Ursula Krechel: The Büchner Prize 2025 and her new literary work!

Ursula Krechel: The Büchner Prize 2025 and her new literary work!

The literary scene in Germany is taking on new color: Ursula Krechel will be awarded the Georg Büchner Prize 2025. This renowned prize is the highest honor for writers in German-speaking countries and is awarded by the German Academy for Language and Poetry. Krechel, who reinvented herself literaryally at the age of 70, is being honored for her work, which makes a significant contribution to culture faz.net.

The award comes with prize money of 50,000 euros and is considered a valuable symbol of timeless literary achievements. In the last five years, well-known names such as Elke Erb and Lutz Seiler have been able to receive the coveted trophy. The celebratory climax of the award ceremony will take place on November 1, 2025 in the Darmstadt State Theater.

Ursula Krechel: A literary career

Ursula Krechel, born in Trier in 1947, has an impressive career behind her. After studying German, theater studies and art history, she worked as a dramaturg at the Dortmund Municipal Theater. She celebrated her literary debut in 1974 with the play “Erika”, followed by her first volume of poetry “Nach Mainz!” in 1977 and the novel “Second Nature” in 1981, like the press reported.

More recently, Krechel has caused a sensation with her novel “Dear Minister,” which was published in early 2023. In this work, which highlights feminist themes and social challenges of motherhood, she combines multi-layered narrative perspectives and contemporary themes. The novel is an example of her experimental montage principle and shows how the author takes up and processes current discussions in her work.

Cultural influences and themes

Ursula Krechel often addresses escape, exile, violence and feminism in her works. Her ability to shed light on different women's fates is also evident in her upcoming work “On Cardiac Asthma of Exile,” which is scheduled to be published in 2025. In addition, many of her books were published by the Austrian Jung und Jung publishing house, which provides a further look at her versatile literary expression.

The Georg Büchner Prize, named after the important writer Georg Büchner, has been awarded since 1951 and honors writers whose work particularly stands out. Previous winners include greats such as Max Frisch and Günter Grass. Krechel is the third author to receive both the German Book Prize, which she received in 2012 for “Landgericht”, and the Büchner Prize spiegel.de.

With her approach to current social issues, Krechel remains one of the most influential voices in German-language literature. The Georg Büchner Prize not only recognizes her achievements to date, but also provides a glimpse into the creative future of this remarkable author.