About Us

New Books in German promotes German-language literature for translation into English in the UK, USA, and beyond. We feature recommendations of the best new fiction and non-fiction titles from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. We publish articles and information on books, authors, and those who translate or work with them.

On the website you can explore exciting and accomplished contemporary German-language literature and non-fiction. Busy editors can find and share information on the latest books deemed suitable for an international audience. German-language publishers can bring their books to a wider audience, with the endorsement that being selected by New Books in German brings.

Twice a year we convene expert juries in the UK and US to select books submitted to us by German-language publishers. Those that we go on to recommend here have been judged to have a high chance of success in an English-speaking market.

New Books in German took shape at a seminar held in London in 1996. Members of the book trade met to discuss why so few books were being translated from German into English, and what might be done about this. It was clear that readers of English were being denied access to some of the best books in a variety of fields. You can read an interview with Tanja Howarth, one of the founders of NBG here.

Recent jury choices, now in English

[book reviews will appear here…]

Recent jury choices, forthcoming in English

[book reviews will appear here…]

Who we are

Sarah Hemens

Sarah Hemens

Sarah is the Project Director of New Books in German.

Sarah previously worked in grant writing and communications in human rights, working with donors in Europe, the US and Africa and managing a publications programme.

The last translations I read: Tanner’s Erde by Lukas Maisel. You can read my interview with the author here.

Looking forward to reading: Sisters in Arms by Shida Bazyar and translated by Ruth Martin. You can read Ruth Martin’s interview with Shida Bazyar here.

Sheridan Marshall

Sheridan Marshall

Sheridan is our Editorial Consultant.

Sheridan has worked on our editorial team for twelve years, and also does freelance editorial and translation work.

Books: I have recently read Robert Menasse’s Die Erweiterung (‘The Enlargement’), his stunning sequel to The Capital, (tr. Jamie Bulloch), and thoroughly enjoyed this next instalment in his satirical EU saga. The last book I read was Percival Everett’s Booker-shortlisted The Trees which somehow manages to be both a deeply upsetting history of the lynchings in the USA during the 20th century and a witty detective novel. Nothing to do with German-language literature, but I can’t recommend it highly enough!

Sarah Buckmaster

Sarah is our Social Media and Website Co-ordinator.

Sarah is a Writer and Communications Specialist.

Currently working on her first novel focused on raising awareness of mental health challenges, Sarah carries out freelance work for global charities and non-profit organisations – helping to improve their engagement and outreach. You can find out more about her work at www.sarahbuckmaster.com.  She is also the host of the How to be Good? Podcast.

The last translations I read: I have just finished Philipp Winkler’s Hooligan (tr. Bradley Schmidt). I delayed reading this novel for a while because I can sometimes shy away from masculine narratives, but I’m so pleased I finally sat down and read it – it’s such powerful writing. I can now completely understand the popularity of this book.

Looking forward to reading: I am eager to read Juli Zeh’s Empty Hearts (tr. John Cullen). As I’m in the midst of writing my own dystopian fiction novel, I’m excited to read anything in the same kind of area for inspiration (and motivation to keep pushing through with my writing!). Juli Zeh’s background as an attorney adds such a depth to her story-telling so I can’t wait to read this one.

Sarah Rimmington

Sarah Rimmington

Sarah is a freelance translator, reviewer and copy editor and is our proofreader and copy editor. 


The last translations I read: Sandra Hoffmann’s Paula (a luminous translation by Katy Derbyshire, and a work I was lucky enough to get to work on at the British Centre for Literary Translation summer school in 2018); and 1913: The Year Before the Storm by Florian Illies (tr. Shaun Whiteside and Jamie Lee Searle), a wide-ranging and unconventional artistic portrait of a portentous 12-months.

Translations I am looking forward to reading: So many! At the top of my current pile are Dark Satellites by Clemens Meyer (tr. Katy Derbyshire) and The Great Homecoming (tr. Jamie Lee Searle). 

John Owen

John works with NBG on management of email communications.

He is a bookseller, translator and tour guide who lives in Berlin.

Lizzy Kinch

Lizzy is an NBG intern for the spring 2024 selection round.

Lizzy Kinch is a documentary producer and translator. She lives in London and learned German while studying for a masters in Global History in Berlin.

Books: I recently enjoyed Clemens Setz’ bonkers ‘Die Bienen und das Unsichtbare’ and ‘Wir hätten uns alles gesagt’ by Judith Hermann. I’m excited that Lutz Seiler’s Star 111 has been translated by Tess Lewis and am also looking forward to reading Clemens Meyer’s Dark Satellites, translated by Katy Derbyshire.

Regan Mies

Regan is an NBG intern for the spring 2024 selection round. After graduating from Columbia University, Regan worked as an editorial assistant in New York. She is currently based in Hamburg, where she teaches English, writes, and translates with the support of a Fulbright grant. 

Books: I just finished Fatma Aydemir’s Dschinns (Djinns). I’m currently reading Marlen Pelny’s Warum wir noch hier sind (The Reason We Remain). I can’t wait to dive into my copy of Clemens Meyer’s Dark Satellites, tr. Katy Derbyshire, and tackle Uwe Johnson’s Anniversaries, tr. Damion Searls.

NBG Assessors

Our assessors help our juries to evaluate the German-language submissions we receive.

