The gay writer and publicist Marko Martin has been chosen to receive the Werner Schulz Prize for 2026. The Werner Schulz Initiative announced that the award honors his long-standing commitment to freedom and human rights. The prize carries a value of 7,500 euros. It is named in memory of the former East German civil-rights activist and long-time Green Party politician Werner Schulz (1950-2022). The prize ceremony is scheduled for January 22.
Marko Martin was born in 1970 in the former East Germany — in Burgstädt, Saxony. He was denied access to higher education and left East Germany in May 1989 as a conscientious objector. Martin lives in Berlin and has written, among other works, a volume of essays on Israeli literature, a Tel Aviv homage, an essay collection on dissident thinking, and the books Sleeping Dogs and The Night of San Salvador. He is also the author of the gay travel novels The House in Habana and The Innocents of Ipanema.
About a year ago, a critical speech by the writer at Schloss Bellevue caused a stir. At an event 35 years after the fall of the Wall, Martin criticized the stance of President Frank-Walter Steinmeier toward Russia and Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin during his time as German foreign minister.
In response, Steinmeier reportedly reacted with an outburst at the reception after the event. The president’s spokesperson said that Steinmeier discussed Martin’s remarks at the reception in a controversial, yet factual, manner.
