Judith Schalansky Receives the Lessing Prize 2025
News20.11.2025
Suhrkamp Verlag congratulates Judith Schalansky on receiving the Lessing Prize in recognition of her literary oeuvre. The award comes with a cash prize of €20,000.
In their public remarks, the jury stated: »Judith Schalansky is a proponent of the encyclopaedic understanding of enlightenment – as a writer, this can be seen in particular through her versatility, which is absolutely on a par with that of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. She has mastered a range of literary forms with aplomb, and has never once repeated herself in her work: her palette as an author ranges from her seminal work on typographic aesthetics (Fraktur, mon amour) to autofiction (Blau steht dir nicht), fictional nonfiction (Atlas der abgelegenen Inseln), a literal Bildungsroman (Der Hals der Giraffe), cultural history (Verzeichnis einiger Verluste), and book-length essay (Schwankende Kanarien). As the typographer of her own books, she also demonstrates a skill that goes far beyond writing, and as an editor, notably of the Naturkunden series, she is, in the spirit of Lessing, an accomplished promoter of literary practice. A native of the city of Greifswald, Schalansky displays a pronounced curiosity toward the history of German partition, as well as the cosmopolitanism generated by the traditions of this old port city, making it all the more fitting that she is currently one of the most widely translated German-language authors. Montaigne’s comment about Lessing can also be applied to Judith Schalansky: she has been ›praised by too many for us to bother with this unnecessary effort.‹ Which is why, with no further ado, she is being awarded this year’s Lessing Prize by the city of Hamburg.«
The Lessing Prize is awarded every four years, recognising an author or scholar whose oeuvre is worthy of recognition in connection with the standards and values of the namesake of the award. Previous winners include Peter Weiss, Hannah Arendt, and Alexander Kuge.
The awards ceremony will take place on 25 January 2026 in Hamburg.
In their public remarks, the jury stated: »Judith Schalansky is a proponent of the encyclopaedic understanding of enlightenment – as a writer, this can be seen in particular through her versatility, which is absolutely on a par with that of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. She has mastered a range of literary forms with aplomb, and has never once repeated herself in her work: her palette as an author ranges from her seminal work on typographic aesthetics (Fraktur, mon amour) to autofiction (Blau steht dir nicht), fictional nonfiction (Atlas der abgelegenen Inseln), a literal Bildungsroman (Der Hals der Giraffe), cultural history (Verzeichnis einiger Verluste), and book-length essay (Schwankende Kanarien). As the typographer of her own books, she also demonstrates a skill that goes far beyond writing, and as an editor, notably of the Naturkunden series, she is, in the spirit of Lessing, an accomplished promoter of literary practice. A native of the city of Greifswald, Schalansky displays a pronounced curiosity toward the history of German partition, as well as the cosmopolitanism generated by the traditions of this old port city, making it all the more fitting that she is currently one of the most widely translated German-language authors. Montaigne’s comment about Lessing can also be applied to Judith Schalansky: she has been ›praised by too many for us to bother with this unnecessary effort.‹ Which is why, with no further ado, she is being awarded this year’s Lessing Prize by the city of Hamburg.«
The Lessing Prize is awarded every four years, recognising an author or scholar whose oeuvre is worthy of recognition in connection with the standards and values of the namesake of the award. Previous winners include Peter Weiss, Hannah Arendt, and Alexander Kuge.
The awards ceremony will take place on 25 January 2026 in Hamburg.