Literature Prize of the State Capital of Wiesbaden 2020
Text performer Maren Kames was awarded the newly established "Literature Prize of the State Capital of Wiesbaden", endowed with 10,000 euros, for her literary oeuvre to date. The award ceremony took place on Wednesday, June 16, 2021, at the Kulturforum.
The writer and text performer Maren Kames has been awarded the 10,000 euro Literature Prize of the State Capital of Wiesbaden. The award ceremony took place on Wednesday, June 16, at 7:30 p.m. in the Kulturforum at Friedrichstraße 16. Lord Mayor Gert-Uwe Mende presented the prize, the laudatory speech was given by jury member Andreas Platthaus (FAZ).
The author then presented excerpts from her work in a reading. The award ceremony was accompanied by music. The Literature Prize of the State Capital of Wiesbaden was already awarded to Maren Kames in 2020, but the award ceremony was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
With Maren Kames, the jury is honoring a writer who uses music, film excerpts, radio features, video art and online presences in her texts. "Her works transcend the boundaries between literary genres and media forms and ignite fire and counterfire in various fields of art," said the jury.
About Maren Kames
Maren Kames was born in Überlingen on Lake Constance in 1984. She studied cultural studies, philosophy and theater studies, then at the Institute for Literary Writing in Hildesheim. She was awarded the Düsseldorf Poetry Debut Prize and the Anna Seghers Prize for her highly acclaimed debut "Halb Taube halb Pfau". In 2017, she received the Kranichsteiner Literaturförderpreis, and in 2019 she was a fellow at the Villa Aurora in Los Angeles. "Luna Luna" was nominated for the 2020 Leipzig Book Fair Prize and was awarded the "Text & Language 2020" literary prize by the Kulturkreis der deutschen Wirtschaft im BDI. Maren Kames translates plays and essays by Sivan Ben Yishai and lives in Berlin.
The literature prize
The literature prize is awarded to authors who work intermedially in their works and create references to other arts, media or discourses. This aesthetic interplay results in sophisticated compositions with a further level of meaning - works that inspire through their innovation and complexity. The expert jury consists of the journalist and literary critic Mara Delius (Literarische Welt, Die Welt), the journalist Andreas Platthaus (FAZ) and the literary critic and presenter Insa Wilke (Die ZEIT, SZ). The event is organized by the Wiesbaden Cultural Office.