Culture Minister Eric Thill pictured with the winners and jury members, among others; Credit: CNL

On Monday 9 December 2024, the awards ceremony for Luxembourg’s 2024 National Literary Competition was held at the National Centre for Literature (CNL) in Mersch.

The 2024 National Literary Competition focused on plays in Luxembourgish, French, German and/or English. The competition had two prize categories: one for adult authors aged 20 and over, the other for young authors aged twelve to nineteen.

The ministry announced the winners of this year’s competition on 4 November 2024.

On Monday, Luxembourg’s Minister for Culture Eric Thill presented the prizes to the following winners:

- Charles Meder, 1st prize in the “adult authors” category for Urd. Pièce multilingue pour un coupable, sa victime, un mannequin de vitrine, plusieurs mannequins gonflables et le public; 

- Antoine Pohu, 2nd prize in the “adult authors” category for Les Bienheureux;

- Eric Abbott, 3rd prize in the “adult authors” category for Second Zechariah;

- Aimée Dhonte, 1st prize in the category "young authors aged 12-19" for It's Raining Cats and Dogs.

During his speech, Minister Thill highlighted the specific features of this competition, which has a long tradition, stating that "what characterises this event above all is its accessibility and the strict anonymity that is respected throughout the process. Anyone can submit their texts under a pseudonym, with the guarantee that this anonymity will be preserved until the end. This fair and democratic principle ensures equal opportunities for all, which is reflected in the diversity of the works presented. This year
once again, the texts submitted are varied, captivating, and full of surprises, testifying to the plurality and vitality of our literary scene." 

Minister Thill also noted the increase in the prize money for this 45th edition of the competition. It has gone from €10,250 in 2023 to €17,250 in 2024, a notable increase intended to "further support the efforts of authors and actively promote national literary creation." 

The jury for the 2024 National Literary Competition was composed of Luc Schiltz (president), Carole Lorang, Sarah Rock, Tullio Forgiarini and Pascal Seil.

The awards evening featured music by rapper Nicool (Nicole Bausch).

Since 1978, the Ministry of Culture has organised an annual literary competition with the aim of encouraging literary creation in the Grand Duchy. Each year, the competition is reserved for a different literary genre. The 2025 National Literary Competition will be dedicated to novels. For further details, see https://chronicle.lu/category/awards/51795-2025-national-literary-competition-to-focus-on-novels