German Non-Fiction Prize 2026: Books that offer orientation

The seven jury members selected the eight nominated titles from 239 submissions from 132 publishers that have been published since April 2025. The nominees were: Heike Behrend: Conversations with a Dead Man, Gustaf Nagel: Prophet from Arendsee (both Matthes & Seitz Berlin), Florence Gaub: Scenario. The future is at stake (dtv), Tilmann Lahme: Thomas Mann. A life (dtv), Konstantin Richter: Three hundred men. The rise and fall of Deutschland AG (Suhrkamp).

Also included in the selection: Irina Scherbakova: The key would still fit. Moscow Memories (Droemer), Bettina Schöne-Seifert: Life, Body, Death. Twelve current controversies in medical ethics (Wallstein), Roberto Simanowski: Language machines. A Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence (CHBeck), Ronen Steinke: Freedom of Expression. How the police and the judiciary restrict our fundamental right – and how we defend it (Berlin Verlag).

The jury will choose the non-fiction book of the year from these eight titles on June 8th in Hamburg. The prize winner receives 25,000 euros, the seven other nominees each receive 2,500 euros. Last year, the comic artist Ulli Lust received the award for her work “Woman as a Human. At the Beginning of History”.

The Book Culture and Reading Promotion Foundation of the German Book Trade Association awards the prize for an “outstanding non-fiction book written in German that is intended to determine current debates and provide indispensable impulses for social debate”. (Tsp/dpa)