Walter Höllerer’s birthplace is on Bayreuther Straße, in 1974 he was the city’s first cultural prize winner and in 1977 he founded the literary archive. 30 years later, the local secondary school adopted his name. Höllerer was also a member of the legendary writers’ association “Group 47”. He had already founded the Literary Colloquium in Berlin in 1963. In 2003, Walter Höllerer died at the age of 80 in Berlin, where he is also buried. The long-time professor at the TU Berlin and famous literary educator would have turned 100 on December 19, 2022. During the celebrations for this occasion, the idea was born to set up a city scholarship for authors in honor of Höllerer.
As presented in the cultural committee, the literary archive and the city of Sulzbach-Rosenberg are now offering a one-month scholarship for authors every year. The scholarship is intended to give writers the opportunity to work on a volume of prose or poetry that is about to be completed for another month in peace. According to Head of Office Gabriele Wagemann, it is not possible to apply for this scholarship yourself. “Applications can be submitted by publishers and editors of German-language publishers with proof of a publishing contract with a fixed publication date no later than two years after the end of their stay in Sulzbach-Rosenberg,” said the administrative representative.
Right of residence in the tower
According to information in the town hall, the scholarship includes a one-month right to live in a medieval fortification tower from 1388 that has been converted into holiday accommodation (“tower scholarship”) in the middle of the old town of Sulzbach-Rosenberg with a view of the castle. In addition, the funding includes a prize sum of 2,000 euros, travel costs and an invitation to a specially rewarded reading after the publication of the book edited in Sulzbach-Rosenberg. “The publisher undertakes to make appropriate reference to the stay in the tower in the book,” Wagemann continued.
As Thomas Geiger, director of the Berlin Literary Colloquium and a native of Sulzbach-Rosenberg, told Oberpfalz-Medien, the city of Sulzbach-Rosenberg is a place of contemporary literature known in the Federal Republic of Germany far beyond the borders of the Upper Palatinate thanks to the literary archive and the literature house . “Through the scholarship that we came up with during the preparations for Walter Höllerer’s 100th birthday, we want to further deepen this status as a city of literature.” Gratefully, Gabi Renner offered her residential tower in the Bachviertel as accommodation for the scholarship holders at no cost. In Geiger’s opinion, the name “Tower Scholarship” could become commonplace for this new funding.
Ten applicants
“There were ten applicants from eight renowned publishers for the first scholarship year in 2024. At the end of October, a jury convened by the board of the literary archive selected the author Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus as the first scholarship recipient. From May 2024, he can use the tower for a month for his final work and thus help to further increase Sulzbach-Rosenberg’s level of awareness,” says Thomas Geiger, who was particularly grateful to the city council for launching this scholarship to have brought.
As the Literaturhaus further informs, the writer Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus, born in Haifa/Israel in 1987, has lived in Berlin for ten years and works as a freelance author, poet and translator. His debut novel “Birobidschan” was published in spring 2023 and was nominated for the German Book Prize. The author applied for his second novel project through his publisher Voland & Quist, which has the working title “Gavdos – Biography of an Island”.
3000 euros per year
The jury includes board members and employees of the Literaturhaus as well as a representative of the city of Sulzbach-Rosenberg. The administration estimated the total financial requirement at 3,000 euros per year. The scholarship period was given as May 1st to May 31st. Applications would be accepted until September 30th annually. The Sulzbach-Rosenberger “Tower Scholarship” will be paid out for the first time in 2024.
Sulzbach-Rosenberg27.02.2022
background:
“Tower Scholarship”
100th birthday of Walter Höllerer as an occasion Annual call for proposals Defense tower in the Bachviertel as accommodation for authors City of Sulzbach-Rosenberg and literary archive as sponsors Right of suggestion to publishers and editors 2000 euros Prize sum Scholarship period May 1st to 31st
2023-11-09 16:11:52
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