Clara Cosima Wolff appointed as City Planner in 2026.
Dortmund Announces Clara Cosima Wolff as City Writer for 2026
Clara Cosima Wolff, a literary talent hailing from the neighboring city of Dortmund, has been selected as the City Writer for 2026. This prestigious honour, awarded annually since 2020, focuses on transformation processes in Dortmund.
Born in Hagen, Wolff moved to other cities after her studies, but her heart always remained in Dortmund. She's thrilled to return and immerse herself in the local literary scene for half a year, starting from May 2026.
During her scholarship period, Wolff will work closely with the culture office, the literature house Dortmund, and other institutions of the regional literary scene. She'll engage with the city society, network with local literary actors, and use this opportunity to explore urban spaces for her literary work.
Wolff's thematic range spans across lyric, essay, and digital worlds. She plans to conduct a long poem as a literary experiment in urban space during her tenure as Dortmund's City Writer. This ambitious project will see her exploring the Ruhr region, starting from Hagen, and moving through cities in the area, with Dortmund as the central focus.
The jury, which included Council member Silvya Ixkes-Henkemeier, Dr. Artur Nickel, Henrik Szántó, Emily Grunert, Arnold Maxwill, Dr. Sibylle Klemm, Hartmut Salmen, Jörg Stüdemann, and Isabel Pfarre, was impressed by Wolff's combination of lyrical language and academic reflection on urban spaces. They appreciated her conscious engagement with urban spaces and her personal perspective on them.
Ika Sperling, the first comic artist to hold the City Writer scholarship in Dortmund, is currently in residence until October. The author who was the first comic artist to receive the Dortmund City Writer's Prize in October 2022 is Hannah Brinkmann.
Before her studies, Wolff wrote lyric and essays. She's part of the collective "lyrika" and has been a finalist for the Klopstock Prize 2023, Hannover Authors Conference, Open Mike 2022, Group 48 Prize, and Vaclav Burian Award.
Wolff is looking forward to her time in Dortmund, relishing the opportunity to have research time and writing peace, as well as to revisit familiar corners of the city she holds dear. She aims to touch upon the transformation processes in the Ruhr region and reflect ambivalences in her literary work.
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