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Luxembourg's Ministry of Culture has confirmed that the 2026 National Literary Competition (Concours littéraire national) will focus on collections of poetry written in Luxembourgish, French, German and/or English.
Created in 1978 by the Ministry of Culture, the National Literary Competition aims to encourage literary creation in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and to support the national literary sector as a key part of the country’s cultural ecosystem.
The 2026 competition includes two prize categories: one for adult authors aged twenty and over, and another for young authors aged twelve to nineteen. The first prize in the adult authors category is endowed with €7,500, whilst the first prize in the young authors category is worth €3,000.
The competition is open to authors and author collectives who either hold Luxembourgish nationality, reside in the Grand Duchy or, where applicable, have their fixed or predominant place(s) of work on Luxembourg territory.
The Ministry has specified that each participant – whether an individual or a collective – may submit only one manuscript. The choice of theme, number of pages, language(s) and target audience is entirely free. Submissions must be strictly unpublished, personal and original, and must not have been created with the help of artificial intelligence.
The jury is composed of Claude Bommertz (retired scientific advisor to the National Literature Centre), Sarah Hess (Zenter fir d'Lëtzebuerger Sprooch), Dana Hempel (Mierscher Lieshaus), Pit Hoerold (author) and Robert Weis (author and publisher).
The deadline for submitting manuscripts is Tuesday 30 June 2026.
The complete rules of the competition and additional information are available on the website of the Ministry of Culture or from the ministry's literary service via tel.: 247-76616 or via email: info@mc.public.lu.
