The award ceremony
Announcing the Non-Fiction Book of the Year
2025
Jury evaluation
“The strong woman as a human being. In her informed and imaginative non-fiction book on the origins of humanity – between evolution and culture – Ulli Lust reveals how the role of women in human history has remained largely invisible. A fundamental revision of the long-dominant image of “man as mankind” is overdue, as this book demonstrates through its unique interweaving of scholarly insights from archaeology, anthropology, and art history, continually inspired by everyday experiences. With this multi-layered approach, Lust succeeds in breaking open long-held assumptions – including those about the genre of non-fiction itself, which she expands in the most beautiful way through her virtuoso combination of image and text.”
The speech of the awardee
The award ceremony took place on 17 June 2025 at the Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg. It was hosted by Katty Salié (ZDF aspekte). Dr. Carsten Brosda, Senator for Culture and Media of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, and Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, President of the Börsenvereins des Deutschen Buchhandels, offered words of welcome to open the ceremony. Then the nominated books were introduced and Katty Salié discussed this year's selection with jury spokesperson Prof. Dr. Patricia Rahemipour (Institute for Museum Research, Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation). Finally, Karin Schmidt-Friderichs announced the Non-Fiction Book of the Year 2025.
The award ceremony
The German Non-Fiction Book of the Year 2025
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 234 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.
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