Heidelberger Autor:innenpreis 2024
”Wider-Reden” (Call for Submissions)
The Heidelberger Autor:innenpreis is now entering its seventh round. This year, our call for submissions is focused on political engagement and critical examination of societal developments that affect us all. In the face of concerning right-wing extremist activities, we have chosen a particularly participatory and impactful form of writing: This year, we invite you to write speeches that oppose right-wing extremism and any form of discrimination, to protest, resist, show ways out; in short: to speak up. We encourage an intersectional perspective that considers the numerous dimensions of oppression, racism, anti-Semitism, anti-feminism, climate denial, etc., which seek to hinder an open, pluralistic society. We want to hear your voices and learn about your thoughts on the dangers of right-wing extremism. We aim to give literary relevance to literature in our time through the genre of speech with societal-political significance. We want speeches!
Who can participate?
Anyone interested, whether newcomers or established authors, living, working, or active in the Heidelberg metropolitan region, and this year, for the first time, also in Mannheim.
Deadline: May 1, 2024
You can submit your entries anonymously (more information below) either digitally (as a PDF) to hdautorinnenpreis@gmail.com or by post in a single copy to the City Library.
Heidelberger Autor:innenpreis
℅ Stadtbücherei Heidelberg
Poststraße 15
69115 Heidelberg
Formal criteria:
The submission should be an original text in German or English
max. 3 pages
1.5 line spacing; font size 12; Times New Roman
Include a short bio with your full name, address, email, and phone number (on a separate sheet for postal submissions)
Anonymization: Mark each page of your submission, whether digital or printed, with a self-chosen code word following the pattern "Favorite letters, special characters, and number," for example, "K~6". Mention your code word in the short bio so we can assign the texts to the authors after evaluation.
The shortlist reading with 5 to 6 readers will kick off the Heidelberger Literaturherbst in September. A joint anthology of the shortlisted texts for this year and the following year is planned.
The winner will receive a prize of 1,000 euros. The prize money is provided by the "Weiterentwicklung Literaturstadt Heidelberg" working group. The award ceremony will take place in October in the Hilde-Domin-Saal of the city library.
In addition to the shortlist reading and award ceremony, we will invite some participants to present their speeches at a demonstration organized by the Bündnis gegen Rechts, of which the Heidelberg Authors' Prize is a member. This is voluntary and will not affect the selection of the shortlist or the prize. All authors on the long and shortlists and their text contributions will be communicated on our social media channels.
By submitting, participants agree to be contacted by the organizing team, to participate in a public shortlist reading and possibly a public award ceremony, to have their texts promoted on the prize's social media channels, and to the potential publication of the texts.
Non-anonymized submissions and deviations from the call for submissions criteria will result in disqualification. Submissions from deceased authors will not be considered. Previous prize winners are excluded from participating. There will be no confirmation of receipt. Legal recourse is excluded. There is no entitlement to the return of submitted works.
For questions, please contact us at info@hd-autorinnenpreis.de (Note: different email than for submissions).
We look forward to your fiery speeches!
Your Heidelberger Autor:innenpreis Team
belmonte, Charlotte Döhrmann, Olga Kovalenko, Kristin Peschutter, Williams Rothvoss Buchheimer, Klaudia Rzezniczak, Adriana Stenger