Overview

• The finalists are Dorothee Elmiger (Die Holländerinnen), Kaleb Erdmann (Die Ausweichschule), Jehona Kicaj (ë), Thomas Melle (Haus zur Sonne), Fiona Sironic (Am Samstag gehen die Mädchen in den Wald und jagen Sachen in die Luft), and Christine Wunnicke (Wachs).
• The winner will be announced on 13 October at the opening of the Frankfurt Book Fair, with €25,000 for the top title and €2,500 for each of the other shortlisted authors.
• Jury spokesperson Laura de Weck said the books look into psychological, societal and political abysses and called each shortlisted reading a “liberation strike.”
• The seven-member jury reviewed 229 eligible titles published between October 2024 and 16 September 2025 to arrive at the six-book shortlist.
• The selection blends debuts and established voices, with works engaging themes such as the 2002 Erfurt school shooting (Erdmann), the aftereffects of the Kosovo War (Kicaj), and the climate crisis (Sironic).