The field for selecting the best German-language novel of the year is set: The jury for the German Book Prize has nominated 20 titles, from which it will distill the shortlist by September 20th. For the time being, 12 male and 8 male writers can hope for the prize, including bestselling authors and debutants.
On the longlist are: Fatma Aydemir with “djinn” (Hanser),
Kristine Bilkaus “Next door” (Luchterhand),
Daniela Dröscher: “Lies About My Mother” (Kiwi)
Carl-Christian Elze: “Freudenberg” (edition AZUR)
Theresia Enzensberger: “At Sea” (Hanser)
Jan Factor: “Idiot” (KiWi)
Marie Gamillscheg: “Rebellion of the Sea Creatures” (Luchterhand)
Kim de l’Horizon: “Blood Book” (Dumont)
Yael Inokai: “A simple intervention” (Hanser Berlin)
Reinhard Kaiser-Mühlecker: “poacher” (S. Fischer)
Anna Kim: “Story of a Child” (Suhrkamp)
Esther Kinsky: “Rombo” (Suhrkamp)
Dagmar Leupold: “Against the elephants!” (young and young)
Eckhart Nickel: “Spitzweg” (piper)
Gabrielle Riedle: “In jungles. In deserts. At war.” (The Other Library)
Slata Roshal: “153 forms of non-being” (homunculus)
Anna Yeliz Schentke: “Kangal” (S. Fischer)
Jochen Schmidt: “Phlox” (CH Beck)
Andreas Stichmann: “A Love in Pyongyang” (Rowohlt)
and Heinz Strunk for “A summer in Niendorf” (Rowohlt).
The German Book Prize is one of the most important awards in the industry and has been awarded since 2005. In 2021 it went to the writer Antje Rávik Strubel for her novel “Blaue Frau”. The prize is endowed with a total of 37,500 euros: the winner receives 25,000 euros, the other authors on the shortlist each receive 2,500 euros. The winner will be announced at the award ceremony on October 17, at the start of the Frankfurt Book Fair.