The nominees for the price of the Leipzig Book Fair are there. A seven -member jury chose 15 titles in the fiction categories, non -fiction/essayistics and translation, 506 works. In the fiction category, this is probably the least surprising, Christian Kracht nominated with his coming week with his novel “Air” (Kiepenheuer & Witsch). In addition, the Austrian author Wolf Haas is: “Wackelkontakt” (Hanser), Esther Dischereit is “a bunch of dollar certificates” (Maro Verlag) and Kristine Bilkau with “peninsula” (Luchterhand) for the price in the race. The Kurdish-Alevi writer and artist Cemile Sahin is also nominated with her thriller “Command Ajax” (structure) about the murder at a Kurdish wedding.
:Absurd and tragicomic
Esther Dischereit tells a Jewish family history between 1942 and today in “A bunch of dollar certificates”. A challenge.
In the non -fiction book, Maike Albath is “Bitter blue. Naples and his faces ”(Berenberg) on the shortlist, as well as Jens Bisky with“ The decision. Germany 1929 to 1934 ”(Rowohlt Berlin). With “The Evolution of Violence. Why we want peace but wage wars. A history of humanity ”(DTV) by Harald Meller, Kai Michel and Carel van Schaik could be the collaboration of an evolutionary biologist, an archaeologist and a historian who was already nominated for the Bavarian Book Prize. The author Irina Rastorgueva, born in Russia, is with “pop-up propaganda. Epicrise of Russian self-poisoning ”(Matthes & Seitz Berlin), and, in keeping with the Rilke year, the head of the Literature Archives Marbach, Sandra Richter, with her biography:“ Rainer Maria Rilke or open life. A biography ”(island).
The list is “intensive discussion work, inspired by the quality of the discoveries”, according to the jury
The following five titles are nominated in the third category translation: Olaf Kühl, who translated the novel “Cold” by Szczepan Twardoch (Rowohlt Berlin) from the Polish. In addition, Lilian Peter with her translation from the American of “Fear of Flying” by Erica Jong (Ecco), Verena von Koskull translated from the Italian “The railways Mexico” by Gian Marco Griffi (Claassen), Thomas Weiler translated from Belarusian: “Feuerdörfer. Wehrmacht crime in Belarus – contemporary witnesses ”by Ales Adamowitsch, Janka Bryl, Uladsimir Kalesnik (structure). And Julia Wolf, who translated from Samantha Harvey (DTV) from the English “orbit”. The novel was awarded the Booker Prize last year.
In 2024, the author Barbi Marković was awarded the fiction prize for her diagonally surrealistic novel “Mini-Horror”, in addition to the translator Ki-Hyang Lee and Tom Holert for his non-fiction book ” 1972 ‘. The book fair in Leipzig will take place this year from March 27th to 30th.
For the first time, Katrin Schumacher, Kais Harrabi, Judith von Sternburg, Zita Bereuter and Thomas Hummitzsch are in the seven -member jury of 2025, consisting of literary critics and journalists. Cornelia Geißler and David Hugendick are also there. The list of nomination, which notices that it contains primarily established names and no debuts, “intensive discussion work, was preceded by the quality of the discoveries,” said jury spokeswoman Katrin Schumacher. The Prize of the Leipzig Book Fair is endowed with 60,000 euros and will be awarded at the fair on March 27.