Wolf Haas receives the 2024 Erich Kastner Prize for Literature

Wolf Haas will receive the Erich Kastner Prize for Literature 2024. The Austrian author, who recently presented his new book “Eigentum” and is best known for the crime series “Brenner,” is being honored “for his always striking and linguistically brilliant works,” says the jury statement. The Erich Kastner Association announced on Friday that the €5,000 prize will be awarded on February 23, 2024 in Munich.

“In the brilliance and subtlety of his language, his confident and familiar use of comedy and humour, his reflection of human fears and needs, in the close connections between the reading public, a broad connection with this award’s namesake is evident.” The jury says according to the broadcast.

The Erich Kastner Prize for Literature – not to be confused with the Erich Kastner Prize awarded every two years by the Dresden Press Club – has been awarded at irregular intervals since 1979 to German-speaking authors who have published outstanding literary works of contemporary criticism. Previous award winners include: Loriot (1984), Robert Gernhardt (1999), Tommy Ungerer (2003) and Felicitas Hobby (2015).