Press Release

German Non-Fiction Prize 2021: Follow the award ceremony live on 14 June

Which title will be judged best non-fiction book of the year 2021? On 14 June 2021 from 6 pm, 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 German Non-Fiction Book Prize for the first time. The prize is awarded to an outstanding non-fiction book written in German that inspires social debate. The award ceremony will take place as a live broadcast from the Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss (Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Palace) and will be hosted by Katrin Schumacher (MDR) and René Aguigah (Deutschlandfunk Kultur). Reading enthusiasts can follow the event on screen at www.deutscher-sachbuchpreis.de.

At the same time, the radio station Deutschlandfunk Kultur will broadcast the award ceremony live on the special “Dokumente und Debatten” channel on digital radio and stream it on www.deutschlandradio.de/debatten. The German Non-Fiction Prize will also cover the event on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sachbuchpreis (hashtag #DSP21).

On the day before the award ceremony, the Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss (Foundation of the Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Palace) invites you to a matinee with the nominees at the Berlin Palace. The event can be followed live on the Humboldt Forum website on 13 June from 11 am to 12:45 pm. The eight authors will be in conversation with each other, moderated by Shelly Kupferberg, Hadnet Tesfai and Jörg Thadeusz.

The nominees for the prize are:

• Heike Behrend, Menschwerdung eines Affen (Matthes & Seitz Berlin, October 2020)
• Asal Dardan, Betrachtungen einer Barbarin (Hoffmann und Campe, February 2021)
• Jürgen Kaube, Hegels Welt (Rowohlt Berlin, August 2020)
• Andreas Kossert, Flucht – Eine Menschheitsgeschichte. (Siedler, October 2020)
• Daniel Leese, Maos langer Schatten. Chinas Umgang mit der Vergangenheit (C.H.Beck, October 2020)
• Michael Maar, Die Schlange im Wolfspelz. Das Geheimnis großer Literatur (Rowohlt, October 2020)
• Christoph Möllers, Freiheitsgrade. Elemente einer liberalen politischen Mechanik (Suhrkamp, September 2020)
• Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim, Die kleinste gemeinsame Wirklichkeit (Droemer Knaur, March 2021)

The main sponsor of the German Non-Fiction Prize is the Deutsche Bank Stiftung (Deutsche Bank Foundation). The Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss (Foundation of the Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Palace) also supports the award. Deutschlandfunk Kultur is the media partner of the German Non-Fiction Prize, and the television network Deutsche Welle supports the award in its media activities both at home and abroad. Minister of State for Culture Monika Grütters is patron of the award.

Note to media representatives:

We will be happy to provide you with videos about the nominated titles, press photos, and audio and video material from the award ceremony. Please feel free to contact us. We will gladly assist you with any questions you may have and in planning your coverage.

Contact for the media:

Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels e.V.
Thomas Koch, Head of Press and Public Relations
Tel. +49 (0) 69 1306-293, e-mail: t.kochNO SPAM SPAN!@boev.de
Dr Christian Eilers, PR Manager
Tel. +49 (0) 69 1306-330, e-mail: eilersNO SPAM SPAN!@boev.de 

Birgit Politycki, Politycki & Partner
Tel. +49 (0) 40 4309 315-12, e-mail: bpNO SPAM SPAN!@politycki-partner.de