German Book Prize 2023: Meet the jury

The jury for the German Book Prize 2023 has been chosen. The Akademie Deutscher Buchpreis (German Book Prize Academy) has appointed the following seven literature experts to the jury:

• Shila Behjat (journalist and publicist)
• Heinz Drügh (Goethe University Frankfurt am Main)
• Melanie Mühl (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)
• Lisa Schumacher (bookshop “Steinmetz’sche Buchhandlung”, Offenbach)
• Katharina Teutsch (independent critic) 
• Florian Valerius (bookshop “Gegenlicht Buchhandlung”, Trier)
• Matthias Weichelt (Sinn und Form literary journal)

The members of the jury decide who will receive the German Book Prize 2023. To ensure the greatest level of independence for the award, the Akademie Deutscher Buchpreis selects a new jury every year. It is possible to serve as a member of the jury more than once.

Publishers may submit titles

Starting now, publishers can submit titles for the German Book Prize 2023 at www.deutscher-buchpreis.de/anmeldung. Until 22 March 2023, they may each submit two German-language novels – and recommend up to five additional titles – from their current or forthcoming lists. To participate, applicants must be members of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (German Publishers and Booksellers Association) or of the Swiss or Austrian equivalents, the Schweizer Buchhändler- und Verleger-Verband and Hauptverband des Österreichischen Buchhandels. The books must be published between 1 October 2022 and 19 September 2023, when the shortlist will be announced. The books themselves, reading copies, e-books or galley proofs may be submitted until 16 June 2023. 

The novel of the year is selected through a multiple-stage process. First, the jury reviews all novels submitted by publishers and compiles a longlist of 20 titles, which will be announced on 22 August 2023. From this list, the jurors then select six titles for the shortlist, which will be released on 19 September 2023. These six authors will only find out who among them has won the German Book Prize on the evening of the award ceremony itself.

The ceremony will be held in the Kaisersaal of the Frankfurt Römer on 16 October 2023 to coincide with the start of Frankfurter Buchmesse. The winner will receive 25,000 euros, the five finalists 2,500 euros each. Kim de l’Horizon won the German Book Prize 2022 for their novel “Blutbuch” (“Blood Book”).

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.

More information and the application materials are available at www.deutscher-buchpreis.de. 

The hashtag for the German Book Prize 2023 is #dbp23.