For "mini horror"

Barbi Markovic wins Leipzig Book Prize

Author and Viennese by choice Barbi Markovic (archive photo)(Bild: APA/Herbert Neubauer)

The Viennese-by-choice Barbi Markovic was awarded the Leipzig Book Prize on Thursday for her short story collection "Minihorror". She was joined in the nomination by Wolf Haas, another author with an Austrian connection.

"The author tells a comic in prose with stylistic confidence and deliberate stylistic breaks. The horror of the 26 stories about the couple Mini and Miki lurks in everyday life. There are mishaps, insults, family feuds, furniture purchases and vermin - funny, familiar and scary (...)", says the jury in its statement. "Minihorror" is a collection of short stories and was published last year by Residenz Verlag.

Only the second Austrian woman to win
The prize is endowed with 15,000 euros. Markovic came out on top in the fiction category against authors such as Wolf Haas, Anke Feuchtenberger ("Genossin Kuckuck"), Inga Machel ("Auf den Gleisen") and Dana Vowinckel ("Gewässer im Ziplock"). Markovic is the second Austrian to win the Leipzig Book Prize after Clemens J. Setz (2011).

The author tells a comic in prose with stylistic confidence and deliberate stylistic breaks. The horror of the 26 stories about the couple Mini and Miki lurks in everyday life.

Begründung der Jury

The author was born in Belgrade in 1980, studied German and has lived in Vienna since 2006. Her Thomas Bernhard remix novel "Ausgehen" was published in 2009, followed by "Superheldinnen" in 2016. Markovic has already received several awards and was nominated for the Klagenfurt Ingeborg Bachmann Prize, among others.

"A permanent fixture in contemporary literature"
Congratulations from Austria came from State Secretary for Art and Culture Andrea Mayer, among others. "Since her story 'Ausgehen', which extended Thomas Bernhard's 'Gehen' into the Belgrade club scene, Barbi Marković has been a permanent fixture in contemporary Austrian literature. The fact that she is now - one year after Austria's successful guest country appearance at the Leipzig Book Fair - being honored there with 'Minihorror' is a great cause for celebration," she said in a press release.

A total of 486 works were submitted in three categories this year. In the non-fiction/essay category, the prize went to Tom Holert with his book "'ca. 1972' Violence - Environment - Identity - Method". Ki-Hyang Lee ("The Curse of the Rabbit") was honored in the translation category.