The Austrian Book Prize was awarded for the ninth time on Monday evening in Vienna. The five-member jury awarded the award (20,000 euros) to Reinhard Kaiser-Mühlecker. The farmer and author has been one of the most praised authors in the country for years, and the title of his winning book fits Burning fields Also like a slap in the face of the present, the environmental crisis underlies the author’s books. The award is therefore not surprising. The jury praised the calm tone and unexpected twists of the novel about a speechless family and its members. He had not prepared an acceptance speech because it was said to bring bad luck. The author said that he had many different readers, including men, which showed that literature “is not an elite program, but is made for many.”