Rotahorn Prize names Hannah K. Bründl and Christoph Szalay winners

Hannah K. Bründl and Christoph Szalay have won this year’s Rotahorn Prize for literature, ORF Steiermark reported on Wednesday. Each will receive 4,000 euros.

The winners were selected from a shortlist by a specialist jury at the 16th edition of the prize, which was founded in 2011 by Saubermacher founder Hans Roth to support emerging writers.

Bründl, born in 1996 in Steyr, Upper Austria, writes poetry, plays and radio dramas and is currently working on her first novel. Szalay, born in 1987 and originally from Graz, lives in seclusion in the Enns Valley. His work combines performance, pop culture, poetry and landscapes.

Jury chairman and manuskripte publisher Andreas Unterweger said the winners had prevailed because they developed the strongest poetic force in their writing. He said Bründl’s work stood out for creating a memorial to victims of violence against women, while Szalay had spent years depicting the disappearance of traditional landscapes from the world.

Unterweger said it was important to preserve smaller prizes aimed at emerging authors because they needed support the most. He also criticised cuts to public arts and culture funding in Styria, saying the amount had fallen by 25 percent last year and that further reductions were expected in 2027.

Roth said he established the Rotahorn Literature Prize as a birthday gift for Alfred Kolleritsch and wanted to set a signal for the future. He said he would continue contributing as long as possible and hoped to encourage other businesspeople to support similar initiatives.

The awards ceremony will take place on November 11 at the Minoritensaal hall in Graz.