Helminger won for his novel “Lärm” (Noise), which tells the story of a noise-sensitive psychotherapist, Konrad Schittweg, who is suspected of authoring a threatening letter about global conspiracies.

Told from different perspectives, the novel leaves open room for interpretation and experiments with a variety of styles. The jury called Helminger’s novel “entertaining and intelligent”, adding that it convinces through its richness of protagonists and its narrative structure.

“In addition to the central question of nature of truth, reflections on literature and the meaning of writing play a central role,” a statement says.

The jury of the Prix Servais 2022 was composed of Jeanne E. Glesener, Simone Beck, Odile Linden, Claude Mangen, Pierre Marson, Alex Reuter, Shari Schenten, Aimée Schultz and Sébastien Thiltges.

The so-called Prix d’encouragement for an up-and-coming author was given to Julien Jeusette for his manuscript “Vies provisoires” (Provisional lives), a dystopian novel about the obliteration of individual destiny in a totalitarian society.

The Prix Servais has been awarded since 1992 and is endowed with €6,000.

Helminger in March was announced as one of the finalists alongside Paul Mathieu, Jean Portante, Jeff Schinker and Nora Wagener.

Helminger was also nominated in 2021 for his work “Die Lombardi-Affäre” (The Lombardi Affair), but it was Ulrike Beil who carried home the award for her poetry collection “wie viele fäden tief” (how many threads deep).

The prize is one of Luxembourg’s most prestigious literary awards and is given to works published in Luxembourg, irrespective of the language they are written in.