Salzburg places three authors on Austrian Book Prize shortlist

Three authors connected to Salzburg have been nominated for the Austrian Book Prize, ORF reported Wednesday. Birgit Birnbacher, Laura Freudenthaler and Vladimir Vertlib are in contention for the main prize, which will be awarded in Vienna on November 23.

The longlist features ten German-language works by authors from Austria. They include “Sie wollen uns erzählen” by Birnbacher, who was born in the Pongau region, “Iris” by Freudenthaler, who is from the city of Salzburg, and “Der Jude der Kaiserin” by Vertlib, who was born in Russia and lives in Salzburg.

Other nominees include Robert Menasse, Norbert Gstrein and Elias Hirschl. The main prize is worth 20,000 euros.

The Salzburg-based Jung und Jung publishing house is also represented. Freudenthaler’s “Iris” is nominated for the main prize, while “Alice” by Marlen Mairhofer, who lives in Salzburg, is in contention for the 10,000-euro debut prize.

Both awards will be presented during the Buch Wien book fair. The Austrian Book Prize has been awarded by a rotating jury since 2016, but no author from Salzburg has won it so far.