The 20-title longlist for the 2024 German Book Prize has been announced. The shortlist will be revealed September 17 and the winner on October 14, to coincide with the start of the Frankfurt Book Fair. The winner receives €25,000 (about $27,680), the five finalists €2,500 (about $2,770). See the longlist here.
Jury spokesperson Natascha Freundel said: "What is a novel in the context of a reality that often outstrips all powers of imagination? On our exploratory journey of German-language literature in 2024, we discovered books worthy of being longlisted that still convey the magic of storytelling today. These include autofictional texts with surprising moments of surreal freedom; unembellished tales of loneliness, violence and loss that are simultaneously poetic expressions of self-affirmation; historical-political novels that also shed light on the looming darkness of dictatorship in the present or carry us off into little-known corners of world history like into a hall of mirrors. We were also fascinated by texts that challenge narration itself, the possibilities of a language of their own between digital textual building blocks. We were amazed, we argued, we laughed--and we selected 20 titles that are at the cutting edge, demand to be re-read, and show the world not only as it is but also as it could be."