Writer Zsófia Bán has won the 21st Spycher: Literaturpreis Leuk Swiss Literary Prize, announced Magvető Publishing House.

“She is a citizen of the world, and anyone who reads her short stories cannot escape the impression that Zsófia Bán has condensed the literary best of every period of her life into her texts. Her realism is magical, her favourite genre is short story, and her texts are based on the empathetic look at the outsider that is so well known in Central European Jewish literature. Her stories must be read carefully, because they often take a new turn with a single sentence. Bán takes a harsh look at people, but without judging them”—the jury praised the Hungarian writer, who was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1957.

The Leuk Castle Foundation’s Literary Prize comes with a money award of approximately €18,400 and the award-winning authors can spend two months a year for three to five years in Leuk, in the Swiss canton of Wallis, on a scholarship from the foundation.

The prize, which has previously been awarded to authors such as László Krasznahorkai, Mircea Cartarescu, and Marcel Beyer, will be presented to Zsófia Bán on 19 September at Leuk Castle.