The Judges 2009

Richard Kämmerlings

Born 1969 in Krefeld, Richard Kämmerlings studied German, history and philosophy in Cologne and Tübingen. From 1997, he was literary critic and a journalist for WDR, NZZ and the FAZ. He has been an editor for the features section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung since 2000, and its literary editor since 2001.

Michael Lemling

Michael Lemling, born 1964 in Trier, studied German and politics in Trier and Marburg, graduating with his M.A. in 1992. After training as a bookseller at the Marburg bookshop Roter Stern, he went on to manage the Buchhandlung am Market in Marburg (1996 to 1999) and Buchhandlung Carolus in Frankfurt (1999 to 2006). Since June 2006, he has been managing director of the Munich bookshop Buchhandlung Lehmkuhl. From 2001 to 2006, he was president of the Hesse regional branch of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels. He has been on the panel of judges for the Alfred Kerr Prize for Literary Criticism since 2007.

Martin Lüdke

The literary critic Martin Lüdke was born in Apolda (Thuringia) on 9 April 1943. After studying philosophy, sociology, German and politics, he was a research assistant at a government social science institute in Munich (SOWI) from 1976 to 1978. As professor of modern German literature, he taught at J.W. Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main till 1984, and was later a visiting professor at various universities in the USA. From 1985 to 1990, he was an editor at broadcasters Hessischer Rundfunk (television/culture), from 1990 at Südwestfunk - now SWR, first in Baden-Baden and from 1996 in Mainz. Since summer 2003, he has been Courtesy Professor at the University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA. He writes for the Frankfurter Rundschau, DIE ZEIT, DER SPIEGEL and LITERATUREN. Martin Lüdke lives in Frankfurt am Main.

Lothar Müller

Born 1954 in Dortmund, Lothar Müller studied German and history at the Philipps University Marburg-Lahn and obtained his PhD in 1985 on Karl Philipp Moritz. After that, he was a guest presenter for several years on the radio arts programme "Texte und Zeichen" on NDR. From 1997 to 2001 he was an editor for the literary section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Today, Lothar Müller is an editor for the feature section of the Süddeutsche Zeitung. He was awarded the Alfred Kerr Prize for Literary Criticism in 2008 and the Johann Heinrich Merck Prize for Literary Criticism and Essays in 2008.

Iris Radisch

Iris Radisch was born in Berlin in 1959. She studied German, Romance languages and literature, and philosophy, going on to work as a literary editor. She wrote for the Frankfurter Rundschau before moving to the feature section of DIE ZEIT in 1990, where she still contributes today. Alongside visiting professorships in St. Louis, USA, and Göttingen, she has been a presenter for various television channels on programmes such as "Das literarische Quartett" (ZDF) and "Bücher, Bücher" (HR). She currently presents the Swiss television programme, "Literaturclub". From 1995 to 2000, she was on the panel of judges for the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize in Klagenfurt and she chaired the panel from 2003 to 2007.

Daniela Strigl

The essayist, literary critic and expert Daniela Strigl was born in Vienna in 1964. She studied German, history, philosophy and dramaturgy. After that, from 1992 to 1994, she was responsible for the Walter Buchebner Gesellschaft's literary programme at Kunsthaus Mürzzuschlag. From 1995 to1998, she was editor-in-chief at the arts magazine "was". Between 1996 and 2001, she was a co-organiser of the "Literatur im März" festival in Vienna. From 2003 to 2008, she was on the panel of judges for the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize. She was Scholar in Residence at Rutgers University, New Jersey, in 2005 and since 2007, she has taught at Vienna University's Institute of German Studies. Daniela Strigl was awarded the Austrian State Prize for Literary Criticism in 2001, and the Max Kade Essay Prize in 2006.

Hubert Winkels

Hubert Winkels, born 1955 between Düsseldorf and Cologne, lives in Düsseldorf and works in Cologne. He studied German and philosophy, obtaining his PhD on contemporary German literature. From 1982 to 1985 he was a magazine editor and from 1985 to 1988 a freelance writer. He has been a literary editor for broadcasters Deutschlandfunk in Cologne since 1997. As a presenter, his television programmes have included "0137" on Premiere (1993), "Dichterclub" on SWF (1996 – 98) and "Die Bestenliste" on SWR and 3-Sat (1998-2002). In 1997, he lectured as "Critic in Residence" in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1998 at the Essen Polytechnic as visiting professor of "Literature and Media", and in 1999/2000 and 2003/2004 as visitor professor of literary criticism at Georg August University in Göttingen. In 2007, he was awarded the Alfred Kerr Prize for Literary Criticism.