Clemens J. Setz Receives the Usedom Literary Prize 2026
News12.02.2026
Suhrkamp author Clemens J. Setz has been awarded the Usedom Literary Prize 2026. The jury, chaired by Polish Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk, is recognising Setz for his »for his masterful prose, which combines elements of the grotesque, the uncanny, and science fiction without sacrificing humour … placing him in the tradition of Franz Kafka, Robert Walser and Thomas Pynchon.«
The jury also stated that Setz was receiving the prize for »his extraordinary precision in describing a discordant world and protagonists who are out of step with it,« for his »exploration of the strange, the insane and the maladjusted« and for the »glimmer of hope that emerges from his positive fascination with new technologies and artificial languages, as well as from the inspiration he draws from computer games and the internet, and which makes Clemens J. Setz a writer who has a special feel for the pulse of the present and who opens up new spaces for literature.«
The Usedom Literature Prize has been awarded to international authors since 2011 and includes a one-month writer’s residency on the island of Usedom. Previous winners include Olga Tokarczuk and Jenny Erpenbeck.
The jury also stated that Setz was receiving the prize for »his extraordinary precision in describing a discordant world and protagonists who are out of step with it,« for his »exploration of the strange, the insane and the maladjusted« and for the »glimmer of hope that emerges from his positive fascination with new technologies and artificial languages, as well as from the inspiration he draws from computer games and the internet, and which makes Clemens J. Setz a writer who has a special feel for the pulse of the present and who opens up new spaces for literature.«
The Usedom Literature Prize has been awarded to international authors since 2011 and includes a one-month writer’s residency on the island of Usedom. Previous winners include Olga Tokarczuk and Jenny Erpenbeck.