Writer, director and actress – winner of the Frank Schirrmacher Prize 2026
Yasmina Reza, born in 1959, is a writer, director and actress, and the most frequently performed contemporary playwright. Her most recent publications include “Glücklich die Glücklichen” (“Happy are the Happy”, novel, 2014), “Babylon” (novel, 2017), for which she was awarded the Prix Renaudot in 2016, “Art” (play, 2018), “The God of Carnage” (play, 2018), “Bella Figura” (play, 2019), “Drei Mal Leben” (“Life x 3”, play, 2019), “Anne-Marie die Schönheit” (2019), “Serge” (novel, 2022), “James Brown trug Lockenwickler” (play, 2023) and “Die Rückseite des Lebens” (“The Reverse Side of Life”, prose miniatures, 2024).
She was most recently awarded the Jonathan Swift Prize 2020, the Premio Malaparte 2021, the Prix de l'Académie de Berlin 2022 and the Prix Mondial Cino del Duca 2024 for her work. The play ‘The God of Carnage’ was adapted for the screen by Roman Polanski in 2011.
Photo: © Carole Bellaiche
Thursday, 28. May 2026, 18:30 – 20:00 h
At the University of Zurich, Rämistrasse 71, 8006 Zurich, KOL-G-201 (Aula)
The Frank Schirrmacher Prize has been awarded since 2015 for outstanding achievements in promoting understanding of current affairs and honours individuals and their work or life's work. We look forward to welcoming the 2026 prize winner, French writer, director, actress and most-performed contemporary playwright Yasmina Reza. The laudatory speech will be given by actor, narrator and author Christian Berkel.