The Büchergilde-Essaypreis was a literary prize awarded annually by Büchergilde Gutenberg, a German book sales club. From 2000 to 2006 an independent panel judged original essays responding to a prompt, usually focussing on social issues.
Themes
2000 "Chancengleichheit, Sozialpartnerschaft, Gerechtigkeit – Werte mit Zukunft?" (Equal opportunity, social partnership, justice — values with a future?) 2002 "Sehnsucht nach Sinn? Lebensziele und Wertvorstellungen im vereinten Europa." (A desire for meaning? Goals and values in a unified Europe.) 2004 "Eine egoistische Gesellschaft? Leben zwischen Individualismus und Solidarität." (An egoistic society? Living with the contrast between individualism and solidarity.) 2006 "Glaube, Liebe, Hoffnung – Die Rolle der Religion in einer individualisierten Gesellschaft." (Faith, love, hope — religion’s role in an individualised society.)
Winners
2000 Norbert Olah
2002 Verena Richter, Thomas Hajduk (tie) 2004 Maren Hombrecher 2006 Michaela Schröder