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Dorothee Elmiger’s ‘Die Holländerinnen’ Wins German Book Prize as Print Run Sells Out

A rapid sell-out has prompted prioritized reprints, spotlighting tight printing capacity.

Overview

  • Swiss author Dorothee Elmiger received the 2025 German Book Prize at the Frankfurt Book Fair for her novel Die Holländerinnen, which carries a €25,000 award.
  • The initial print run is largely unavailable across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with major retailers posting backorder dates, while e‑book editions remain on sale.
  • Publisher Hanser has arranged prioritized reprints, with a small tranche shipping Wednesday and a larger run due Monday, aiming for broad availability into the Christmas season.
  • Industry leaders cite a squeeze on printing capacity driven by printer closures, skilled‑labor shortages and concentrated autumn production, complicating rapid reprints.
  • Critics and the jury praise the novel’s distant yet gripping voice and dense intertextuality as it refracts the unresolved 2014 Panama disappearance of two Dutch students through a theater troupe’s rainforest quest.