"I consider the selection of Rögglas, who may not yet have the same level of recognition as her predecessors, to be a fortunate choice for precisely this reason, one that also demonstrates courage. We are gaining a young, edgy writer who thinks against the grain and certain literary conventions, and who also composes in a stylistically unique way, with numerous texts that reflect an interest in a wide range of topics. What's more, she is also an award-winning playwright, for example at the Burgtheater in Vienna. This overall constellation is highly interesting and will take the office of city writer in a new direction. I think we can look forward to an author who is at home in many professions, has diverse interests, and also has something to say in many fields—and who speaks up. It will be a very exciting year with Kathrin Röggla, whom I would like to welcome today," said former Mayor Jens Beutel shortly after the decision was announced at the end of 2011.

"I am certain that we have made an excellent choice—and I am particularly pleased that we are finally able to award our prize to a woman again," says Marianne Grosse, Head of Cultural Affairs, who represents the state capital of Mainz on the award jury. She considers the committee's vote to be an excellent decision: "Kathrin Röggla may still be relatively unknown to many, but she has already produced a remarkable body of work and is a worthy winner." The author's stylistic diversity is particularly noteworthy: "Prose, short and long form, works for the theater, non-fiction and journalistic texts – Röggla has already delivered remarkable examples of her work in all these areas." A particular argument in favor of the award was the winner's cross-media work: "Kathrin Röggla uses all media for her texts, publishes audio books, works for radio and on the Internet. This is ideal for a literary prize that deals with the relationship between language and media, especially television," said Grosse. The author's preference for unusual spelling and sentence techniques in her books also fits perfectly with the city of Gutenberg. "Kathrin Röggla thus gives our City Writer Award a young, contemporary touch. We will have an exciting year with her here in Mainz."

The jury emphasizes that Röggla has "an unusually versatile and rich body of work, which often spans multiple media." Röggla is a playwright, contemporary essayist, radio playwright, and storyteller. "Spirited and angry, lustful and artfully engaging with contemporary language," is how Röggla describes the "state of mind of a world in a state of alarm." In her plays, novels, and stories, she deals with topics such as the economic crisis and its causes, the Berlin scene, the media hype surrounding the Natascha Kampusch kidnapping drama, and the events of 9/11 in New York.

The jury continues: Röggla already attracted the interest of literary critics with her debut, the collection of short stories Niemand lacht rückwärts (Nobody Laughs Backwards, 1995). The novels "Abrauschen" (1997) and "Irres Wetter" (2000) are mostly set in Berlin and observe, sarcastically and in consistent lowercase letters, a young generation on the move between the Love Parade, the Berlin Mitte scene, cultural pessimism, and despair.
In a mixture of documentary and literature, she describes the 9/11 attacks in New York, which she herself witnessed, in "really ground zero" (2001). The novel "wir schlafen nicht" (2004) is about an unbridled working world in the age of the New Economy. Her latest book, "die alarmbereiten" (2010), comprises short stories about disaster junkies of the Twitter generation. Röggla also
enjoys success with her socially critical plays. "junk space" deals with fear of flying, while "draußen tobt die Dunkelziffer" deals with debtors and debt counselors. "Worst Case," about an imagined catastrophe, was awarded the prestigious Nestroy Theater Prize as the best play of 2010 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, and in the same year, Röggla caused a sensation with "Die Beteiligten" (The Involved), a drama about the kidnapping case of Natascha Kampusch.