The Georg Dehio Book Prize (Georg Dehio-Buchpreis) is a biennial literary award for authors who, "in their literary, scholarly or public work, address the themes of the common culture and history of the German people and their Eastern neighbors at a high level and from a broad perspective.
"[1] Described as "prestigious" by the Austrian state broadcasting system ORF,[2] the Dehio Prize is funded by the German government through the Office of the Federal Commissioner for Culture and Media (Beauftragte der Bundesregierung for Kultur und Medien),[3] the competition being administered by the German Cultural Forum for Eastern Europe (Deutsches Kulturforums östliches Europa), a state-endowed agency.
[4] It commemorates the Tallinn-born German art historian Georg Dehio (1850-1932), whose pioneering emphasis on multi-ethnic and transnational cultural interconnections and influences in Eastern Europe serves as a guiding principle for the work of the German Cultural Forum.
The Grand Prize honors an author's lifetime achievement in literary and/or public endeavors.
Permanent members of the Selection Committee include a representative of the Office of the Federal Commissioner for Culture and Media (BKM) and a representative of the BKM-funded institutions concerned with the culture and history of the German-speaking peoples of Eastern Europe.