Irish writer Colm Tóibín wins the 14th Würth Prize for European Literature
On Tuesday, 4 June 2024, Irish writer Colm Tóibín received the 14th Würth Prize for European Literature of the Würth Foundation. At the festive award ceremony at Carmen Würth Forum in Künzelsau, C. Sylvia Weber, member of the Supervisory Board of the Würth Foundation, Johannes Schmalzl and Maria Würth, members of the Board of the Würth Foundation, presented the prize to the 69-year-old writer to great applause. The prestigious award of the Würth Foundation comes with a prize money of EUR 25,000. It is presented to honor authors who contribute to the literary aspect of Europe’s cultural diversity.
“I am grateful that the emotion in these books, unresolved and coiled as it is, given structure and some kind of shape, has been somehow shared by readers,” Colm Tóibín said in his acceptance speech. “I hope, or I often do, these novels might offer the reader a kind of comfort, or at least a recognition that comes as we turn down the light in a room so that an image on the screen, faltering first and shadowy and uncertain, might slowly become apparent, if only for a moment.”
Literary critic and journalist Prof. Lothar Müller, member of the jury, honored Tóibín in his laudatory speech as “cosmopolitan with deep roots to his home”, a “public intellectual”, a great narrator, essayist; and university teacher. “The jury gave Colm Tóibín the award not only for his artful representation of people in his novels and essays, but also expressly for his lucid interpretations and lectures.”
“The European focus of the prize is gaining in importance in these times,” said Maria Würth. The winner treated “in his books the strong bond with one’s home, regardless of history, religion and nationalism.”
In her welcome address, Petra Olschowski, Minister of Science, Research and Arts of Baden-Württemberg, underlined that the Würth Prize for European Literature gives credit to the importance and many voices of the literary work shaped by and radiating beyond Europe. “Including all the knowledge about what unites and separates us in Europe, in this incredibly fascinating world of European art and culture, of which the work of Colm Tóibín has also become a fundamental part.”
Colm Tóibín, born in Enniscorthy in Wexford County in 1955, reached international acclaim for “The Master”, his novel about Henry James, which was published in 2004. He has established himself as one of the most important Irish contemporary writers with novels such as the immigrant saga “Brooklyn” (2009), the film adaptation of which had three Oscar nominations, “Nora Webster” (2014) and “The Magician”, a novel about Thomas Mann. As a screenwriter, he collaborated with Volker Schlöndorff on the script for the film “Return to Montauk” (2017). His work, which began in 1994, has been awarded numerous prizes, including three nominations for the Man Booker Prize. His most recent publication “Long Island”, a sequel to “Brooklyn”, was released in May 2024.
About the Würth Prize for European Literature
The Würth Prize for European Literature recognizes literary commitment to Europe’s cultural diversity. The Würth Foundation awards the prize, which comes with a prize money of EUR 25,000, every two years. The jury, chaired by C. Sylvia Weber, Executive Vice President for Arts and Culture of the Würth Group and member of the Supervisory Board of the Würth Foundation, consists of Prof. Lothar Müller, Prof. Ulrich Raulff, Denis Scheck, Marie Schmidt, Prof. Jürgen Wertheimer; and Annie Ernaux, 2022 winner of the Würth Prize for European Literature.
The winners of the prize since 1998:
- 2024 Colm Tóibín
- 2022 Annie Ernaux
- 2020 David Grossman
- 2018 Christoph Ransmayr
- 2016 Peter Handke
- 2014 Péter Nádas
- 2012 Hanna Krall
- 2010 Ilija Trojanow
- 2008 Peter Turrini
- 2006 Herta Müller
- 2004 Harald Hartung
- 2002 Claude Vigée
- 2000 Claudio Magris
- 1998 Hermann Lenz