German Book Prize announces long list

The seven-person jury of the German Book Prize has reached its first of several decisions and announced a 20-book long list for the distinction.

That number will be whittled down to six on September 20, before the grand winner is announced on October 17, the eve of the Frankfurt Book Fair.

"This year's long list shows the broad spectrum of writing styles and topics in contemporary German literature, from daring literary dystopias and the representation of longing to departures into new worlds, from revolt against everyday coercions to biographical self-reassurances that reinvent real experiences in the form of a novel," said jury spokesman Christoph Schröder.

He went on to praise the wide range of linguistic styles chosen by the long-listed authors, from classic narration to humoristic experiments. "We had fun working through the submissions," concluded Schröder.

Here is the long list in alphabetical order by authors' last name:

· Akos Doma: "Der Weg der Wünsche" (Rowohlt Berlin)
· Gerhard Falkner: "Apollokalypse" (Berlin Verlag)
· Ernst-Wilhelm Händler: "München" (S. Fischer)
· Reinhard Kaiser-Mühlecker: "Fremde Seele, dunkler Wald" (S. Fischer)
· Bodo Kirchhoff: "Widerfahrnis" (Frankfurter Verlagsanstalt)
· André Kubiczek: "Skizze eines Sommers" (Rowohlt Berlin)
· Michael Kumpfmüller: "Die Erziehung des Mannes" (Kiepenheuer & Witsch)
· Katja Lange-Müller: "Drehtür" (Kiepenheuer & Witsch)
· Dagmar Leupold: "Die Witwen" (Jung und Jung)
· Sibylle Lewitscharoff: "Das Pfingstwunder" (Suhrkamp)
· Thomas Melle: "Die Welt im Rücken" (Rowohlt Berlin)
· Joachim Meyerhoff: "Ach, diese Lücke, diese entsetzliche Lücke" (Kiepenheuer & Witsch)
· Hans Platzgumer: "Am Rand" (Paul Zsolnay)
· Eva Schmidt: "Ein langes Jahr" (Jung und Jung)
· Arnold Stadler: "Rauschzeit" (S. Fischer)
· Peter Stamm: "Weit über das Land" (S. Fischer)
· Michelle Steinbeck: "Mein Vater war ein Mann an Land und im Wasser ein Walfisch" (Lenos)
· Thomas von Steinaecker: "Die Verteidigung des Paradieses" (S. Fischer)
· Anna Weidenholzer: "Weshalb die Herren Seesterne tragen" (Matthes & Seitz Berlin)
· Philipp Winkler: "Hool" (Aufbau)

Since 2005, the Association of the German Book Trade has crowned one new novel released in the previous 12 months as the best German-language book of the year. Publishers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland can submit recommendations.

The first-place winner receives a prize of 25,000 euros (over $28,000), while the five other finalists are awarded 2,500 euros each.

Now in its 12th year, the German Book Prize is the country's most prestigious literary accolade. Last year's winner was Frank Witzel, with his novel "Die Erfindung der Roten Armee Fraktion durch einen manisch-depressiven Teenager im Sommer 1969" (The Invention of the Red Army Faction by a Manic Depressive Teenager in the Summer of 1969).

For the other previous winners, click through the gallery below.

kbm/ (with dpa)