The jury for the German Non-Fiction Prize 2026 has shortlisted eight outstanding titles for the award. Since the call for submissions was announced, the seven members of the jury have reviewed 239 books published since April 2025, submitted by 132 publishers.
As official partner of the German Non-Fiction Prize, we are delighted to announce that the nominated novels are (in alphabetic order):
Heike Behrend: Gespräche mit einem Toten. Gustaf Nagel, Prophet vom Arendsee (Matthes & Seitz Berlin), August 2025
English title: Conversations with a Dead Man. Gustaf Nagel, Prophet from Arendsee
Jury: ‘An analysis that is as insightful as it is readable, showing how experiences of crisis, a longing for orientation, alternative ways of life, media staging and discourses of “home” are intertwined.’
Florence Gaub: Szenario. Die Zukunft steht auf dem Spiel (dtv, November 2025)
English title: Scenario. The Future is at Stake
Jury: ‘The future is not something that has already been decided; it is something we must all shape together. Florence Gaub has long emphasized this principle. In her view, the fact that we so often forget this and retreat into a passive fatalism is one of the major problems of our time.’
Tilmann Lahme: Thomas Mann. Ein Leben (dtv, May 2025)
English title: Thomas Mann. A Life
Jury: ‘Lahme maintains an exemplary balance between empathetic closeness and critical distance, thereby creating a comprehensive portrait of the most dazzling German writer of the twentieth century.’
Konstantin Richter: Dreihundert Männer. Aufstieg und Fall der Deutschland AG (Suhrkamp, October 2025)
English title: Three Hundred Men. The Rise and Fall of Corporate Germany
Jury: ‘Drawing on the history of a small male elite, Konstantin Richter constructs a multi-layered portrait of German power structures.’
Irina Scherbakowa: Der Schlüssel würde noch passen. Moskauer Erinnerungen (Droemer, November 2025)
English title: The Key Would Still Fit. Moscow Memoirs
Jury: ‘Scherbakowa, one of the few remaining voices of the Russian opposition, weaves together Russian history over the last 100 years with personal experiences, professional insights and a wealth of unique anecdotes.’
Bettina Schöne-Seifert: Leben, Körper, Tod. Zwölf aktuelle Kontroversen der Medizinethik (Wallstein, October 2025)
English title: Life, Body, Death. Twelve Contemporary Controversies in Medical Ethics
Jury: ‘Helps us view internal and societal conflicts with greater detachment, recognise intrinsic contradictions and thereby gain a sense of personal agency that arises more from reflection than from feelings of guilt or implicit values.
Roberto Simanowski: Sprachmaschinen. Eine Philosophie der künstlichen Intelligenz (C.H.Beck, October 2025)
English title: Language Machines. A Philosophy of Artificial Intelligences
Jury: ‘We currently encounter artificial intelligence primarily in the form of language machines – computer programs that offer to do the thinking for us. And we are only too happy to accept this offer. With expertise, wit and philosophical depth, Roberto Simanowski demonstrates the possible consequences of this temptation.’
Ronen Steinke: Meinungsfreiheit. Wie Polizei und Justiz unser Grundrecht einschränken – und wie wir es verteidigen (Berlin Verlag, February 2026)
English title: Freedom of Expression: How the Police and the Judiciary Are Curtailing Our Fundamental Right – and How We Can Defend It
Jury: ‘Ronen Steinke shows that the regulation of opinion and public speech in Germany is becoming ever more extensive and getting out of hand.’
For more information about the German Non-Fiction Prize 2025 and all nominees, go to www.deutscher-sachbuchpreis.de.
Jury
In addition to Jury spokesperson Pascal Mathéus, the members of the jury are: Sibylle Anderl (Die Zeit), Maja Brankovic (Wirtschaftswoche), Manuela Lenzen (science journalist), Patricia Rahemipour (Institute for Museum Research / Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz), Stefan Spiegel (funk / Marmota Maps), Katrin Vohland (Natural History Museum Vienna)
Pascal Mathéus
‘Wassermann bookshop in Hamburg-Blankenese, released the following statement: “What should I do?“ This fundamental Kantian question best fits this year’s list of nominated titles for the German Non-Fiction Prize. In the face of pressing ethical questions of our time, these books offer orientation by looking ahead and looking back, by taking a wide view, or by bringing individual issues into sharp focus. Representing historical, political and medical approaches, they can necessarily offer only a partial snapshot.
Prize and sponsorship
The prize, worth a total of 42,500 euros, is awarded by 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) to honour the original German-language edition of an outstanding non-fiction book that inspires social debate.
The Deutsche Bank Stiftung (Deutsche Bank Foundation) is the main supporter of the prize, which is also backed by the city of Hamburg and Frankfurter Buchmesse.
From the eight shortlisted titles, the jury will select the best non-fiction book of the year, which will be announced in Hamburg on 8 June 2026. The winner will receive 25,000 euros, while the seven nominees will each be awarded 2,500 euros. The awards ceremony will take place in the Small Hall of the Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg.
Discover the nominees: conversations, films and blogger reviews
Together with its partners, the German Non-Fiction Prize provides its nominees with a platform. Reading enthusiasts and book lovers can discover the nominated titles and their authors through conversations, discussion panels and films. The dates of these events are available at https://www.deutscher-sachbuchpreis.de/en/events.
Service for booksellers: the VLB-TIX title information system provides its own preview of the shortlisted titles to help booksellers plan their selection.
Service for media representatives: media representatives will have the opportunity to meet the nominees and learn more about their books at a Meet & Greet in Berlin on 19 May at 4.30 p.m. Please register by 12 May via Silke.Ohlenforst@agenturmondello.de.
With the hashtag #sachbuchpreisbloggen, eight book bloggers will present the nominated titles in the coming weeks. Their reviews will be shared through the social media channels of the German Non-Fiction Prize.
To follow the discussions about the German Non-Fiction Prize 2026, use the hashtag #DeutscherSachbuchpreis
