Nino Kharatishvili awarded Germany’s prestigious Bertolt Brecht Prize for Literature

Novelist Nino Kharatishvili has been distinguished with various literary prizes in Germany. Photo: Marcus Kaufhold.
Agenda.ge, 12 Feb 2018 - 14:44, Tbilisi,Georgia

German-based Georgian author Nino Kharatishvili has been honoured with another award for her acclaimed work The Eighth Life (for Brilka), after she was announced as winner of the prominent Bertolt Brecht Prize for Literature.

With the decision of the judges for the Augsburg-based award, Kharatishvili has become the latest recipient of the prize handed out every three years.

The jury noted their selection of the work as a recognition of the way the novel "makes a century from the East European point of view completely new for Western Europeans".

The German-language cover for 'The Eighth Life (for Brilka)'. Photo: Nino Haratischwili/Facebook.

The team of judges included cultural expert Thomas Weitzel, philologists Mathias Mayer and Juergen Hillesheim, theatre director Shermin Langhoff, the dramatist Andrea Koschwitz as well as journalists Uwe Wittstock and Hubert Spiegel.

Kharatishvili’s work is about a multi-generational family saga across several countries and brought its author critical acclaim in Germany following its publication in 2015.

Among other plaudits the Georgian writer won the Anna Seghers Prize for her "versatile and great work”.

The Eighth Life (for Brilka) was also praised by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper as the "best and most daring German-language novel of the Autumn" at its release.

Born in Tbilisi, Kharatishvili moved to Germany in 1995 and gained recognition through works including Radio Universe and The Barbarians.

Established in 1995, the Bertolt Brecht Prize for Literature has been awarded to novelists, playwrights and poets including Silke Scheuermann, Ingo Schulze and Urs Widmer.

Originating in Augsburg — the birthplace of famed playwright and poet Bertolt Brecht — the award is considered among the most prestigious literary recognitions in Germany and marked its ninth edition this year.