Kim de l'Horizon wins Mülheim Dramatists' Award for 'Die kleinen Meerjungraun'

Kim de l'Horizon has been awarded the prestigious Mülheim Dramatists' Award for their play "Die kleinen Meerjungraun" (The Little Mermaids). The jury for the competition of contemporary German-language drama announced their decision during a public session in Mülheim/Ruhr on Saturday evening. The play also garnered the audience award, highlighting its broad appeal.

Jurors specifically lauded the piece for its "vivid language" and "successful wordplay." Premiered in Bern, "Die kleinen Meerjungraun" draws inspiration from Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale to explore themes of longing, love, and societal pressure to conform. The jury noted that the play serves as a "plea against normative thinking and for a path to queer self-liberation."

Kim de l'Horizon, whose real name is a pseudonym, hails from Switzerland and is known for their poetry, prose, and theater texts. This award follows significant recognition for de l'Horizon's debut novel, "Blutbuch," which was translated into 17 languages and won both the Swiss Book Prize and the German Book Prize in 2022.

A total of seven new plays for adults and five for children were nominated for this year's Mülheim competition. Both the main Dramatists' Award and the children's play award are endowed with 15,000 euros each, while the audience award comes with 5,000 euros. The children's award went to Simone Saftig for "herzkopfüber," a play about a mother battling cancer. The awards ceremony for this year's prizes will take place at the beginning of the next Mülheim Theater Days in 2027.

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The play is a plea against normative thinking and for a path to queer self-liberation.