Ceremony October 5th 2026
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2026
Prize winner
The jury has decided: The winner of the German Book Prize 2026
A longlist of 20 titles was then compiled from these novels. From this list, the jurors selected six titles for the shortlist. The Stiftung Buchkultur und Leseförderung des Börsenvereins des Deutschen Buchhandels – the Foundation for Book Culture and the Promotion of Reading of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association – awarded the German Book Prize 2026 to the best German-language title of the year to coincide with the start of the Frankfurt Book Fair.
S hida Bazyar prevailed against Franziska Gänsler: Orca (Kein & Aber, August 2026), Valeria Gordeev: Die Zikade entschlüpft ihrer goldglänzenden Hülle (S. Fischer, August 2026), Elias Hirschl: Schleifen (Paul Zsolnay, Januar 2026), Peggy Mädler: Selbstregulierung des Herzens (Galiani Berlin, Februar 2026), Dana Vowinckel: Anton und Alma (Suhrkamp, September 2026).
She will receive 25,000 euros in prize winnings; the five finalists will each receive 2,500 euros. The winner was determined in several selection stages. The seven members of the jury reviewed a total of 205 titles published between October 2025 and 5 September 2026.