The six finalists for the German Book Prize 2006 have been nominated. "After a pugnacious and spirited meeting, in the end the judges have surprisingly been able to reach a joint agreement - by no means unanimous - on the six titles for the shortlist", says spokesman for the judges, Volker Hage. "The list now includes both eminent and well-known names as well as unknown authors, and incompasses a wide range of styles creating considerable inner tension. It is fascinating to see who the winner will be. Even to us. In the past five months, the judges have read a total of a 120 titles published between October 1st, 2005 and September 12th, 2006.

The nominated novels (in alphabetical order of authors):

- Katharina Hacker: Die Habenichtse (Suhrkamp, March 2006)

- Thomas Hettcher: Woraus wir gemacht sind (Kiepenheuer & Witsch, August 2006)

- Ingo Schulze Neue Leben (Berlin Verlag, October 2005)

- Saša Stanišiæ: Wie der Soldat das Grammofon repariert (Luchterhand, September 2006)

- Ilja Trojanow: Der Weltensammler (Hanser, March 2006)

- Martin Walser: Angstblüte (Rowohlt, July 2006)

"With the nomination of these six novels the judges for the German Book Prize 2006 emphasize the aspiration to select the best German-language novel from this year's books. This is a clear signal and the awarding of the German Book Prize contributes to creating greater international attention for the literature of the German speaking countries", says Gottfried Honnefelder, president of the Boersenverein and chairman of the German Book Prize Academy.

The judges for the German Book Prize 2006 are John von Dueffel (author), Volker Hage (Der Spiegel), Elmar Krekeler (Die Welt), Terézia Mora (author), Pia Reinacher (critic), Stephan Samtleben (Buchhandlung Samtleben) and Denis Scheck (Deutschlandfunk).The prize ceremony will be held in the Kaisersaal at Frankfurt's Roemer on October 2nd, 2006 marking the start of the Frankfurt Book Fair. Not until that evening will the six authors find out which of them is being awarded the German Book Prize 2006. The winner will receive 25,000 euros. The other five finalists receive 2,500 euros each.

The German Book Prize is awarded by the Boersenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (German Publishers & Booksellers Association) to the best German-language novel of the year. Sponsors include Dr. Florian and Gabriele Langenscheidt, SPIEGEL-Verlag, the Frankfurt Book Fair and Frankfurt am Main's city authorities. Deutsche Welle focuses its support for the German Book Prize on media activities in other countries.

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