Shida Bazyar wins the 2026 German Book Prize for her novel 'Die Lücken'

Award ceremony in Frankfurt

Author Shida Bazyar has received the 2026 German Book Prize for her novel "Die Lücken" during a presentation in Frankfurt am Main on the evening of 5 October 2026. The announcement was made in the Kaisersaal of the city's Römer hall by the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels. Held on the eve of the Frankfurt Book Fair, the ceremony is the 22nd edition of the literary prize, which has been awarded annually since 2005. The prize honors the German-language novel of the year and provides Bazyar with 25,000 euros in prize money. The award is organized by the Stiftung Buchkultur und Leseförderung, the foundation branch of the German publishers and booksellers association.

Structure and historical scope of "Die Lücken"

Released in September 2026 by publishing house Kiepenheuer & Witsch, "Die Lücken" is a novel of slightly over 500 pages. The book is set in the fictional village of Heimesbach in the Hunsrück region of Rhineland-Palatinate, the federal state where Bazyar was born in 1988. Across its narrative, the novel reflects on 100 years of German history, examining the National Socialist era in the author's native region. The plot explores the social fabric of the German provinces through themes of state persecution, displacement, and migration. It examines how local communities remember historical events and addresses the foundations that sustain modern concepts of home.

The 2026 jury evaluation and shortlist contenders

To select the 2026 winner, a seven-member jury assessed 205 submitted titles published between October 2025 and 8 September 2026. The selection panel initially filtered the submissions into a 20-title longlist before selecting a final shortlist of six books. Five other writers competed in the final round: Franziska Gänsler with "Orca" published by Kein & Aber, Valeria Gordeev with "Die Zikade entschlüpft ihrer goldglänzenden Hülle" from S. Fischer, Elias Hirschl with "Schleifen" from Paul Zsolnay, Peggy Mädler with "Selbstregulierung des Herzens" from Galiani Berlin, and Dana Vowinckel with "Anton und Alma". Each of the five non-winning shortlisted authors receives 2,500 euros, bringing the total financial endowment of the prize to 37,500 euros.

Longlist candidates and the 2025 predecessor

A number of nominated authors were eliminated when the jury reduced the 20-book longlist to the final six. Among those excluded from the final round were Hamburg writers Svenja Leiber with "Nelka" and Heinz Strunk with "Memories of Heidelberg". Other longlisted works that missed the final shortlist included Helene Bukowski's "Wer möchte nicht im Leben bleiben" and Ingo Schulze's "Das Wasser im August", both of which are set in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Bazyar succeeds Swiss author Dorothee Elmiger, who won the 2025 German Book Prize for her novel "Die Holländerinnen". Elmiger's narrative followed a writer journeying into the South American rainforest to report on the mysterious disappearance of two tourists.