Heckethaler wooden houses
The Holzhäuser Heckethaler is a literature prize endowed with a total of 1000 euros (as of 2006) or 2000 euros from 2011 (see below ) , limited to authors under 30 years of age until 2010. Up to three short prose texts in German can be submitted. Three authors will be selected from all senders who will present their works on the last Saturday in October as part of a reading in the Holzhausen district of the city of Immenhausen . The prize has existed since 2002 and was initiated by the writer couple Dagmar Garbe († 2012) and Burckhard Garbe (Immenhausen-Holzhausen, Grebenstein since the end of 2011), who have served as the honorary central jury of the competition since then.
In 2006 the competition on the subject of “Why not?” Took place. Authors between the ages of 16 and 30 were eligible to participate. A total of around 190 entries were received. The award ceremony in the community center in Holzhausen on October 28, 2006 was attended by around 180 guests. The bishop of the Evangelical Church of Kurhessen-Waldeck , Martin Hein , could be won as the keynote speaker .
In 2010 the theme was “2020 !?” and was aimed at young authors between the ages of 14 and 30. This time 102 texts were received, seven from Austria and one from Switzerland. The keynote speaker was the Hessian Minister for Science and Art, Eva Kühne-Hörmann .
In the anniversary year 2011, the jury decided not to raise a topic, to allow authors over 50 years of age for the first time and to increase the prize awarded by Stadtsparkasse Grebenstein for the six winners to 2000 euros. This resulted in around 900 entries.
In 2012 the jury made a slight change to the name of the prize, which has since been called Holzhäuser Heckethaler - North Hessian Literature Prize . Since then, topics have changed every year, and texts from authors under 30 and over 50 years of age have been requested, but only one text has been allowed for the latter. 583 short stories were submitted. Around 200 people attended the award ceremony at the Holzhausen community center at the end of October.
From 2013, the middle age category from 31 to 50 years was also approved.
In 2019, for the 18th call, two prizes will be offered again: one general and one exclusively for young Hessian authors. Topic for both competitions: "New start" (prose texts). The closing date for entries is July 31, 2019. The prizes are donated by Stadtsparkasse Grebenstein. For the competition 1) North Hessian Literature Prize, the 1st winner receives € 500 and the 2nd winner € 300. In the 2) Youth Literature Prize competition, the 1st prize is also endowed with € 500 and the 2nd prize with € 300. In addition, there is an audience award in every competition. The award ceremony will take place on October 26, 2019 in Bürgerhaus Immenhausen-Holzhausen.