2024-08-20 13:41:45
There are 20 books on the longlist. They invite you on a journey of discovery through modern magazines – time travel and future plans as well.
Frankfurt / main.
This year, female authors dominate the longlist for the German Book Prize. 13 women and seven men were nominated for the coveted award. Included are words that “exist to this day,” as spokeswoman Natascha Freundel said in Frankfurt am Main – “and show the world not only as it is, but also as it could be.”
The long list includes three first-time novels and 13 books by authors who have not been nominated for the book prize. The most famous names on the list include Nora Bossong, Michael Köhlmeier, André Kubiczek, Clemens Meyer and Stefanie Sargnagel.
Wonder, argue, laugh
The German Book Prize is awarded for the 20th time this year. The jury looked at 197 novels from Germany, Austria and Switzerland that have been published since October or are still being published.
After their “discovery journey through German literature in 2024,” the judges chose books “that still show the magic of history today,” as Freundel continued. “We were surprised, argued, laughed.”
“Times of real freedom”
A large group has analog words “interesting with moments of real freedom,” Freundel said. These include, for example, Stefanie Sargnagel’s “Iowa”, André Kubiczek’s “Nostalgia” and Zora del Buono’s “Seinetwegen”. The texts talk about a trip to the US, the death of their mother at the end of the GDR or a car accident in Switzerland, “but they also show that documents can do more than personal truth,” the judge’s spokesman said. he said.
Many writers address depression, violence and loss. But despite his “incongruous” descriptions, his words are “at the same time poetic self-assertions,” Freundel said.
Ruth-Maria Thomas talks about sexual violence in “The Best Race”. Daniela Krien’s “My Third World” is about a mother who lost a child in an accident. Dana von Suffrin talks about the loss of her father in “Starting Again”. In Iris Wolff’s “Lichtungen” a childhood friend falls. Timon Karl Kaleyta’s “Heilung” takes place in a hospital.
Warning of “dark dictatorship”
A large group consists of political history themes that, from the jury’s point of view, “illuminate the emerging darkness of the present government or lead us to the known small corners of world history such as councils of mirrors.”
Nora Bossong’s “Reichskanzlerplatz” revolves around Magda Goebbels. Ulla Lenze described the occultism of the 1920s as “well-Being”. Ronya Othmann talks about the genocide of the Yazidis in “Seventy-Four.” Michael Köhlmeier’s “The Philosopher’s Ship” is set in the time of Stalin. Markus Thielemann’s “Thunder Rolls From the North” is, among other things, about an almost forgotten concentration camp.
Car accidents and time travel
The jury was “fascinated” with words that “question history itself.” They do this, for example, by researching “the possibilities of their own language within digital text modules,” as Freundel puts it. An example of this is the book “Hasenprose” by Maren Kames, which seems to be unmotivated at first, but then “develops its own drive”. Martina Hefter’s “Hey, hello, how are you?”, which has a section on text messages used by men to harass women, is also an example.
A surprising number of car accidents occur in these 20 novels – and in the book more than people through time. Mithu Sanyal “The Antichrist,” for example, went back to the Indian independence movement. In Franz Friedrich’s “The Passenger” people from the past are admitted to a hospital in the future. According to Freundel, they are “theological reflections on the possibility of changing the course of history.”
Three successes in the first attempt
Three authors made it to the long list with their first work: Doris Wirth with “Find me”, published by the small Geparden publishing house, which was also never selected, Max Oravin with “Toni & Toni”, a love story in the unknown. lived the Artist milieu in Vienna and the aforementioned Ruth-Maria Thomas.
Social utopias against the background of the failed GDR also played a role. One of the most famous voices in East Germany is Clemens Meyer, who chose for “Projectors” – anything but new.
Tension until the end
The prize is worth 37,500 euros: the winner receives 25,000 euros, the other authors on the shortlist each receive 2,500 euros. On September 17th, the long list will be shortened to a six-title short list.
The winner will be announced on October 14th. The German Book Prize will be presented the day before the Frankfurt Book Fair. Writers only find out who the winner is on the evening of the award ceremony.
(dpa)
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