Vienna buys part of Elfriede Jelinek’s archive for €600,000

Vienna will pay €600,000 for part of Nobel laureate Elfriede Jelinek’s literary archive, the city announced, according to ORF. The purchase comes shortly before Jelinek’s 80th birthday on October 20.

The collection includes manuscripts and typescripts, correspondence, personal documents and materials Jelinek assembled about the reception of her work. It spans her early publishing career through the 2000s.

The materials will be catalogued for research and made publicly accessible at the Vienna Library in City Hall. A proposal on the purchase is due to be considered by the responsible municipal council committee on Tuesday. The price was set under the city’s acquisition rules, based on internal and external assessments.

Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig said preserving the archive in the city would safeguard Jelinek’s work for future generations. City councillor for culture and science Veronica Kaup-Hasler described the purchase as a gain for Vienna and international literary research.

Library director Anita Eichinger said the institution had collected archives of significant writers for around 150 years. She called the acquisition of Jelinek’s materials a highlight in that history.