Charlotte Köhler Prize 2023 for Peer Wittenbols

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This year's Charlotte Köhler Prize, a triennial award for writers of prose, poetry or drama, has been awarded to Peer Wittenbols (1965). Wittenbols receives the €15,000 prize for his entire oeuvre and in particular for the play aimed at young people Trojan Wars (2020).

The jury consisted of theatre scholar Sruti Bala, actor, writer and director Gable Roelofsen and Ad de Bont, winner of the Charlotte Köhler Prize in 2014.

Poetic slap in your face

Trojan Wars was commissioned by HNT-jong in 2019 and, according to the jury, is "a highlight of Wittenbols' extensive oeuvre" which includes poetry, stories, song lyrics, translations of songs, radio plays and film scripts in addition to stage texts.

From the jury report: 'Trojan Wars is a poetic slap in your face. A slap that reflects the daily horrors of war in the language of a poet at a moment in history when peace is no longer a certainty for Europe and for the world. (...) Peer Wittenbols manages to stay very close to the perception of young people without falling into oversimplification.'

Wittenbols is grateful for this 'wonderful award': 'Love for theatre is mutual, you will notice that when you are back in the auditorium. Go watch!'

Presentation

Peer Wittenbols will be awarded the Charlotte Köhler Prize on 7 May during a 'Festive theatre authors' reception with trade launch' at Theater Kikker in Utrecht. At this programme, Magne van den Berg will hold the Boyer lecture and the selected writers and their texts will be presented for Fresh Text 2023 highlighted.

The Charlotte Köhler Prize

The Charlotte Köhler Prize and the Stipend have been awarded since 1988. A different genre is considered for the prize every three years: prose, poetry, drama. The awarded work must have been published in book form in the three years preceding the year of the award. For theatrical works, the premiere date must be in the three years preceding the year of award. The award is made by the board of the Author Prizes Foundation. The Foundation is administered by the Authors' Association.

Previous winners:
Manon Uphoff (prose), Alfred Schaffer (poetry), Ad de Bont (stage), Mensje van Keulen (prose), Jean Pierre Rawie (poetry), Rob de Graaf (stage), Willem G. van Maanen (prose), H.H. ter Balkt (poetry), Judith Herzberg (stage).