The Longlist
We are delighted to announce the 20 titles nominated (aka longlisted) by the jury for this yearâs German Book Prize 2023.
Our congratulations to all authors and publishers who made the list!
The shortlist will also be announced here on 19th September 2023 with the award ceremony being held on 16th October 2023.
âA longlist is not simply a list of titles that a jury finds deserving of an award. It represents a collective reading process. What drives us? What is important to us? What literary discoveries have we made? Our selection this year once again proves that contemporary German-language literature is full of surprises. Newcomers appear confidently alongside established authors; small presses alternate with large publishers; stories of tragical gravity stand next to fantastical escapades. Recognising literary humour was also important to this yearâs jury. What impressed us particularly about the selected titles at this moment in time is not only their narrative fuel but also the expression of a pleasantly undogmatic relationship to the world.â
Katharina Teutsch, Jury spokesperson (independent critic)
The jury for the German Book Prize 2023 reviewed 196 titles. In addition to Katharina Teutsch, the members of the jury are: Shila Behjat (journalist and publicist), Heinz DrĂŒgh (Goethe University Frankfurt am Main), Melanie MĂŒhl (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), Lisa Schumacher (bookshop âSteinmetzâsche Buchhandlungâ, Offenbach), Florian Valerius (bookshop âGegenlicht Buchhandlungâ, Trier), Matthias Weichelt (Sinn und Form literary journal).
The 20 nominated novels (in alphabetic order) are:
- Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus: Birobidschan (Verlag Voland & Quist, February 2023).
Read a sample translation by Chantal Wright here. - Raphaela Edelbauer: Die Inkommensurablen (Klett-Cotta, January 2023).
This book is also a New Books In German jury recommendation. You can read our recommendation here and a sample translation by Alexandra Roesch here. - Sherko Fatah: Der groĂe Wunsch (Luchterhand Literaturverlag, August 2023).
Read a sample translation by Jo Heinrich here. - Elena Fischer: Paradise Garden (Diogenes Verlag, August 2023).
Read a sample translation by Katy Derbyshire here. - Charlotte GneuĂ: Gittersee (S. Fischer Verlag, August 2023).
Read a sample translation by Lucy Jones here. - Luca Kieser: Weil da war etwas im Wasser (Picus Verlag, August 2023)
- Angelika KlĂŒssendorf: Risse (Piper Verlag, August 2023)
- Sepp Mall: Ein Hund kam in die KĂŒche (Leykam Verlag, August 2023).
Read a sample translation by Isabel Adey here. - Terézia Mora: Muna oder Die HÀlfte des Lebens (Luchterhand Literaturverlag, August 2023).
Read a sample translation by Ruth Martin here. - Thomas OlĂĄh: Doppler (MĂŒry Salzmann Verlag, February 2023)
- Angelika Overath: UnschÀrfen der Liebe (Luchterhand Literaturverlag, April 2023)
- Necati Ăziri: Vatermal (claassen, July 2023).
Read a sample translation by Sheridan Marshall here. - Teresa PrÀauer: Kochen im falschen Jahrhundert (Wallstein Verlag, February 2023)
- Anne Rabe: Die Möglichkeit von GlĂŒck (Klett-Cotta, March 2023).
Read a sample translation by Lizzy Kinch here. - Kathrin Röggla: Laufendes Verfahren (S. Fischer Verlag, July 2023)
- Tonio Schachinger: Echtzeitalter (Rowohlt Verlag, March 2023)
- Sylvie Schenk: Maman (Carl Hanser Verlag, February 2023)
Read a sample translation by Lucy Jones here. - Clemens J. Setz: Monde vor der Landung (Suhrkamp Verlag, February 2023)
This book is also a New Books In German jury recommendation. You can read our recommendation here and a sample translation by Ross Benjamin here. - Tim Staffel: SĂŒdstern (Kanon Verlag Berlin, September 2023).
Read a sample translation by Lucy Jones here. - Ulrike Sterblich: Drifter (Rowohlt Verlag Hundert Augen, July 2023)
Next Steps
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 19 September 2023. 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 16 October 2023, 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.
Engage with the Books
The podcast radio detektor.fm has produced audio samples from the 20 longlisted titles. The podcast episodes are available on the www.deutscher-buchpreis.de/longlist and https://detektor.fm/serien/deutscher-buchpreis, as well as on the detektor.fm app and a dedicated podcast feed.
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.
More information about the German Book Prize 2023 can be found at www.deutscher-buchpreis.de.
