Oswald Egger has won the €50,000 (about $54,460) Georg Büchner Prize, awarded annually by the German Academy for Language and Literature to authors "writing in the German language whose work is considered especially meritorious and who have made a significant contribution to contemporary German cultural life."
The jury said that Egger, "since his first publication in 1993, has transcended and expanded the boundaries of literary production." His works "invite associative decision-making of meanings, and playfully undermine explanation systems we are familiar with" and are rooted in the multilingualism "and the landscapes of his South Tyrolean origin."
One of Germany's most prestigious literary awards, the prize is named in honor of the author of the influential German play, Woyzeck.