Female authors dominate selection for Leipzig Book Prize

The shortlist for the Leipzig Book Fair Prize is dominated by female authors in the fiction category this year. The jury has shortlisted four women: Helene Bukowski, Anja Kampmann, Katerina Poladjan and Elli Unruh. The only male author nominated is Norbert Gstrein from Austria. Their stories range from Kazakhstan to Hamburg's Reeperbahn during the Nazi era to Austria in the 20th century.

"We read and discussed our way through worlds, set ourselves skill and experiment, passion and art as milestones, rushed through contemporary literature and didn't make it easy for ourselves," explained jury chair Katrin Schumacher.

Established names and a debut

Kampmann and Poladjan are two familiar names on the Leipzig shortlist. They have also been nominated for the prize with previous books. Gstrein is a multi-award-winning author, including the Austrian Book Prize. Bukowski, born in 1993, is one of the younger authors. Unruh made it into the selection with her debut novel.

These are the nominees in the fiction category in alphabetical order:

• Helene Bukowski: "Wer möchte nicht im Leben bleiben"
• Norbert Gstrein: "Im ersten Licht"
• Anja Kampmann: "Die Wut ist ein heller Stern"
• Katerina Poladjan: "Goldstrand"
• Elli Unruh: "Fische im Trüben"

This year, 177 publishers submitted 485 works. The award is traditionally presented on the first day of the Leipzig Book Fair - this time on March 19. The prize is endowed with a total of 60,000 euros - 15,000 euros go to the winner of each category, and the nominees also receive 1,000 euros each.

Prize recognizes three categories

The Leipzig Book Fair Prize is the only major industry award that also recognizes non-fiction and translations. The jury selected these works in the non-fiction category:

• Marie-Janine Calic: "Balkan-Odyssee. 1933-1941. On the run from Hitler through south-eastern Europe"
• Ines Geipel: "Landschaft ohne Zeugen. Buchenwald and the rift of memory"
• Jan Pekal: "Paranoia in Hollywood. How the USA first rescued and then persecuted exiled artists. 1941-1953"
• Ulli Lust: "Die Frau als Mensch 2: Schamaninnen"
• Manfred Pfister: "Englische Renaissance"

Translations from Icelandic to Hungarian

The nominated translations cover a wide range of European languages:

• Ulrich Faure from Dutch: "The Song of Stork and Dromedary" by author Anjet Daanje
• Tina Flecken from Icelandic: "Eden" by author Audur Ava Olafsdottir
• Manfred Gmeiner from Spanish: "Living Below" by author Gustavo Favéron Patriau
• Timea Tankó from Hungarian: "The Resettlement" by author András Visky
• Petra Zickmann from Catalan: "I gave you eyes, and you looked into the darkness" by author Irene Solà

The Leipzig Book Fair takes place from March 19. to March 22. The organizers are expecting around 300,000 visitors. Last year, 296,000 guests came to the fair and the associated festival "Leipzig liest" - a record.