The Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding is one of the most prestigious literature prizes in Germany. It has been awarded annually since 1994 and comes with prize money of 20,000 euros. The prize committee includes the Free State of Saxony, the City of Leipzig, the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels e.V. (The German Publishers and Booksellers Association) and Leipziger Messe. Cooperation partner is the Federal Agency for Civid Education.
The prize will be awarded to Maria Stepanova at the opening ceremony of the Leipzig Book Fair on the evening of 26 April 2023 at the Gewandhaus Leipzig. The event starts at 7pm and will be streamed live on our homepage.
Maria Stepanova, a Jewish author from Russia who was born in Moscow in 1972 and is currently living in exile in Germany, will be awarded the Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding 2023 for her volume of poetry entitled “Mädchen ohne Kleider” (Girls Without Clothes).