Martina Hefter Honored with Prestigious German Literature Prize

The Leipzig-based author receives the €50,000 award for her groundbreaking body of work, shortly after winning the German Book Prize.

Martina Hefter, a 59-year-old author from Leipzig, has been awarded the Große Preis des Deutschen Literaturfonds, one of Germany's most highly endowed literary prizes.
The €50,000 prize recognizes Hefter's entire body of work, which spans prose, poetry, and performance art that often transcends traditional genre boundaries.
Hefter's recent novel, 'Hey guten Morgen, wie geht es dir?', for which she won the German Book Prize last month, explores themes of caregiving, digital escapism, and human connection.
The award ceremony took place at the Literarisches Colloquium Berlin, with Culture Minister Claudia Roth praising Hefter's deeply layered storytelling and innovative contributions to contemporary German literature.
Translator Thomas Weiler was also honored at the event, receiving the €25,000 Paul-Celan-Preis for his work translating literature from Polish, Belarusian, and Russian, including banned works from Belarus.