Winners

• 1979 Hanns-Josef Ortheil for Fermer
• 1980 Michael Schneider for Das Spiegelkabinett
• 1981 Thomas Hürlimann
  Thomas Hürlimann
  Thomas Hürlimann is a Swiss playwright and novelist.His 1989 novel Das Gartenhaus was published as The Couple in the United States in 1991.-External links:*. Goethe-Instituts Website...
  
   for Die Tessinerin
• 1982 Inge Merkel for Das andere Gesicht
• 1983 Zsuzsanna Gahse for Zero
• 1983 Beat Sterchi for Blösch
• 1984 Herta Müller
  Herta Müller
  Herta Müller is a Romanian-born German novelist, poet and essayist noted for her works depicting the effects of violence, cruelty and terror, usually in the setting of Communist Romania under the repressive Nicolae Ceauşescu regime which she experienced herself...
  
   for Niederungen
• 1985 Jochen Beyse for Der Aufklärungsmacher
• 1986 Barbara Honigmann
  Barbara Honigmann
  Barbara Honigmann is a German author and artist.Barbara Honigmann is the daughter of German-Jewish emigrants, who returned to East Berlin in 1947 after a period of exile in Great Britain. Her mother, Litzi Friedman, was the first wife of Kim Philby and her father, Georg Honigmann, was the chief...
  
   for Roman von einem Kinde
• 1987 Erich Hackl
  Erich Hackl
  Erich Hackl is an Austrian novelist and short-story writer. His works have been translated into English, Spanish, French and Czech, though he is significantly better known in the German-speaking world...
  
   for Auroras Anlaß
• 1988 Christa Moog for Aus tausend grünen Spiegeln
• 1989 Irina Liebmann for Mitten im Krieg
• 1990 Ulrich Woelk for Freigang
• 1991 Burkhard Spinnen for Dicker Mann im Meer
• 1992 Dagmar Leupold for Edmond
• 1993 Manfred Rumpl for Koordinaten der Liebe
• 1994 Radek Knapp for Franio
• 1995 Ingo Schulze for 33 Augenblicke des Glücks
• 1996 Felicitas Hoppe
  Felicitas Hoppe
  Felicitas Hoppe is a German writer.-Early Years:Felicitas Hoppe was born in Hamelin and grew up there. After her Abitur she studied literature, rhetorics and theology: from 1982 to 1984 at the Eberhard Karls Universität in Tübingen, from 1984 to 1986 at the University of Oregon and from 1987 to...
  
   for Picknick der Friseure
• 1997 Zoë Jenny
  Zoë Jenny
  Zoë Jenny is a Swiss writer. Her first novel, The Pollen Room, was published in German in 1997 and has been translated into 27 languages. Since 2003 she has been living in London. In 2008 she married Matthew Homfray, a British veterinary surgeon and pharmaceuticals consultant...
  
   for Das Blütenstaubzimmer
• 1998 John von Düffel for Vom Wasser
• 1999 Christoph Peters
  Christoph Peters
  Christoph Peters is a German author of novels and short stories. His debut novel, Stadt Land Fluss was published in 1999, and won the 'aspekte' prize for the best German literary debut. It was followed by a collection of short stories in 2001, and, in 2007, his first novel to be published in...
  
   for Stadt Land Fluß
• 2000 Andreas Maier for Wäldchestag
• 2001 Sherko Fatah for Im Grenzland
• 2002 Zsuzsa Bánk
  Zsuzsa Bánk
  Zsuzsa Bánk is a German writer.Her parents moved to Germany after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and she studied at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz and in Washington....
  
   for Der Schwimmer
• 2003 Roswitha Haring for Ein Bett aus Schnee
• 2004 Thomas Stangl
  Thomas Stangl
  ----Thomas Stangl was a German classical scholar and text critic. He is found referenced most often for his edition of scholia to Cicero's speeches , especially for his work on Asconius and the Bobbio Scholiast....
  
   for Der einzige Ort
• 2005 Jens Petersen for Die Haushälterin
• 2006 Paul Ingendaay for Warum Du mich verlassen hast
• 2007 Thomas von Steinaecker for Wallner beginnt zu fliegen
• 2008 María Cecilia Barbetta for Änderungsschneiderei Los Milagros
• 2009 Stephan Thome for Grenzgang
• 2010 Dorothee Elmiger for Einladung an die Waghalsigen
• 2011 Eugen Ruge for In Zeiten des abnehmenden Lichts