The German Book Prize 2025 shortlist. Image: Börsenverein, Christoph Jakob
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
‘The Novels Seem to Converse With Each Other’
As Publishing Perspectives readers know, the 20-title longlist for the €25,000 (US$29,652) German Book Prize, now in its 21st year, announced that longlist on August 19.
Today (September 16), the program named its shortlist of six works of fiction, and again this year, the winner is to be named near the start of Frankfurter Buchmesse (October 15 to 19) on October 13 during a ceremony in the Kaisersaal of the Frankfurt Römer.
This time, the jury spokeswoman, Laura de Weck of Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen says, “It’s no coincidence that the 2025 shortlist peers into psychological, social and political abysses. Whether tentatively, meditatively, with humor, or with radicalism, the works are always deeply literary.
“As different as their narrative voices and styles may be, the novels seem to converse with one another—around themes such as violence, but also tenderness.
“In Kicaj’s novel, war crimes still grind between people’s teeth decades later; in Erdmann’s, a shooting spree alters the psychology of an entire city; and Melle’s manic literary ride asks how self-determined modern humans really are. Sironic tackles the deepening climate crisis with both verve and love; Wunnicke follows two women in pre-revolutionary France who flout every convention; and Elmiger paints the darkness that closes in when women suddenly disappear.
“Sound bleak? Not at all. Every book on this shortlist is a liberating experience.”
Since the submission process began, the seven members of the jury panel have reviewed 229 titles published between October 2024 and today.
The German Book Prize 2025 Shortlist
In addition to the €25,000 winner’s prize, each of the remaining five finalists in this contest receives €2,500 (US$2,911).
- Dorothee Elmiger, Die Holländerinnen (Carl Hanser Verlag, August 2025)
- Kaleb Erdmann, Die Ausweichschule (park x ullstein, July 2025)
- Jehona Kicaj, ë (Wallstein Verlag, July 2025)
- Thomas Melle, Haus zur Sonne (Verlag Kiepenheuer & Witsch, August 2025)
- Fiona Sironic, Am Samstag gehen die Mädchen in den Wald und jagen Sachen in die Luft (Ecco Verlag, March 2025)
- Christine Wunnicke, Wachs (Berenberg Verlag, March 2025)
Last Year’s Winner: Klett-Cotta’s Martina Hefter
The Klett-Cotta author Martina Hefter won the 20th German Book Prize for her novel, Hey guten Morgen, wie geht es dir? (Hey, Good Morning, How Are You?) from Klett-Cotta (July 2024).
The jury’s rationale for its choice of Hefter’s book reads, “The protagonist in Martina Hefter’s Hey, Good Morning, How Are You? is in her mid-50s, leads a precarious life as a performance artist in Leipzig, and cares for her husband who suffers from multiple sclerosis.
“During sleepless nights she chats with a Nigerian love scammer who is after her money. The question arises as to who is exploiting whom here, and what happens when, contrary to expectations, the boundaries between digital games and real affection become blurred.
“In a fascinating way, the novel combines grueling everyday life with mythological figures and cosmic dimensions. It navigates between melancholy and euphoria, reflects on trust and on deception. Martina Hefter tells all of this in her cleverly choreographed novel, which exerts a very special attraction.”
This year’s jury chair Laura de Weck is joined on the panel by:
- Maria Carolina, Foi University of Trieste
- Jürgen Kaube, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
- Friedhelm Marx, University of Bamberg
- Kathrin Matern, Frau Rilke bookshop, Neustrelitz
- Lara Sielmann, Deutschlandfunk Kultur
- Shirin Sojitrawalla, independent critic
The German Book Prize is awarded by the Stiftung Buchkultur und Leseförderung des Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels—the Foundation for Book Culture and the Promotion of Reading of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association.
The main sponsor of the prize is the Deutsche Bank Stiftung (Deutsche Bank Foundation). Frankfurter Buchmesse and the city of Frankfurt am Main are also partners.
More from Publishing Perspectives on the German Book Prize is here, more on publishing and book awards in general is here, and more on the German book market is here.
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