Biography Hubert Winkels

Dr. Hubert Winkels, born 1955 between Düsseldorf and Cologne, now lives in Düsseldorf and works in Cologne. He studied German language and literature and philosophy, taking his PhD in contemporary German literature. 1982 – 1985 he worked as a magazine editor and from 1985 – 1988 as a freelance writer.He has been a literary critic for DIE ZEIT since 1988 and literary editor for broadcasters Deutschlandfunk in Cologne since 1997. His work as a presenter has included the TV programmes “0137” on Premiere (1993), “Dichterclub” on SWF (1996 - 98), “Die Bestenliste!” on SWR and 3-Sat (1998 – 2002). In 1997 he taught as “Critic in residence” in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1998 at the Essen Polytechnic as guest professor in “Literature and Media” and was guest professor in literary criticism in 1999/2000 and 2003/2004 at Georg August University in Göttingen.
In 2007, he was awarded the Alfred Kerr Prize for Literary Criticism.

The members of the Academy

In September 2004, the board of the Börsenverein made its unique appointment of the German Book Prize Academy which is made up of eleven members.

With representatives from the book industry and the arts and co-sponsors of the Prize, the advisory committee’s most important task is the annual selection of the jury. Publisher Dr. Gottfried Honnefelder is president of the German Book Prize Academy.

From left to right: Juergen Boos, Jan Paschen, Dr. Gottfried Honnefelder, Viola Taube, Dr. Dirk Vaihinger, Prof. Dr. Jutta Limbach, Hubert Winkels, Wilfried Weber, Dr. Joachim Unseld. Not shown: Bernd Neumann.