The Friedrich Ulfers Prize

The Friedrich Ulfers Prize was established in 2013 and is awarded annually at the opening ceremony of Festival Neue Literatur by Deutsches Haus at New York University to a leading publisher, writer, critic, translator, or scholar who has championed the advancement of German-language literature in the United States. The prize is endowed with a $5000 grant, and gives testimony to the rising importance of German-language literature in America today.

Prizewinners:

2022
Riky Stock, Managing Director of NorthSouth Books
Laudator: Barbara Perlmutter

2021
Jill Schoolman, founder and publisher of Archipelago Books
Laudator: Tess Lewis

2019
Susan Bernofsky, translator, author, and professor (Columbia University)
Laudator: Rivka Galchen, writer

2018
Barbara Perlmutter, scout and representative for the S. Fischer Verlag
Laudator: Robert Weil, Editor-in-Chief and Publishing Director of Liveright

2017
Barbara Epler, President of New Directions Publishing
Laudator: Susan Bernofsky, author, translator and director of the Literary Translation Program in the MFA Writing Program at Columbia University School of Arts

2016
Burton Pike, Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature and German at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York
Laudator: Shelley Frisch, award-winning translator and author of The Lure of the Linguistic

2015
Robert Weil, Editor-in-Chief and Publishing Director of Liveright
Laudator: Harold Augenbraum, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation

2014
Sara Bershtel, publisher of Metropolitan Books
Laudator: Christoph Hein, acclaimed German author and translator

2013
Carol Brown Janeway, senior vice-president and senior editor at Alfred A. Knopf
Laudation: Daniel Kehlmann, award-winning author of Measuring the World, Me and Kaminski, and Fame

About Friedrich Ulfers

Friedrich Ulfers is Associate Professor of German at New York University. In the past he also served as Assistant Dean of the College of Arts and Science, the German Department’s Director of Undergraduate Studies, Director of the NYU in Berlin Summer Program and Director of Deutsches Haus at NYU. The recipient of NYU's Distinguished Teaching Medal and Great Teacher Award, and two-time winner of the College of Arts and Science's Golden Dozen Award for Excellence in Teaching, Ulfers has taught not only in the German Department but also in NYU's interdisciplinary programs, offering courses that engage a range of interests, including literary theory, continental philosophy, and the relationships between science, literature, and philosophy. Friedrich Ulfers is also affiliated with the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland. He served there as professor of Philosophy, teaching an intensive Summer Seminar on Nietzsche and 20th/21st Century Thought and giving a variety of lectures. From 2006-2009 he was Dean of the Media and Communications Division of the School, and in 2009 he was appointed Professor Emeritus.

Volkmar and Margret Sander Prize

The Volkmar and Margret Sander Prize was established by Professor Margret Sander in memory of her late husband, Professor Volkmar Sander, former head of the German Department of NYU and founder and first director of Deutsches Haus at NYU. The prestigious annual prize, which was awarded for the first time in 2013 is endowed with a $5000 grant, kindly donated by Margret Sander, and honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the cultural, political, and academic relationship between the German-speaking world and the United States.

Prizewinners:

2022
Dr. Sabine von Mering, Director of the Center for German and European Studies (CGES) and Professor of German and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Brandeis University
Laudator: Dr. Sultan Doughan, the Dr. Thomas Zand Visiting Assistant Professor in Holocaust Pedagogy and Antisemitism Studies at Clark University

2021
Dr. Heinz Ickstadt, Professor Emeritus of American Literature at the Kennedy Institute of North American Studies at the Free University, Berlin
Laudator: Andrew Gross, Professor of American literature at the University of Göttingen

2019
Dr. Susan Neiman, Director of the Einstein Forum in Berlin.
Laudator: Sander Gilman, distinguished Professor of the Liberal Arts and Sciences and Professor of Psychiatry at Emory University. You can view the event video here.

2018
Dr. Henry G. Jarecki, academic, psychiatrist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. You can view the event video here.

2017
Karsten Voigt, former Coordinator of German-North American Cooperation at the Foreign Office of Germany.
Laudator: David Gill, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in New York. You can view the event video here.

2016
Prof. Claus Leggewie, Director of the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities Essen.
Laudator: Dr. Benjamin Barber, Walt Whitman Professor of Political Science Emeritus, Rutgers University. You can view the event video here.

2015
Dr. Lya Friedrich Pfeiffer, President of the Max Kade Foundation, Inc.
Laudator: Walter Hinderer, Professor Emeritus of Germanic Languages and Literatures at Princeton University. You can view the event video here.

2014
Dr. Gary Smith, Director of American Academy in Berlin.
Laudator: George Packer, journalist, novelist and playwright. You can view the event video here.

2013
Prof. Fritz Stern, University Professor emeritus and former Provost of Columbia University.
Laudator: Ambassador Dr. Peter Wittig, the Permanent Representative of Germany at the United Nations. You can view the event video here.

Prizes

The Friedrich Ulfers Prize

Prizewinners:

About Friedrich Ulfers

Volkmar and Margret Sander Prize

Prizewinners: