The Foundation of Lower Saxony's Literature Program was established by our Senate in 1987. Since then, the individual projects within the program have been dedicated to all three areas of literary endeavour: the creation of literary works, the publication of works in journals and in book form and the communication of literature and literary topics in public. The Foundation's own Literature Program currently has three individual projects.
The program for younger authors (Autoren-Förderungsprogramm), in cooperation with the Federal Academy of Cultural Education in Wolfenbüttel, awards scholarships to German-language authors for work on their »second book«. Four scholarships are awarded annually. In addition to the stipend of 9,000 Euros, the award offers three seminars at the Federal Academy.
The Literature Laboratory of Wolfenbüttel annually offers 12 young people between the ages of 16 and 21 the opportunity to improve their own writing skills and learn about contemporary literature. Guest authors and critics work with them during three seminars in Wolfenbüttel. The participants enjoy writing games and exercises and they compile a published authology of their own texts.
Since 1997, the many lyric voices of contemporary poetry have been presented in the Lyrik Edition. This series contains works by well-known authors and those making their debuts, and it follows no specific trend, but documents the great variety of poetry being written today. The quality of the poetic works is reflected in the beautifully crafted individual volumes.