Friedrich Gerstäcker

In 1837, however, not yet 21 and with a yen for adventure instilled from reading Robinson Crusoe, he went to America and wandered over a large part of the United States, supporting himself by whatever work came to hand.

[2] After wandering through most of the United States, spending some time as a hunter and trapper in the Indian territory, and in 1842 keeping a hotel at Point Coupée, Louisiana, he returned to Germany six adventurous years later in 1843.

His mother had shown his diary, which he regularly sent home, and which contained descriptions of his adventures in the New World, to the editor of the Rosen, who published them in that periodical.

These sketches having found favour with the public, Gerstäcker issued them in 1844 under the title Streif- und Jagdzüge durch die Vereinigten Staaten von Nordamerika.

In 1862 he accompanied Duke Ernest of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Egypt and Abyssinia, and on his return settled at Coburg, where he wrote a number of novels descriptive of the scenes he had visited.

The prize is awarded bi-annually "to recognize linguistically sophisticated works that promote to young adults tolerance, cosmpolitanism, and openness towards the traditions, beliefs, and values of other cultures.