Alfred Döblin Prize

Endowed by Günter Grass in 1979, the Alfred Döblin Prize for an unpublished epic literary work is awarded every two years by the Akademie der Künste and the Literarisches Colloquium Berlin for a “long prose manuscript of a work in progress”. The prize commemorates Alfred Döblin, one of the most versatile German writers of modern times. The S. Fischer Verlag supports the Alfred Döblin Prize.

An independent three-member jury nominates six authors from the applications to present their texts in public workshop readings at the Literary Colloquium and to engage in debate. Directly following the competition, the jurors select the winner. The prize is awarded the next day during a festive matinee at the Akademie der Künste.

The prize is endowed with 15,000 euros.

Application

A minimum of fifty pages of previously unpublished prose text is to be submitted. An exposé on the project and curriculum vitae with a biography are also expected.

More Information and the Application Portal

Award Recipients

2025

Sophia Merwald

Award Recipients since 1979

Residency Scholarship

In addition, the Alfred Döblin Prize Foundation awards a scholarship for a residency at the Alfred Döblin House in Wewelsfleth, Schleswig-Holstein, which Günter Grass gave to the federal state of Berlin specifically to support and promote writers. The Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion provides the scholarship funds for the Alfred Döblin Prize Foundation.

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