Jury

Head of the jury

1973 born in Lübeck. Studied general rhetoric and German studies at the Eberhard Karls University Tübingen from 1992 to 1998. From 1994 to 2001 freelance journalist, reporter, moderator in cultural and political programs on First German Radio and Television (ARD). Since 2001 editor at Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), since 2014 editor on duty of NDR Kultur. From 2006 to 2014 Head of NDR Feature, broadcasts on NDR Info, since 2010 also of NDR Kultur. Since 2014 responsible of radio art, radio plays and features at NDR Kultur and NDR Info, podcasts with N-JOY and NDR 2. Since 2016 member of the German Academy of Performing Arts, since 2016 member of the jury ofthe Axel Eggebrecht Prize.

Mag. Elisabeth Stratka, born on 29 August, 1967 in Klosterneuburg (Austria), studied German and art history. Since 1991 in the features department of the ORF public Austrian broadcasting. Works as a writer and producer for various book shows and feature series. 2007 Participation in the Prix Italia with "Lost for the world", 2007 in the jury of the "Feature Prize of the Radio Basel Foundation". 2009 "Radio Prize for Adult Education" for the editing of the "Hörbilder" series, together with Eva Roither. 2011 - 2014 Chairwoman of the "Ake Blomstrom Memorial Prize". 2015 and 2017 in the jury of the Prix Italia in the "Documentary" category. 2016 "Austrian Radio Prize" in gold and special prize of the United Nations in gold at the New York Radio Festival - together with Nadja Hahn for the audio picture "For a piece of happiness". 2017 "Austrian Radio Prize" in silver, category "Best Innovation", for the multimedia project "#HowtobeAustrian". Since September 2019 head of the Feature & Feuilleton department of Ö1 radio.

Wolfgang Schiffer, born in 1946, studied German literature, philosophy, and theater studies; he has published prose, poetry, and radio plays and works as an editor and translator from Icelandic; he is a member of various literary institutions, including PEN Germany. From 1976 he worked as a radio drama editor at WDR (West German Broadcasting), and from 1991 to 2011 he held a leading position responsible for radio plays, radio features, and literature; from 1995 to 2003 he was also a member of the Steering Committee for Radio Drama of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). For his publications (most recently the poetry collection Ich hört dem Regen zu [I Listened to the Rain] (ELIF Verlag 2024), the anthology Die Backstage eines Buches [The Backstage of a Book], ELIF Verlag 2025, as well as the translations Die Sprache der Möwen [The Language of Seagulls] by Gyrðir Elíasson (ELIF Verlag 2025) and Die Bibliothek meines Vaters [My Father's Library] by Ragnar Helgi Ólafsson (Mikrotext 2025)), he has received several literary and cultural awards, including the Knight's Cross of the Icelandic Order of the Falcon. He lives in Cologne and Prague.