The Fondation Servais has awarded its Prix Servais 2018 Prize to Nico Helminger for his book “Kuerz Chronik vum Menn Malkowitsch sengen Deeg an der Loge” published by Binsfeld Publishing.
Since 1992, the Prix Servais has rewarded the most significant literary work published in the previous year. The prize of €6,000 is awarded annually on the proposal of an independent jury.
This year’s Prix Servais was awarded to Nico Helminger’s work which represents a new milestone in the evolution of Luxembourg's postmodern novel. The narrative structure, inspired by the musical counterpoint, plays with literary genres and combines philosophical and artistic reflections, in a literary and cultural world perspective. From his lodge, the protagonist casts a critical and often disturbing look at the ideologies and representations that condition the individual in a globalised contemporary society. Consuming frenzy, burnout, Nation Branding and financial scandals are tackled in a vast denunciation of the rejection of complex thought. The author's language proves to be bold and effective, whether in the handling of humour, in the figuration of abstract ideas or in the description of human relationships and sexuality.
The jury of the Prix Servais 2018 was composed of Simone Beck, Jeanne E. Glesener (president), Odile Linden, Claude Mangen, Pierre Marson, Jeanne Offermann, Alex Reuter, Aimee Schultz and Sebastian Thiltges.
The award ceremony will take place on Sunday 24 June 2018 at 11:00 at the Centre national de littérature.
