National Literary Competition
Charles Meder wins first prize in the "adult authors" category of the 2024 National Literary Competition with his play "Urd. Pièce multilingue pour un coupable, sa victime, un mannequin de vitrine, plusieurs mannequins gonflables et le public”. It provides a playground for actors and directors, a situational comedy and a note of satirical humour. The 2024 edition, dedicated to theatre, showcased the works of both new talent and established authors.
The winners
The jury of the National Literary Competition 2024 analysed and awarded prizes to the plays on the basis of literary, linguistic and originality criteria:
- "Urd. Pièce multilingue pour un coupable, sa victime, un mannequin de vitrine, plusieurs mannequins gonflables et le public” (Urd. Multilingual play for a culprit, his victim, a window mannequin, several inflatable mannequins and the audience.) by Charles Meder, wins first prize in the "adult authors" category for the originality of its spoken monologue, which makes it a play resolutely about actors. The protagonist is given a playground to showcase his acting and theatrical skills, where situational comedy meets a note of satirical humour. The play unfolds against a gritty and bitter backdrop and develops into a violent settling of scores with contemporary Luxembourg society. The actor displays a complex duality and makes use of political, social and linguistic clichés by switching from one language to another in a natural way.
- "Les Bienheureux" (The Blessed) by Antoine Pohu, awarded second prize in the "adult authors" category.
- "Second Zechariah" by Erik Abbott, wins third prize in the "adult authors" category.
- "It's Raining Cats and Dogs" by Aimée Dhonte, awarded the encouragement prize in the "young authors from 12 to 19 years old" category to motivate the young author to continue her work and create a promising first draft. This heartfelt play is full of fairytale poetry that gradually transforms the complicated life of its teenage heroine.
An award brimming with history and voices
The National Literary Competition has been held every year since 1978 and is organised by the Ministry of Culture. Its aim is to foster literary creation in Luxembourg and to act as a catalyst for new voices. Since its creation, approximately 130 writers have been awarded prizes and most of them have gained recognition on the national and international stage.
The works submitted to the competition must be original and may not be published in any form before the official results are announced. The first prize in the "adult authors" category is €7,500 and a contribution of up to €5,000 towards the publication costs, following presentation of a dossier by a recognised publishing house. The author retains all rights to the publication.
Every year, the competition focuses on another literary genre. The 2024 edition was devoted to plays in Luxembourgish, French, German and English. In total, 52 projects were submitted in the categories of "adult authors" (aged 20 and over) and "young authors" (aged 12-19).
The award ceremony took place on 9 December 2024 at the National Literature Centre in Mersch.
A jury of national experts
The 2024 competition jury was composed by:
- Luc Schiltz (chairman), actor and co-founder of Hydre éditions;
- Tullio Forgiarini, author;
- Carole Lorang, director at the Esch Theatre;
- Sarah Rock, playwright and artistic advisor to the Fundamental association;
- Pascal Seil, curator at the National Literature Centre.
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