Ein Hof und elf Geschwister
Ewald Frie
Awardee
Jury evaluation
People everywhere are quietly bidding farewell to rural life. Ewald Frie takes a surprising and personal perspective on this process of change. Using his family from the Münsterland region as an example, he describes tensions that have developed between town and country, and which we are currently grappling with intensely. With his astonishingly simple yet also poetic language – always empathetic, never nostalgic – Frie allows us to enter a world in transition. Based on interviews with his siblings, Ewald Frie has written a profound work of historical non-fiction that is also accessible and entertaining. This history of everyday life is rooted in details that are easy to overlook and from which great ideas develop. An inspiring example of innovative historiography.
The award ceremony
2023
© Daniel Müller
The jury members Markus Rex, Michael Lemling and Stefan Koldehoff in conversation with Academy member Klaus Kowalke
© Daniel Müller
The jury members Julika Griem, Michael Lemling, Stefan Koldehoff and Markus Rex in conversation
© Daniel Müller
Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, president of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels, cheers to the nominees.
© Daniel Müller
Karin Schmidt Friderichs and Peter Kraus vom Cleff (CEO of the Börsenverein) welcome the nominees.
© Daniel Müller
Hanno Sauer, Elisabeth Wellershaus and Omri Boehm before the ceremony
© Daniel Müller
Martin Schulze Wessel and Judith Kohlenberger in conversation
© Daniel Müller
Films introduce the authors and their books, here Omri Boehm and "Radikaler Universalismus".
© Daniel Müller
Karin Schmidt-Friderichs welcomes the guests in the Elbphilharmonie concert hall.
© Daniel Müller
Katharina Fegebank, Hamburg’s Second Mayor and Senator for Science, is happy to host the ceremony in Hamburg.
© Daniel Müller
Katja Gasser interviews jury spokesperson Jeanne Rubner about the selection process.
© Daniel Müller
There was a discussion in the jury, whether a good non-fiction books should always offer solutions, Jeanne Rubner remarks.
© Daniel Müller
Katja Gasser, host of the ceremony, is a literary critic and cultural journalist.
© Daniel Müller
Karin Schmidt-Friderichs presents the award certificate to Ewald Frie.
© Daniel Müller
Ewald Frie receives the German Non-Fiction Prize 2023 for his book "Ein Hof und elf Geschwister".
© Daniel Müller
In his speech, Ewald Frie addresses his family and the changes in rural society, which they went through.
© Daniel Müller
Ewald Frie with his award winning book "Ein Hof und elf Geschwister" (A Farm and Eleven Children)
© Daniel Müller
Ewald Frie, surrounded by his siblings, who attended the ceremony.
© Daniel Müller
After the ceremony, the guests reassemble for food and conversations.
© Daniel Müller
View on Hamburg's landmark, the Michel (St. Michael's Church).
The award ceremony took place on 1 June 2023 at the Elbphilharmonie cocert hall in Hamburg. It was hosted by Katja Gasser (cultural journalist and literary critic). After speeches by Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, President of the Börsenvereins des Deutschen Buchhandels, and Katharina Fegebank, Hamburg’s Second Mayor and Senator for Science, the nominated non-fiction books were presented and Katja Gasser talked to jury spokesperson Jeanne Rubner (Technical University of Munich).
About the German Non-Fiction Prize
The German Non-Fiction Prize is presented to the non-fiction book of the year as an annual award of the Stiftung Buchkultur und Leseförderung (Foundation for Book Culture and the Promotion of Reading). The award is given to outstanding non-fiction in German-language original edition that inspires social debate. The German Non-Fiction Prize is endowed with a total of 42,500 euros. The winner receives 25,000 euros, the seven nominees 2,500 euros each.
Publishers could submit two German-language monographs each from their current or planned programme. The seven members of the jury have reviewed 244 titles and nominated eight non-fiction books for the award. Now they have chosen the German Non-Fiction Book of the Year from this selection.