Literature scholarship from the city of Chemnitz
Tender 2026
The City of Chemnitz is inviting applications for a literary scholarship.
The Cultural Department of the City of Chemnitz is offering a scholarship for a literary producer from 1 April 2026. The scholarship will enable people to engage more intensively with the past and present of life in the city of Chemnitz and the region.
In line with the city of Chemnitz's cultural strategy of giving culture space and in continuation of the Capital of Culture motto C the Unseen , the city's society and its surroundings are setting out together to increasingly localise themselves in Europe, to make the undiscovered visible, tangible and conceivable. A Scriptor in Residence (m/f/d) is invited to participate in this endeavour as part of a scholarship.
Requirements
- The scholarship holder writes and publishes in German, regardless of first or second language and nationality.
- He or she must have at least one independent publication that is not self-published.
The scholarship holder is expected to spend the time of the scholarship in Chemnitz, to engage intensively with the city and region, to participate in the socio-political and cultural discourse and to enrich it with their own contributions, analogue and/or digital.
He or she is invited to present parts of his or her current work, e.g. at readings at the start and end of the fellowship, as part of the city's public cultural life and at interactive readings in schools and educational institutions.
Remuneration
- 1,500 per month from 1 April 2026 for up to 6 months
- Provision of a furnished flat
Application documents
- Text sample (max. 10,000 characters)
- curriculum vitae
- Bibliography of previous publications, if applicable
- Letter of motivation (max. 2,000 characters)
- Description of a concrete work project (max. 4,000 characters)
The selection will be made by a jury consisting of authors and cultural actors with a connection to Chemnitz.
Please compile the required documents into one file in PDF format and send it to literaturstipendium(at)stadt-chemnitz.de by 14 September 2025 at the latest
The applicant consents to the processing, in particular to the collection, storage and use of the data for the purpose of processing and administering the application or processing any claim for reimbursement of the grant that may arise. The consent also applies to the transmission and processing of the data to all jury members.
Background: Literature scholarship
The scholarship enables people to engage more intensively with the past and present of life in the city of Chemnitz and the region.
In line with the City of Chemnitz's cultural strategy "Giving Culture Space" and in continuation of the Capital of Culture motto C the Unseen, urban society and its surroundings are setting out together to increasingly localise themselves in Europe, to make the undiscovered visible, tangible and conceivable.
With the scholarship, a scriptor in residence is invited to participate and present parts of their current work, e.g. at readings at the start and end of the scholarship, in the cultural life of the city and at interactive readings in schools and educational institutions.
The City of Chemnitz Literature Scholarship was advertised for the first time in 2022 and for the second time in 2023. More than 40 applications from all over Germany, Austria and Switzerland were received in response to the two calls for applications.
As the first literature scholarship holder, Arna Aley enriched the cultural life of the city from October 2022 to March 2023. From April to September 2024, Stefan Hornbach was the second literary scholarship holder, reading in front of an audience and writing his second novel.
Review 2024
The second literature fellow, Stefan Hornbach, lived and worked in Chemnitz from the beginning of April to mid-October 2024.
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Review 2023
Arna Aley was the first literature scholarship holder of the city of Chemnitz. She lived and worked here from October 2022 to March 2023 and took part in the social discourse with her contributions.
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