§1

The Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL) awards a literature award named after Annette von Droste-Hülshoff with the subtitle "LWL Literature Award".

The award is endowed with 35,000 euros.

The award is an award for living personalities and is not publicly announced. Applications are excluded.

§2

The award is presented every five years, alternating with the Konrad von Soest Award (LWL Art Award), the Hans Werner Henze Award (LWL Music Award), the LWL Innovation Award (promotion of young talent in the fields of literature, music and art) and the LWL Crossover Award (award for interdisciplinary arts).

§3

The award is given to authors for particularly outstanding achievements in the field of literature. The award can be given for a lifetime achievement as well as for a single work. Content-related, motivational, thematic, stylistic or other references to the namesake Annette von Droste-Hülshoff are important award criteria, which are not mentioned here conclusively, but are examined by the jury and specified in the justification. The award-winning work must be either the original or, in essential parts, a translation into German. The awarding of the price is firmly connected with a presentation in Westphalia-Lippe.

§4

The decision to award the Annette von Droste Hülshoff Award is made by a jury of experts appointed by the LWL Cultural Committee.

§5

The jury consists of an odd number of members (at least seven).

The members of the jury in each rotation are:

    1. the head of the Burg Hülshoff - Center for Literature or deputy head of the Burg Hülshoff -  Center for Literature.

    2. the chairperson or a deputy member of the LWL Literature Commission for Westphalia.

Further experts from the fields of teaching, research, literary life, literary criticism, etc. are proposed by the administration and decided upon by the LWL Cultural Committee as jury members. The aim is to achieve the greatest possible diversity and gender parity in the composition of the jury.

Each of the parliamentary groups represented in the LWL Culture Committee send one advisory member to the jury.

§6

The voting seat in the jury is connected with the task to propose two to three suitable candidates and to justify this choice in writing.

§7

The jury meeting is not open to the public. The administration shall convene the meeting. The chair is determined from among the voting members of the jury. The jury has a quorum if at least half of the voting members are present. A digital connection of individual members or a digital session is possible.

§8

The majority of the "yes" votes shall decide over the "no" votes. In the event of a tie, the vote may be repeated. In the event of a new tie, the chairperson shall decide. The decisions of the jury are irrevocable and incontestable.

§9

The award can be given only once to the same person. A joint award is possible. If the jury decides not to award the price, the price money can be used to promote literature in Westphalia-Lippe.

§10

The award ceremony is to be held at Burg Hülshoff in Havixbeck.

The award may be presented by the chairperson of the LWL Regional Assembly and the LWL Director.

The Center for Literature provides suitable premises at Burg Hülshoff for the award ceremony and offers its own services on the work of the award winner. As a cooperation partner, the Center for Literature supports the administration in the organisation, implementation and press work within the framework of the award ceremony as well as an accompanying program in the region to ensure the Westphalian connection. The involvement of political representatives is an integral part of these follow-up events with the aim of sustainably rooting the price in Westphalia-Lippe.