Robert Menasse Longlisted for the Austrian Book Prize 2026

News

08.09.2026

Beitrag zu Robert Menasse Longlisted for the Austrian Book Prize 2026

Robert Menasse has been longlisted for the Austrian Book Prize 2026 for his novella The Life Decision.

The prize is jointly administered by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service, and Sport, the Hauptverband des Österreichischen Buchhandels, and the Arbeiterkammer Wien, and serves to recognize the quality and independence of Austrian literature, and to raise its profile throughout the German-speaking world. There are two prize categories, the main prize and the debut prize. Together, the award is endowed with €45,000.

The five shortlisted books will be announced on 14 October 2026

Robert Menasse

Robert Menasse was born in Vienna in 1954. He studied German philology, philosophy and political science in Vienna, Salzburg and Messina and received his PhD in 1980 with a thesis on the character of the outsider in literature. Menasse then spent six years teaching at the University of São Paulo, returning to Vienna in 1988, where he has since been based. Menasse has published some 18 books with Suhrkamp, which have been translated into more than 25 languages. He has won numerous awards for his work, including the German Book Prize in 2017 for Die Hauptstadt, and the European Book Prize in 2023 for Die Erweiterung.

Robert Menasse

Robert Menasse was born in Vienna in 1954. He studied German philology, philosophy and political science in Vienna, Salzburg and Messina and...