Press Release

German Non-Fiction Prize 2021: Meet the jury

Seven jury members appointed / Publishers may continue to submit titles until 20 November 2020 / Call for submissions at anmeldung.deutscher-sachbuchpreis.de

The jury for the German Non-Fiction Prize 2021 has been chosen. The Akademie Deutscher Sachbuchpreis (German Non-Fiction Prize Academy) has appointed the following seven experts from the fields of non-fiction criticism, journalism, science and the book trade to the jury:

• Dr Klaus Kowalke (“Lessing & Kompanie” bookstore)
• Tania Martini (die tageszeitung)
• Dr Jeanne Rubner (Bayerischer Rundfunk)
• Denis Scheck (ARD)
• Hilal Sezgin (independent author)
• Prof Dr Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger (Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin – Berlin Institute for Advanced Study)
• Dr Kia Vahland (Süddeutsche Zeitung)

The members of the jury will decide who will receive the German Non-Fiction Prize 2021. During their first joint meeting, the members of the jury will appoint their spokesperson. To ensure the greatest level of independence for the award, the Akademie Deutscher Sachbuchpreis selects a new jury every year. It is possible to serve as a member of the jury more than once.

The German Non-Fiction Prize will be awarded for the first time in 2021, after the 2020 prize year was broken off prematurely due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Stiftung Buchkultur und Leseförderung des Börsenvereins des Deutschen Buchhandels (Foundation for Book Culture and the Promotion of Reading of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association) will award the prize, worth a total of 42,500 euros, on 14 June 2021. The prize honours an outstanding non-fiction book written in German that inspires social debate. The winner will receive 25,000 euros, the seven nominees 2,500 euros each.

Publishers may still submit titles

Publishers have until 20 November 2020 to submit two German-language monographs each from their current or planned programme and may recommend up to five additional titles. These titles must be published between May 2020 and April 2021 and be available in bookstores no later than 20 April, when the nominations will be announced.

The non-fiction book of the year is selected through a two-stage process. First, an independent jury compiles a list of nominations comprising eight titles, which will be announced on 20 April 2021. From this selection, the members of the jury will then choose the non-fiction book of the year. The winner will only be announced on the evening of the awards ceremony itself.

Deutsche Bank Stiftung (Deutsche Bank Foundation) is the main sponsor of the prize, which is also supported by the technology and information provider MVB and the Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss (Humboldt Forum Foundation in the Berlin Palace).

Further information and the online application form are available at www.deutscher-sachbuchpreis.de.

The hashtag for the German Non-Fiction Prize is #DSP21