The 2025 jurors for the German Book Prize are, from left, Laura de Weck; Kathrin Matern; Friedhelm Marx; Shirin Sojitrawalla; Jürgen Kaube; Maria Carolina Foi; and Lara Sielmann. Image: Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels, Mo Wüstenhagen
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
A Winner Is To Be Named on October 13 in Frankfurt
Submitted by 124 publishers, the original pool of 229 novels vying for the 2025 edition of the €25,000 (US$29,127) German Book Prize has today (August 19) announced its 2025 longlist.
Among the world’s longest annual longlists amid the international industry’s myriad awards programs for books and publishing, the 20-title list is expected to be reduced to a six-title shortlist on September 16. Again this year, the winner is to be named near the start of Frankfurter Buchmesse (October 15 to 19) on October 13 during a ceremony in the Kaisersaal of the Frankfurt Römer.
In releasing today’s shortlist, the jury chair, Laura de Weck, is quoted, saying, “Our jury discussions in the fragile year of 2025 were guided by creative language, narrative perspective, and the alarming reality of the present.
“Uncertainty defines our times. Yet one thing is certain: this year’s longlist brings together 20 outstanding novels that reflect the full spectrum of our precarious reality—through classical storytelling, tapestries of speech, and unruly lists; through historical panoramas, contemporary observations, and dystopias; through autobiographical and fantastical tales.
“The titles include debuts and established voices—authors who use absurdity to entertain and unsettle us. How in the world did we get to where we are today? And what are these conditions doing to us? We have every reason to be worried about the future, but not about literature.”
The German Book Prize 2025 Longlist
In addition to the €25,000 winner’s prize, each of the remaining five finalists in this contest receives €2,500 (US$2,911).
- Kathrin Bach, Lebensversicherung (Verlag Voland & Quist, February 2025)
- Marko Dinić, Buch der Gesichter (Paul Zsolnay Verlag, August 2025)
- Nava Ebrahimi, Und Federn überall (Luchterhand Literaturverlag, September 2025)
- Dorothee Elmiger, Die Holländerinnen (Carl Hanser Verlag, August 2025)
- Kaleb Erdmann, Die Ausweichschule (park x ullstein, July 2025)
- Annett Gröschner, Schwebende Lasten (Verlag C.H.Beck, April 2025)
- Dmitrij Kapitelman, Russische Spezialitäten (Hanser Berlin, February 2025)
- Jina Khayyer, Im Herzen der Katze (Suhrkamp Verlag, July 2025)
- Jehona Kicaj, ë (Wallstein Verlag, July 2025)
- Michael Köhlmeier, Die Verdorbenen (Carl Hanser Verlag, January 2025)
- Jonas Lüscher, Verzauberte Vorbestimmung (Carl Hanser Verlag, January 2025)
- Thomas Melle, Haus zur Sonne (Verlag Kiepenheuer & Witsch, August 2025)
- Jacinta Nandi, Single Mom Supper Club (Rowohlt Hundert Augen, June 2025)
- Gesa Olkusz, Die Sprache meines Bruders (Residenz Verlag, March 2025)
- Lena Schätte, Das Schwarz an den Händen meines Vaters (S.ִ Fischer Verlag, March 2025)
- Lina Schwenk, Blinde Geister (Verlag C.H.Beck, August 2025)
- Fiona Sironic, Am Samstag gehen die Mädchen in den Wald und jagen Sachen in die Luft (Ecco Verlag, March 2025)
- Peter Wawerzinek, Rom sehen und nicht sterben (Penguin Verlag, September 2025)
- Christine Wunnicke, Wachs (Berenberg Verlag, March 2025)
- Feridun Zaimoglu, Sohn ohne Vater (Verlag Kiepenheuer & Witsch, February 2025)
Last Year’s Winner: Klett-Cotta’s Martina Hefter
The Klett-Cotta author Martina Hefter has won the 20th German Book Prize for her novel, Hey guten Morgen, wie geht es dir? (Hey, Good Morning, How Are You?). from Klett-Cotta (July 2024).
The jury’s rationale for its choice of Hefter’s book reads, “The protagonist in Martina Hefter’s Hey, Good Morning, How Are You? is in her mid-50s, leads a precarious life as a performance artist in Leipzig, and cares for her husband who suffers from multiple sclerosis.
“During sleepless nights she chats with a Nigerian love scammer who is after her money. The question arises as to who is exploiting whom here, and what happens when, contrary to expectations, the boundaries between digital games and real affection become blurred.
“In a fascinating way, the novel combines grueling everyday life with mythological figures and cosmic dimensions. It navigates between melancholy and euphoria, reflects on trust and on deception. Martina Hefter tells all of this in her cleverly choreographed novel, which exerts a very special attraction.”
- Jury chair Laura de Weck is joined on the panel by:
- Maria Carolina, Foi University of Trieste
- Jürgen Kaube, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
- Friedhelm Marx, University of Bamberg
- Kathrin Matern, Frau Rilke bookshop, Neustrelitz
- Lara Sielmann, Deutschlandfunk Kultur
- Shirin Sojitrawalla, independent critic
The German Book Prize is awarded by the Stiftung Buchkultur und Leseförderung des Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels—the Foundation for Book Culture and the Promotion of Reading of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association.
The main sponsor of the prize is the Deutsche Bank Stiftung (Deutsche Bank Foundation). Frankfurter Buchmesse and the city of Frankfurt am Main are also partners.
More from Publishing Perspectives on the German Book Prize is here, more on publishing and book awards in general is here, and more on the German book market is here.
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