The Prizes Gain Momentum and Critical Reception

The newly launched Ilse Schwepcke Prizes have entered the literary landscape and are
generating a buzz. Since their launch at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the prizes have received
coverage from publications like The Bookseller and Publishers Weekly.

The Bookseller highlighted the origins of the awards, noting Ilse’s legacy as ‘a “devotee” of travel writing, a feminist and founding editor of the Armchair Traveller series.’ Similarly,
Feuilleton Frankfurt, a prominent German magazine, ran a feature on the prizes, applauding
the ‘feisty female energy’ behind them and celebrating ‘[Ilse’s] impressive personality and
work.’ Critics have recognised that the prizes honours Ilse, a powerful woman of the past, but
also serve as inspiration for a future generation of women travel writers.
 
Travel writing has long been dominated by a series of iconic male authors: Bruce Chatwin,
Bill Bryson and Paul Theroux, to name just a few, whose work has inspired countless readers
to explore the world. However, an important question is raised – why haven’t female travel
writers achieved the same recognition and prominence? The Ilse Schwepcke Prizes seek to
tackle this issue head on and to supply underrepresented female voices with the platform they
deserve. Importantly, they seek to prove that women can offer perspectives as compelling and
engaging as those of their male counterparts.

The Ilse Schwepcke Prize is launched alongside its German-language sister award, Der Ilse
Schwepcke Preis, which emphasises the international spirit of this initiative. Women’s writing
is to be embraced across cultures and languages. Moreover, these two prizes are highly
relevant in today’s political landscape. As Barbara Schwepcke – daughter of Ilse Schwepcke
and the prize’s co-founder – observes, we live in a world where ‘women’s rights are under
attack in many places.’ Barbara claims that ‘it’s never been more important to read women’s
experiences as travellers and to affirm women’s right to travel.’ Thus, the prizes hope to
redress longstanding gender imbalances in travel literature while championing women’s
autonomy to interpret the world and to share commanding stories.