The Rauris Literature Prize is awarded by a particularly literary Austrian village, and goes to the best prose debut of the year written in German. Past winners you might have heard of include Juli Zeh, Peter Stamm, Thomas Lehr, Kristof Magnusson - oh, and Herta Müller.
This year, the €8000 prize money goes to the delightful and lovely Dorothee Elmiger. Who has actually graced my very own sofa - because I'm translating her gorgeous debut novel Einladung an die Waghalsigen (Invitation to the Bold of Heart). As we speak, so to speak. The jury (one vote each from Germany, Austria and Switzerland) called the book "a text of linguistic and formal challenges that maintains its tension after reading." If you ask me though, it's a blooming fantastic read that really draws you in and keeps you puzzling and drawing parallels for weeks on end.
You can catch Dorothee live in NYC and New Haven at the Festival Neue Literatur* this week.
*Note to German grammar nerds: No, I've no idea what they're doing here either.
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