German Book Prize 2024: introducing the 20 nominated novels

The jury for the German Book Prize 2024 has nominated 20 novels. Since the call for submissions went out, the jury has reviewed 197 titles published – or yet to be published – between October 2023 and 17 September 2024, when the shortlist will be announced. 

Jury spokesperson Natascha Freundel (rbb) released the following statement:
“What is a novel in the context of a reality that often outstrips all powers of imagination? On our exploratory journey of German-language literature in 2024, we discovered books worthy of being longlisted that still convey the magic of storytelling today. These include autofictional texts with surprising moments of surreal freedom; unembellished tales of loneliness, violence and loss that are simultaneously poetic expressions of self-affirmation; historical-political novels that also shed light on the looming darkness of dictatorship in the present or carry us off into little-known corners of world history like into a hall of mirrors. We were also fascinated by texts that challenge narration itself, the possibilities of a language of their own between digital textual building blocks.
We were amazed, we argued, we laughed – and we selected 20 titles that are at the cutting edge, demand to be re-read, and show the world not only as it is but also as it could be.”

The nominated novels (in alphabetic order) are:

• Nora Bossong: Reichskanzlerplatz (Suhrkamp Verlag, August 2024) 
• Zora del Buono: Seinetwegen (Verlag C.H.Beck, July 2024)
• Franz Friedrich: Die Passagierin (S. Fischer Verlag, April 2024) 
• Martina Hefter: Hey guten Morgen, wie geht es dir? (Klett-Cotta, July 2024) 
• Timon Karl Kaleyta: Heilung (Piper Verlag, February 2024) 
• Maren Kames: Hasenprosa (Suhrkamp Verlag, March 2024) 
• Michael Köhlmeier: Das Philosophenschiff (Hanser, January 2024) 
• Daniela Krien: Mein drittes Leben (Diogenes Verlag, August 2024) 
• André Kubiczek: Nostalgia (Rowohlt Berlin Verlag, May 2024) 
• Ulla Lenze: Das Wohlbefinden (Klett-Cotta, August 2024) 
• Clemens Meyer: Die Projektoren (S. Fischer Verlag, August 2024) 
• Max Oravin: Toni & Toni (Literaturverlag Droschl, August 2024) 
• Ronya Othmann: Vierundsiebzig (Rowohlt Verlag, March 2024) 
• Mithu Sanyal: Antichristie (Hanser, September 2024) 
• Stefanie Sargnagel: Iowa (Rowohlt Hundert Augen, December 2023) 
• Dana von Suffrin: Nochmal von vorne (Kiepenheuer & Witsch, March 2024) 
• Markus Thielemann: Von Norden rollt ein Donner (Verlag C.H.Beck, July 2024) 
• Ruth-Maria Thomas: Die schönste Version (Rowohlt Hundert Augen, July 2024) 
• Doris Wirth: Findet mich (Geparden Verlag, March 2024) 
• Iris Wolff: Lichtungen (Klett-Cotta, January 2024)

In addition to Natascha Freundel, the members of the jury are: Gerrit Bartels (Der Tagesspiegel), Magda Birkmann (independent literary mediator and bookseller), Torsten Hoffmann (University of Stuttgart), Marianna Lieder (independent critic), Regina Moths (“Literatur Moths” bookshop) and Klaus Nüchtern (Falter magazine).

The German Book Prize is being awarded for the 20th time this year. The next step will be for the members of the jury to select six titles from the longlist for inclusion on the shortlist, which will be announced on 17 September 2024. The six shortlisted authors will only find out who among them has won the German Book Prize on the evening of the award ceremony itself. The winner will receive 25,000 euros, the five finalists 2,500 euros each. The prize will be awarded in the Kaisersaal of the Frankfurt Römer on 14 October 2024, to coincide with the start of the Frankfurter Buchmesse, and will be broadcast live. 

The German Book Prize is awarded by the Stiftung Buchkultur und Leseförderung des Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (Foundation for Book Culture and the Promotion of Reading of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association). The main sponsor of the German Book Prize is the Deutsche Bank Stiftung (Deutsche Bank Foundation), and Frankfurter Buchmesse and the city of Frankfurt am Main are also partners. The television network Deutsche Welle supports the German Book Prize in its media activities both at home and abroad.

Get to know the nominated novels: reading samples and blog reviews

Beginning this week, the paperback “Deutscher Buchpreis 2024: Die Nominierten” (“German Book Prize 2024: The Nominees”) is available free of charge in many bookshops throughout Germany. With reading samples from all the nominated books and information about the writers, it invites readers to discover the stories and their authors. The compilation is published by the technology and information provider MVB.

In the coming weeks, under the hashtag #buchpreisbloggen, 20 literary bloggers will each present one of the nominated titles. The reviews will be collected on www.deutscher-buchpreis.de/news and shared on the social media channels of the German Book Prize.

A press photo of the jury is available at www.boersenverein.de/pressefotos 

More information about the German Book Prize 2024 can be found at 
www.deutscher-buchpreis.de

The hashtag for the German Book Prize 2024 is #dbp24
The hashtag for the 20th anniversary of the prize is #dbp20Jahre.