German Non-Fiction Prize 2024: the nominees have been selected

The jury for the German Non-Fiction Prize 2024 has shortlisted eight titles for the award. Since the call for submissions went out, the seven members of the jury have reviewed 225 books published since April 2023 and submitted by 115 publishers.

Jury spokesperson Stefan Koldehoff, Deutschlandfunk, released the following statement:
“When is a non-fiction book relevant? When does it broaden its readers’ horizons and open their eyes? When does it perhaps even manage to provide answers – both to the pressing questions of the present as well as to the timeless ones? These questions guided us as a jury in our selection of the nominees. Carefully researching the facts is one prerequisite. The other is an original idea that aspires to be understood by anyone who grapples with urgent and timeless questions: How can knowledge of the past help us to understand and shape the present? What systemic deficits prevent problems from being seriously addressed? Why do some myths persist so stubbornly? And is the threat to democracy also tied to an increasingly vulnerable society? Beyond all the many possible topics, what a good non-fiction book always needs is a connection to the present. Then it is relevant.”

The nominated titles (in alphabetical order) are:

• Jens Beckert, Verkaufte Zukunft. Warum der Kampf gegen den Klimawandel zu scheitern droht (Suhrkamp, March 2024)
• Sebastian Conrad, Die Königin. Nofretetes globale Karriere (Propyläen, February 2024)
• Ruth Hoffmann, Das deutsche Alibi. Mythos „Stauffenberg-Attentat“ – wie der 20. Juli 1944 verklärt und politisch instrumentalisiert wird (Goldmann, April 2024)
• Roman Köster, Müll. Eine schmutzige Geschichte der Menschheit (C.H.Beck, October 2023)
• Christina Morina, Tausend Aufbrüche. Die Deutschen und ihre Demokratie seit den 1980er Jahren (Siedler, September 2023)
• Frauke Rostalski, Die vulnerable Gesellschaft. Die neue Verletzlichkeit als Herausforderung der Freiheit (C.H.Beck, March 2024)
• Marcus Willaschek, Kant. Die Revolution des Denkens (C.H.Beck, August 2023)
• Moshe Zimmermann, Niemals Frieden? Israel am Scheideweg (Propyläen, February 2024)

In addition to Stefan Koldehoff, the members of the jury are: Sibylle Anderl (DIE ZEIT), Julika Griem (Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities [KWI] Essen), Michael Hagner (ETH Zurich), Michael Lemling (“Buchhandlung Lehmkuhl” bookshop), Patricia Rahemipour (Institute for Museum Research, Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation) and Katrin Vohland (Natural History Museum Vienna).

This year, for the fourth time, 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) will award this prize, worth a total of 42,500 euros, to the original German-language edition of an outstanding non-fiction book that inspires social debate.

From the eight shortlisted titles, the jury will select the best non-fiction book of the year, which will be announced in Hamburg on 11 June 2024. The winner will receive 25,000 euros, the seven nominees 2,500 euros each. The awards ceremony will be held in the Small Hall of the Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg.

The Deutsche Bank Stiftung (Deutsche Bank Foundation) is the main supporter of the prize, which is also backed by the city of Hamburg and Frankfurter Buchmesse. Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth is patron of the prize.

Get to know the nominees: conversations, films and blogger reviews
Together with its partners, the German Non-Fiction Prize offers its nominees a platform. Reading enthusiasts and book lovers can get to know the nominated titles and their authors through conversations, discussion panels and films, and in bookshops. More information about these events is available at www.deutscher-sachbuchpreis.de/en/events  

With the hashtag #sachbuchpreisbloggen, eight book bloggers will present the nominated titles in the coming weeks. Their reviews will be shared on the social media pages of the German Non-Fiction Prize.

The hashtag for the German Non-Fiction Prize 2024 is #DeutscherSachbuchpreis

Downloads

Press photos of the jury and titles, as well as information about the nominated titles 

For more information about the German Non-Fiction Prize 2024 go to www.deutscher-sachbuchpreis.de