Annette Hug awarded the Italo Svevo Prize

Swiss author Annette Hug has been awarded the Italo Svevo Prize, which carries a purse of 15,000 euros. The award ceremony is scheduled to take place on November 12, 2026, at the Freie Akademie der Künste in Hamburg.

The prize is supported by the Martha-Pulvermacher-Stiftung. The jury, chaired by publisher Sebastian Guggolz, praised Hug for her original and independent prose, noting her stylistic precision and intellectual sharpness. Her body of work includes novels such as ‘Lady Berta’, ‘In Zelenys Zimmer’, ‘Wilhelm Tell in Manila’, and ‘Tiefenlager’.

Hug, born in 1970, has previously received the ZKB-Schillerpreis and other Swiss literary honors. Her work often explores complex themes, including the translation of Schiller's ‘Wilhelm Tell’ into Tagalog and the documentation of nuclear waste hazards.