The International Literature award for contemporary prose in German translation will be presented for the first time this year. The highly endowed award from the Stiftung Elementarteilchen and the Haus der Kulturen der Welt is intended to give new impetus to the exchange of literary worlds. From the very beginning, the spirit of the Haus has always sought to mediate between worlds, that is, to translate.

Every year from now on, the highly endowed literature prize will be awarded to new works of contemporary international literature and their translations. The award has two aims: to draw attention to contemporary literature across the globe and to pay tribute to the mediatory role played by literary translators. The International Literature Prize aims to heighten people's awareness of outstanding and extraordinary new works of international literature.

The “International Literature Award - Haus der Kulturen der Welt” is endowed with 35,000 EUR of which 25,000 EUR goes to the author and 10,000 EUR to the translator. The prize is awarded annually in autumn in Berlin.