors contemporary poetry from both countries. A key criterion for the jury was that the works—entirely in the spirit of Bachmann—be characterized by the interplay of different poetic traditions, linguistic worlds, and cultural spheres.
In its statement, an independent, expert jury highlighted the complexity of the award-winning works. Esther Kinsky (b. 1956): In “Heim.Statt,” she explores states of uprootedness, rootedness, and placelessness in seven polyphonic long poems. In her masterful exploration of linguistic realms, she stands squarely in the tradition of Ingeborg Bachmann. Ann Cotten (born 1982 in Ames, Iowa): In “Poller. Idyllen,” she takes the ancient concept of the idyll seriously—with intelligence, wit, and bravura—while simultaneously subverting it. The volume, illustrated by Cotten herself, combines poems with a prose foundation on every page.
Award Ceremony and International Translation Workshops
The official award ceremony will take place on the opening night of Buch Wien on November 25, 2026. German Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer and Austrian State Secretary for Cultural Affairs Abroad Sepp Schellhorn (NEOS) will present the award in person.
Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer emphasized the unifying power of poetry: “Poetry builds bridges between people and nations. Poems transcend boundaries: boundaries of the heart, of languages, of cultures, and of nations.”
Austrian State Secretary Sepp Schellhorn underscored the importance of language in times of digital transformation: “Especially in times of global technological change and the increasing use of artificial intelligence, we must devote all our energy to preserving our language and the creative spirit of our artists.”
The award also includes an active workshop phase: The award winners participate in translation workshops at the Literarisches Colloquium Berlin (LCB) and the Austrian Society for Literature (ÖGfL). There, together with literary translators, they work on translating their texts into other languages and engage with works that were of formative importance to Ingeborg Bachmann.