German Book Prize 2005: the judges

Verena Auffermann

After training in the book trade, Verena Auffermann studied art history. The freelance journalist and writer works as a literary critic for DIE ZEIT, the Süddeutsche Zeitung and DeutschlandRadio. Verena Auffermann was for five years a jury member for the Ingeborg Bachmann Competition in Klagenfurt and since 1994 has been a presenter at the Erlangen Poetry Festival. Her book publications include “Nelke und Caruso. Über Hunde. Eine Romanze” and “Das geöffnete Kleid. Von Giorgione zu Tiepolo”.

Klaus Bittner

Klaus Bittner studied education in Cologne, then deciding in 1973 to train as a bookseller at Buchhandlung Walther König where he worked until 1979. In August 1980, he opened his own bookshop in Cologne, specialising in fiction and the arts.

Volker Hage

From 1975 to 1986 Volker Hage worked for the literary review of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as well as the FAZ Magazine. He then went on to spend six years as leading literary editor for DIE ZEIT. Since 1992, he has been an editor with the arts department at Der Spiegel. Volker Hage is the author and editor of many books; his most recent titles have been “Propheten im eigenen Land. Auf der Suche nach der deutschen Literatur” (1999) and “Zeugen der Zerstörung. Die Literaten und der Luftkrieg” (2003).

Wolfgang Herles

Wolfgang Herles attended the German Journalism College and studied contemporary German literature, history and psychology in Munich. His PhD thesis in 1980 looked at the changing relationship between man and nature as reflected in German literature since 1945. From 1975 to 1987 he was a correspondent and editor for Bayerischer Rundfunk, then taking charge of German TV’s ZDF studio in Bonn and the ZDF talkshow “live”. Since 2000, he has been a presenter and editorial director for the arts programme “Aspekte”.

Bodo Kirchhoff

Bodo Kirchhoff began studying at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main in 1970 and took his doctorate on the theory of the French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. Kirchhoff’s literary debut came in 1979 with the novella “Ohne Eifer, ohne Zorn”, since when he has written many novels (incl. “Infanta”, “Parlando”, “Wo das Meer beginnt”) and screenplays. As a freelance writer, he lives in Frankfurt am Main and on Lake Garda where he regularly holds narrative seminars.

Armin Thurnher

Armin Thurnher studied English, German and theatre in New York and Vienna. In 1997, Thurnher was co-founder and later editor of the Vienna city newspaper Falter and is co-owner of publishers Falter-Verlag. His most recent books are “Das Trauma, ein Leben. Österreichische Einzelheiten” und “Heimniederlage. Nachrichten aus dem neuen Österreich”, published by Zsolnay-Verlag. In 2001 he was awarded the Kurt Vorhofer Prize and in 2002 the Dr. Karl Renner Prize for Journalism. Thurnher teaches journalism at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts and at the Applied Science University in Vienna.

Juli Zeh

Juli Zeh read law in Passau and Leipzig, adding research studies in European integration law. From 1996 to 2000 she studied at the German Literary Institute in Leipzig. Juli Zeh is the author of many books, incl. “Die Stille ist ein Geräusch” and “Spieltrieb”. She has received several literary awards for her work, among them the Bremen Prize for Literature and the German Books Award.

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