Otto Ditscher Prize 2025 for book illustration

Every four years, the Rhein-Pfalz district awards the Otto Ditscher Prize for outstanding achievements in the field of book illustration. The prize is endowed with EUR 7,500. In addition, a prize of EUR 1,500 will be awarded to book illustrators under the age of 40.

The illustrations to be submitted must deal with one of the three texts specified by the organizer. A minimum of three and a maximum of five illustrations must be produced for the selected text. The sheets must be sent in the original without a frame, individually in a brochure cover. The format must not exceed DIN A3. The sheets are to be submitted unsigned with only a three-digit number on the reverse. The illustrations should be broadly conceived and point beyond the text; the atmospheric and emotional aspects of the text should be artistically captured and realized. Typographic text design is not part of the prize. The choice of graphic technique is left to the artist.

Multiple participation is not permitted. Applications must be submitted by January 31, 2025. The award ceremony will take place in early summer 2025. The jury’s decision is made without recourse to the courts and cannot be contested. Submissions, preferably by insured letter/value parcel, are made at the risk of the applicant. The submitted works are not insured by the organizer. Please include a self-addressed stamped envelope with an address label for the return shipment. In the case of graphic reproduction techniques, the artist will provide the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis with one series of the award-winning works. If the illustration results in a bibliophile work, the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis will receive two specimen copies. The prize cannot be split.

The following texts were selected by Hermann Schlösser, Vienna:

  • Franz Kafka: A country doctor
  • Felicitas Hoppe: The Nibelungs. A German silent movie
  • Martha Saalfeld: Green (from: The Poems, Blieskastel 1998)

Jury: Clemens Körner, District Administrator; Dr. Oliver Bentz, Speyer; Dr. Hermann Schlösser, Vienna; Stefan Dettlinger, Mannheim; Sebastian Fath, Mannheim; Dr. Dagmar Gilcher, Ludwigshafen/Kaiserslautern; Jürgen Schweitzer, Memmingen; Prof. Thomas Duttenhoefer, Darmstadt; Jürgen Schlotter, Berlin.

Please send your informal application to: Kulturbüro Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, Paul Platz, Europaplatz 5
67063 Ludwigshafen, Tel.: 0621/5909 3520; .

Application deadline: February 28, 2025