Bundesverband

20th German Book Prize: 106 publishers submit 180 novels

106 publishers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland submit novels / Natascha Freundel is appointed speaker of the jury
Erstellt am 09.04.2024


106 German-language publishers have entered a total of 180 titles into the running for the best novel of the year. Of these publishers, 78 are based in Germany, 10 in Switzerland and 18 in Austria. 

Of the titles submitted, 91 are from the current spring programme, 76 will be released in the autumn and 13 were published last autumn. Each publisher was allowed to submit a maximum of two titles that were or will be published between October 2023 and 17 September 2024, when the shortlist will be announced. In addition, they could each recommend up to five further titles. This year, the list of recommendations included 116 novels. The jury may request titles from this list for inclusion in the selection process. 

During their first joint meeting, the members of the jury appointed Natascha Freundel (rbb) as their speaker. The jury also includes: 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 jury selects the novel of the year through a multiple-stage process. On 20 August 2024, it will announce the 20 nominated titles. From this longlist, the jurors will then select six titles for the shortlist, which will be released on 17 September 2024. These six authors will only find out which of them has won the German Book Prize at the award ceremony itself, on the evening of 14 October 2024.

The German Book Prize is awarded by the Stiftung Buchkultur und Leseförderung des Börsenvereins 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 about the 20th German Book Prize is available 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.

A press photo of the jury members is available for download at https://www.boersenverein.de/presse/pressefotos/.


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