Gersy Ifeanyi (Ahanotu) Ejimofo

Gersy is the Founder of Digitalback Books, a virtual library service offering instant and affordable access to a curated Africa-centric collection of titles from publishers around the world. In 2020, she launched DAS Editions, a new publishing imprint that focuses on the republishing of classic African literature alongside publishing literature in translation.
Gersy holds a BSc in Artificial Intelligence and Psychology from the University of Birmingham and an MSc in Information Systems and Digital Innovation from the London School of Economics.
Gersy was a finalist for the Etisalat Prize for Innovation in 2015, recognised as one of The Bookseller Rising Stars in 2017 and a FutureBook 40 in 2018.

Jamie Lee Searle

Jamie Lee Searle is a translator from German and Portuguese. She is a co-founder of the Emerging Translators Network and has read books for New Books in German since 2007. Her latest translations include Urs Faes’ Twelve Nights (Harvill Secker, 2020) and Anna Kim’s The Great Homecoming (Granta, 2020).

Looking forward to reading: An Inventory of Losses by Judith Schalansky, translated by Jackie Smith, is high on my TBR list, as is Daughters by Lucy Fricke, translated by Sinead Crowe and published by the exciting new imprint V&Q Books, launched by Katy Derbyshire.

A book I’d like to translate: Die Goldene Stadt by Sabrina Janesch, a spellbinding fictionalized account of the life of 19th century German explorer Augusto R. Berns and his adventures in Peru – a vibrant, wonderful story that’s held me in its grip since I first read it a few years ago.

Caroline Waight

Caroline Waight is an award-winning literary translator working from German and Danish. She has translated a wide range of fiction and non-fiction, with recent publications including The Chestnut Man (Penguin, 2019), Agatha (Sceptre, 2019) and Island (Pushkin Press, 2021). She lives and works near London.


The last translations I have read: Limonov by Emmanuel Carrère (tr. John Lambert). I read The Kingdom before that (same translator), and if I spoke French I’d probably read everything else Carrère has written too. I’m mildly obsessed.
Looking forward to reading: Jana Scheerer, Das Meer in meinem Zimmer. I’ve just translated another book about the North Sea coast, so this one immediately piqued my interest.

Shaun Whiteside

Shaun Whiteside is a translator from German, French, Italian and Dutch. His most recent translations from German include To Die in Spring by Ralf Rothmann and Time of the Magicians by Wolfram Eilenberger. He lives in London. 

New Books in German juries

Our juries meet twice a year to consider each book submitted by German-language publishers. We are supported in this work by research done by a small team of book assessors.

UK jury

Core members of the UK jury are:

  • Jamie Bulloch, Translator
  • Sarah Hemens, Director, New Books in German
  • Tanja Howarth, Tanja Howarth Literary Agency
  • Annemarie Goodridge, Translation Programmes Coordinator, Goethe-Institut London
  • Sheridan Marshall, Editorial Consultant, New Books in German
  • Alexandra Műller-Crepon, Head of Culture, Embassy of Switzerland
  • Alexandra Wachek, Music, Theatre & Literature Project Manager, Austrian Cultural Forum London

At each meeting we invite additional jury members drawn from UK editors, literary scouts, booksellers, and translators.

US jury

  • Cecile Barendsma, CB Literary Agency
  • Juliane Camfield, Director, Deutsches Haus at NYU
  • Shelley Frisch, translator
  • Markus Hoffmann, Regal Hoffmann & Associates 
  • Tess Lewis, Translator
  • Barbara Perlmutter, consultant, formerly S. Fischer Verlag
  • Bettina Schrewe, US Scout
  • Melina Tsiamos, Deputy Director, Austrian Cultural Forum New York
  • Dean Whiteside, Goethe-Institut New York

Steering Committee & Funding

The Steering Committee guides the direction of our work and scrutinises management and finances.

  • Waltraud Dennhardt-Herzog, Director, Austrian Cultural Forum
  • Susanne Frane, Head of Section, Culture and Education, German Embassy London
  • Reina Gehrig, Head of Literature, Pro Helvetia and and Sina Chiavi, Literature Specialist (German), Pro Helvetia
  • Tanja Howarth, Tanja Howarth Literary Agency
  • Alexandra Műller-Crepon, Head of Culture, Embassy of Switzerland
  • Katharina von Ruckteschell-Katte, Director, Head of the London Office and the Northwestern Europe Region, Goethe-Institut
  • Robert Stocker, Head of literature and publishing, libraries, Federal Ministry for Art, Culture, Public Service and Sport, The Austrian Federal Government 
  • Niki Théron, International Programmes Manager and Lars Birken-Bertsch, Director Strategic Project Development, Cooperation & Programme, Frankfurt Book Fair

Funding

New Books in German is very grateful for the financial and / or in-kind support it receives from the following organisations:

  • the Austrian Cultural Forum London
  • the Austrian Federal Ministry for Art, Culture, Public Service and Sport
  • the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs
  • the Frankfurt Book Fair
  • the Goethe-Institut London
  • the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia

Once a book has been recommended on the site, we ask the German publisher of the book to pay a fee. These fees total around a fifth of our overall income and go towards running the submissions process, adjudicating and profiling the books.

Internships

We take interns on twice a year, one for the Spring selection round (recruited in October each year) and one for the Autumn selection round (recruited in April each year).

We are not currently recruiting.

You can read more about the internship and application process here. You can read interviews with former interns here, to give you a flavour of the internship.

Equality, diversity and inclusion: statement of intent

New Books in German is committed to encouraging equality, diversity, and inclusion in our work, and to eliminating unlawful discrimination.

We aim to promote a culture that recognises that people from different backgrounds and experiences can bring valuable insights to the project and enhance the way we work.

Disclaimer & privacy policy

Please read our disclaimer and privacy policy here before using this website.


Website design, implementation and maintenance by völlig ohne. They come highly recommended by us and you can read an interview about the website (and logo) development process here.