The Clemens Brentano Prize goes to the Viennese author Simon Sailer
The Viennese author Simon Sailer received the Clemens Brentano Prize of the city of Heidelberg, endowed with 10,000 euros, for his story “Die Schrift”. This was announced by his publisher, Edition Atelier, on Monday. The award ceremony is planned for May 19 in the Hall of Mirrors of the Prince Carl Palace in Heidelberg.
“An Egyptologist receives an enigmatic but fascinating script that throws his life more and more off course. Playing with elements of high and pop culture, Simon Sailer develops a cinematic reading experience in a subtly gripping narrative tone:” The script “is about power the signs as well as the horror of falling victim to a higher authority, “said the jury’s statement. “The result, supplemented by allusive illustrations, is a narrative that is as varied as it is ambiguous. It is both a thriller and a novella in one.”
Simon Sailer was born in Vienna in 1984, where he lives again after stays in Berlin, Prague and Paris. He studied philosophy in Vienna and Paris as well as art and science at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. In 2019 his debut novel “Menschenfisch” was published by Verlag Müry-Salzmann, in 2020 his story “Die Schrift” and in February 2021 his story “Das Salzfass” (both in Edition Atelier).
The City of Heidelberg’s Clemens Brentano Prize has been awarded annually since 1993, alternating between the narrative, essay, novel and poetry categories, to German-speaking authors who have attracted the attention of critics and reading audiences with their first works.