German Book Prize 2026: six novels on the shortlist

The jury has shortlisted the following six novels for the German Book Prize 2026:

• Shida Bazyar: Die Lücken (Kiepenheuer & Witsch, September 2026)
• Franziska Gänsler: Orca (Kein & Aber, August 2026)
• Valeria Gordeev: Die Zikade entschlüpft ihrer goldglänzenden Hülle (S. Fischer, August 2026)
• Elias Hirschl: Schleifen (Paul Zsolnay, January 2026)
• Peggy Mädler: Selbstregulierung des Herzens (Galiani Berlin, February 2026)
• Dana Vowinckel: Anton und Alma (Suhrkamp, September 2026)

Regarding this selection, jury spokesperson Cornelia Geißler (Berliner Zeitung) states: “What lies ahead? What remains? However uncertain the present may be, it is proving to be fertile ground for great literature. The six novels on the shortlist bear witness to this. These books sharpen our view of the past. They point to political crimes and portray the struggle against them – sometimes in tentative, sometimes in daring steps. They recount individual dreams and possibilities: forging one’s own path, harnessing the laws of science, experiencing the freedom of art and exploring what it means to live together. In many unexpected ways, we read of longing, friendship, love and violence. We are thrilled by the aesthetic richness these books contain, by their sheer delight in language. And there is still reason to laugh.”

Since the submission process began, the seven members of the jury have reviewed 205 titles published between October 2025 and 8 September 2026. The other members of the jury are: Theresa Donner (“heiter bis wolkig” bookshop, Halle an der Saale), Jan Ehlert (NDR), Maha El Hissy (literary scholar), Emily Grunert (Literaturbüro NRW), Stefanie Kreuzer (University of Kassel) and Adam Soboczynski (DIE ZEIT).

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) awards the German Book Prize to the best German-language novel of the year. The winner will receive 25,000 euros, the five finalists 2,500 euros each. The award ceremony will take place in the Kaisersaal of the Frankfurt Römer on 5 October 2026, to coincide with the start of the Frankfurter Buchmesse, and will be broadcast live. Those interested can watch the ceremony at www.deutscher-buchpreis.de.

As a media partner of the German Book Prize, the television broadcaster ZDF has produced short films about the shortlisted titles for its cultural programme “aspekte”. The films can be viewed at https://www.deutscher-buchpreis.de/videos/. The radio stations Deutschlandfunk and Deutschlandfunk Kultur will broadcast the award ceremony live via the special “Dokumente und Debatten” channel on digital radio and as a live stream on Dokumente und Debatten | deutschlandradio.de.

From mid-September, the internet portal www.new-books-in-german.com will feature English translations of excerpts from the shortlisted titles, along with an English-language dossier on the shortlist.  

Deutsche Bank Stiftung (Deutsch Bank Foundation) is the main sponsor of the German Book Prize, and Frankfurter Buchmesse and the city of Frankfurt am Main are also partners.

The hashtag for the German Book Prize is #dbp26

Downloads
Press photo and information on the nominated titles for download