The Franz Kafka Prize was an international literary award presented in honour of Franz Kafka, the Jewish, Bohemian, German-language novelist. The prize was first awarded in 2001 and was co-sponsored by the Franz Kafka Society and the city of Prague, Czech Republic.
Award information and history
At a presentation held annually in the Old Town Hall (Prague), the recipient received $10,000, a diploma, and a bronze statuette. Each award is often called the "Kafka Prize" or "Kafka Award".
The award earned some prestige in the mid 2000s by foreshadowing the Nobel Prize when two of its winners went on to win the Nobel Prize in Literature the same year, Elfriede Jelinek (2004) and Harold Pinter (2005).
The criteria for winning the award include the artwork's "humanistic character and contribution to cultural, national, language [sic] and religious tolerance, its existential, timeless character, its generally human validity and its ability to hand over [sic] a testimony about our times."
Award winners Previous winners: YearPictureWinnerNationalityLanguage(s)Genre(s)2021Ivan Vyskočil(1929–2023)Czechnovel, drama2020Milan Kundera(1929–2023)/French/Czechnovel, short story, poetry, essay, drama2019Pierre Michon(1945–)Frenchnovel, short story2018Ivan Wernisch(1942–)Czechpoetry, translation2017Margaret Atwood(1939–)Englishpoetry, novel, short story, literary criticism, essay2016Claudio Magris(1939–)Italianessay, translation, novel, short story2015Eduardo Mendoza(1943–)Spanishnovel, short story, drama, essay2014Yan Lianke(1958–)Chinesenovel, short story2013Amos Oz(1939–2018)Hebrewnovel, short story, essay2012Daniela Hodrová(1946–2024)Czechnovel2011John Banville(1945–)Englishnovel, short story, drama, screenplay, essay2010Václav Havel(1936–2011)Czechpoetry, drama, essay2009Peter Handke(1942–)Germannovel, poetry, essay, short story, screenplay, drama2008Arnošt Lustig(1926–2011)Czechnovel, short story, drama, screenplay2007Yves Bonnefoy(1923–2016)Frenchpoetry, essay, translation, short story, history 2006Haruki Murakami(1949–)Japanesenovel, short story, essay, memoirs2005Harold Pinter(1930–2008)Englishdrama, screenplay2004Elfriede Jelinek(1946–)Germannovel, poetry, drama, translation2003Péter Nádas(1942–2026)Hungariandrama, essay, novel2002Ivan Klíma(1931–2025)Czechnovel, drama, memoirs2001Philip Roth(1933–2018)Englishnovel, short story, memoirs, essay
See also List of literary awards List of Czech literary awards
References
External links Official website