Awards

Klagenfurt Poetry Prize: On the keyboard of words

Carinthian journalist Michael Tschida, who lives in Graz, will receive the 17th Stadtwerke Poetry Prize on November 28.(Bild: Christian Jungwirth)

The 17th winner of the Stadtwerke Klagenfurt Poetry Prize is the journalist Michael Tschida, who was born in Villach and lives in Graz. 15 awards are presented.

What did he say when juror and Büchner Prize winner Josef Winkler congratulated him after the jury meeting for the Stadtwerke Poetry Prize? "First I take an antihypertensive and then a happy drink." Well, the author, who was born in Villach in 1963, has been working as an editor since 1990 and published a volume of poetry at the age of 20, will probably be drunk with joy until November 28 (6 pm). Then the founder and long-standing artistic director of ORFEO (series of vocal events), who has already been recognized once at the Carinthian Poetry Prize, will not only receive a certificate and glass trophy from HTL Ferlach, but also 5000 euros in prize money.

Prize from the provincial capital of Klagenfurt for Manuela Tomić(Bild: Clemens Fabry Maier)

The Culture Prize of the Province of Carinthia for Andrea Drumbl.(Bild: Edition Atelier)

Rain of prizes for Carinthian writer
"I've been a journalist for 35 years and a writer for zero years. But the word has always been my instrument and will remain so," says Tschida. He was able to convince the independent jury (chairman Günter Schmidauer, Katharina Herzmansky, Ilse Gerhardt, Zdenka Hafner-Celan, Josef Winkler, Harald Raffer), who anonymously selected 15 writers from around 120 authors in both national languages to be honored in the Klagenfurt Stadthaus. Second place (€1500) went to Verena Schumanski, a multi-award-winning Carinthian living in Vienna, while third place (€800) went to the well-known Feistritz author Stefan Feinig, who publishes his works in German and Slovenian.

Writer Andrea Drumbl, who has also previously received the Carinthian Poetry Prize, was awarded the Carinthian Culture Prize worth €3000. The prize of the provincial capital Klagenfurt (1500 €) goes to Manuela Tomić. Congratulations to her!