Christine Wunnicke receives 50,000 euros Büchner Prize in Darmstadt
Christine Wunnicke received the Georg Büchner Prize in Darmstadt, following the academy’s announcement of its choice in July. The award carries 50,000 euros. In her acceptance speech, the novelist and translator described how removing unnecessary passages had made her books shorter, and recalled reading Büchner on Berlin’s circular railway while observing fellow passengers. Her novel Wachs was shortlisted for the 2025 German Book Prize.
Arts··Morning
The academy presents its July choice in Darmstadt
German novelist and translator Christine Wunnicke received the Georg Büchner Prize in Darmstadt on 24 October. The award was presented by the German Academy for Language and Literature.[1], [2]
The ceremony took place at Staatstheater Darmstadt. The academy had announced its choice in July; the prize carries 50,000 euros. The jury praised Wunnicke’s surprising and carefully conceived storytelling and her ability to make fiction visible within apparently historical material.[1]
Cutting prose becomes the subject of her acceptance speech
Wunnicke said the part of writing she most enjoyed was removing material. Her books had become shorter as she deleted everything she considered unnecessary. She described reducing her acceptance speech until only two sentences remained, then deleting one and deciding to read Büchner instead.[1]
She recalled reading Büchner’s play Leonce und Lena on Berlin’s circular railway on a hot August evening. People and everyday scenes she observed on the train entered her account alongside passages from the play.[1]
Wachs followed earlier prize-winning books
Wunnicke lives in Munich and Berlin, writes novels, biographical literature and radio plays, and translates from Italian and English. Her works include Die Dame mit der bemalten Hand and Der Fuchs und Dr. Shimamura. Wachs reached the 2025 German Book Prize shortlist. The academy has awarded the Büchner Prize to German-language writers since 1951; Ursula Krechel received it in 2025.[1]
