Founded in 1987 by the initiative »LiBeraturpreis e.V.«, this literary award has been organized by Litprom since 2013. It is given to an outstanding work of fiction by a female writer from Africa, Asia, Latin America or the Arab World. The award was created in response to the fact that translations of contemporary works by women authors from these countries are still highly underrepresented on the German book market.
Initially created to give a platform to female voices from the global South, today the award promotes a wide diversity of voices. Former winners include Maryse Condé, Assia Djebar, Claudia Piñeiro, Patrícia Melo and Laksmi Pamuntjak.
The winner receives 3.000 euros and an invitation to Frankfurt Bookfair.
All books by female writers included on the previous year’s Weltempfänger lists are automatically nominated for the award. There used to be about six to eight books by women writers on these lists each year, a share of about 20 to 30 per cent, but the percentage is rising steadily.
Since 2021, the winner is chosen by a jury of book trade professionals.
Marcella Melien
melien@buchmesse.de
Tel. +49 69 2102-246