Shortlist – Heidelberger Autor:innenpreis (Heidelberg Author Award) 2025

For the eighth time, the Heidelberger Autor:innenpreis (Heidelberg Author Award) awards outstanding literary contributions. This year, in addition to texts from the UNESCO City of Literature Heidelberg and its surroundings as well as Mannheim, works from other selected UNESCO Literary Cities were also accepted. The genre this year was poetry. Out of a total of 117 submissions, 6 were selected, each consisting of three poems, which form the short list.

Congratulations to:

Alexis Flor

Texts: „misremembering“, „Tittesworth Reservoir, Spring 2024“, „From Tentsmuir to Tampa“

Alexis Flor is originally from Tampa, Florid; now she lives in Sneinton, a suburb of Nottingham. She is a half-Black, half Filipino writer, and an emerging playwright and poet. She is currently studying at Oxford University for an Undergraduate Diploma in Creative Writing, and she is also an active member in local creative communities (GOBS and the Nottingham Black Creatives Network). Her poem „Still dreaming despite everything“ has recently been published by Nottingham Writers‘ Studio, and she has performed her poetry at the 2024 Hockley Hustle and at Nottingham Playhouse.

Mina Herz

Texts: „[gebärmutter]“, „[schwesterchen und brüderlein]“, „[das sind steinpilze und das hier pfifferlinge]“

Mina Herz lives and works as a psychotherapist near Heidelberg. After a long break from writing, she heas been active again as an author since 2023, publishing poetry and short prose, among others, at wiener schule für dichtung, Mosaik, Why nICHt, Turtle Magazine, zwischentext, neolith, Arte.Mira, Pigeon Publishing. Poetry award winner at the Bonner Buchmesse für Migration.

Manon Hopf

Texts: „ich weiss das nicht was“, „monate & jahre in klingen“, „in verwandlung – verwunderung“

Manon Hopf lives in Mannheim. Literature studies in Mainz, master’s degree in Frankfurt am Main. M.A. in Literary Translation from French at LMU München. Since 2021, member of the VdÜ. 2021 her poetry collection hand, legungen was published, 2024 hier steht dein mensch at hochroth Heidelberg. Since 2024 member of PEN Germany.

Marie Loewe

Texts: „Ode to the friend I am falling in love with“, „Hymn to the friend whom I watch falling apart“, „Ode to the friend I am saying goodbye to“

Marie Loewe lives and studies in Heidelberg. During her school days, she wrote haikus with her friends in biology class. Today she experiments with different poetic forms in moments of inspiration.

Aaron Mayer

Texts: „Hymne des ersten Homo Sapiens, der Feuer zur Waldrodung nutzte“, „Unser Planet“, „Caprisonnenhimmel“

Aaron Mayer has been studying German end English Studies in Heidelberg since October 2022. He mainly writes music, poetry and screenplays.

Mariam Rietveld

Texts: „Thresholds“, „We Shape What Listens“, „Democracy Looks Like This“

Mariam Rietveld is a teeanger from Dunedin (New Zealand). She enjoys spending time with friends and a good book.

The shortlist texts will be presented on Sunday, September 21, 2025, at 5pm (CEST) in the TIK-Theater at the new Karlstorbahnhof (Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 3, 69126 Heidelberg) by the shortlist authors in a public reading as part of the Literaturherbst Heidelberg. The reading with the winner takes place on Thursday, November 13, 2025, at 7:00 PM (CET) in the Hilde-Domin-Saal of the Stadtbücherei Heidelberg (Heidelberg City Library) (Poststraße 15, 69115 Heidelberg).

Shortlist authors: Alexis Flor, Mina Herz, Manon Hopf, Marie Loewe, Aaron Mayer, Mariam Rietveld

Organizational and jury team: belmonte, Tzveta Ilieva, Adriana Stenger, Jonathan Wilfling, Akka Zanguj

Sponsors and supporters:
Sparkasse Heidelberg, Stadtbücherei Heidelberg, Stadt Heidelberg, City of Literature Heidelberg, KAMINA, Heidelberger Autor:innennetzwerk, Literaturherbst Heidelberg