The jury, which announced the winner of the best German language novel on Monday, said it was inspired by the “innovative power” of writing by de l’Horizon, who identifies as neither male nor female.
“With enormous creative energy, the non-binary narrative character in Kim de l’Horizon’s novel Blutbuch searches for their own language,” said the book prize jury on reaching its verdict. “What narratives are there for a body that defies conventional notions of gender?”
De l’Horizon was born near Bern but is coy about exactly when, stating a birth date of 2666. The author beat five other short-listed finalists to take the €25,000 (CHF24,400) top prize.
Blutbuch has already been awarded the Literature Prize by the Jürgen Ponto Foundation.
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The 16-day campaign against gender-based violence came to an end on Tuesday. Several hundred organizations mobilized across Switzerland during this period, after kicking off with a mobilization attended by 10,000 people.
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Parliament wants Switzerland to support next year's European Women's Football Championship with CHF15 million ($17 million).
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A rare Roman coin with a portrait of Brutus, the assassin of Julius Caesar, was sold at a Geneva auction on Monday for CHF1.89 million ($2.15 million), according to the organiser of the sale.
Swiss Senate approves federal budget without opposition
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The Swiss army will receive an additional CHF530 million in 2025, and no cuts will be made to direct payments for agriculture. What is unclear is how much will be saved on foreign aid.
Swiss suspend decisions on asylum-seekers from Syria
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Asylum procedures and decisions for asylum-seekers from Syria will be suspended with immediate effect until the situation can be reassessed, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) said.
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Potentially toxic arsenic compounds can form in the human body when seafood is consumed. This is caused by arsenobetaine, which is often found in seafood. It can be converted into partially toxic substances by intestinal bacteria.
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Swiss retailer Coop is expanding its programme to avoid meat waste. A corresponding pilot project is gradually being extended to the entire store network.
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Irish author maps out literary Switzerland
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Many writers have found shelter, inspiration and adventure in Switzerland. A new book distils two centuries of literature with Swiss connections.
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At the Bodmer Foundation’s museum in Cologny near Geneva, visitors can absorb impressions from 2,000 pages of his writings, photos and other personal effects. A 500-page catalogue accompanies the exhibition. The padded jacket the prolific writer kept from his gulag years is there too, a reminder of his journey to Stalin’s version of hell and…
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“That was very important for me. You get feedback, you can work on the poems. I also got a lot of specialist knowledge about poetry structure, metre and so on. All of this I learned through the internet and not in school.” Schwaller looks more like a dancer than a poet. Just as a dancer…
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