Prize of the Houses of Literature
The network of literature houses, of which the Literaturhaus Villa Clementine is a member, is awarding the Prize of the Literature Houses 2026 to the author and essayist Lena Gorelik.
Lena Gorelik was hailed as a discovery with her debut novel Meine weißen Nächte (My White Nights, 2004) and was nominated for the German Book Prize for Hochzeit in Jerusalem (Wedding in Jerusalem, 2007). She most recently published the novel "Wer wir sind" (Who We Are, 2021), and "Alle meine Mütter" (All My Mothers) will be released in spring 2026 (all published by Rowohlt Verlag). Lena Gorelik also regularly writes essays and reports on current topics for publications such as the Süddeutsche Zeitung and Die Zeit.
Lena Gorelik is not only a multi-award-winning author, but also uses the possibilities of literature and event management to respond to social developments. As co-editor of "Trotzdem sprechen" (Speak Anyway), she advocated for continued dialogue at events after October 7, 2023. The book is a plea for humanity in times of hatred, agitation, and right-wing populism. The reading performance of József Debreczeni's Kaltes Krematorium (Cold Crematorium), designed in collaboration with Carolin Emcke, helped to keep alive the memory of the crimes of the Nazis. With her books and her stage performances, Lena Gorelik encourages a nuanced, lively, and critical exchange, for which she is being honored with the Literature Houses Award.
The program directors of the literature houses affiliated with the network honor Lena Gorelik as an author who has rendered outstanding services to the unique character of literary events.
The Literature House Prize has been awarded since 2002, most recently to Antje Rávik Strubel (2019), Marlene Streeruwitz (2020), Ingo Schulze (2021), Sasha Marianna Salzmann (2022), and Fiston Mwanza Mujila (2024). The prize money is 20,000 euros.
About Lena Gorelik
Born in St. Petersburg in 1981, Lena Gorelik came to Germany with her Russian-Jewish family in 1992. After training at the German School of Journalism in Munich, she completed the elite degree program "Eastern European Studies." She has been awarded the Bavarian Art Promotion Prize, the Ernst Hoferichter Prize, the Friedrich Hölderlin Prize, and, in 2024, the Heinrich Mann Prize for Essay Writing. She also teaches creative writing, curated the Stuttgart Literature Festival in 2023, and held a poetry lectureship at the University of Hanover in 2022.
Date
Lena Gorelik will present her work, and in particular her latest novel Alle meine Mütter (All My Mothers), on Monday, April 20, at 7:30 p.m. in conversation with Shirin Sojitrawalla (DLF and taz) at the Literaturhaus Villa Clementine.