Three writers from Switzerland compete for the Bachmann Prize
Published: Wednesday, Jun 26th 2024, 20:50
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The 48th Days of German-Language Literature officially opened on Wednesday evening in Klagenfurt, Austria. Lots were drawn to determine when the fourteen German-language authors will read their texts in front of the audience and the seven-member jury from Thursday to Saturday.
With three writers, an unusually high number of participants in this year's reading competition have a Swiss background: Semi Eschmamp, Jurczok and Sarah Elena Müller.
Müller will open the reading series on Thursday: she will be the first to read her text at 10.00 am. She lives in Bern, is an author and musician and also performs her texts with the spoken pop band "Cruise Ship Misery". Her debut novel "Bild ohne Mädchen" was nominated for the Swiss Book Prize.
Shortly after her, at 12.00, Jurczok will read in the race for the Bachmann Prize. The Zurich native is a writer, one of Switzerland's spoken word pioneers and a singer.
Semi Eschmamp grew up in Zurich and has lived in Berlin for twenty years. He will be reading in Klagenfurt on Saturday at 10.00 am. Eschmamp works as an actor for stage and screen, he draws in the tradition of cartoons and makes books.
After the three-day reading competition, the winner of the Bachmann Prize, which is endowed with 25,000 euros, will be announced on Sunday. The main prize is named after the Austrian writer Ingeborg Bachmann (1926-1973). In addition, four further prizes will be awarded to participants from Austria, Switzerland and Germany in the competition, which will be broadcast live by 3sat.
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