Shida Bazyar receives the German Book Prize 2026 for her novel “The Gaps”

Shida Bazyar received the German Book Prize for the novel The Gaps. The German Book Trade Association presents the prize every year at the start of the Frankfurt Book Fair for the German-language novel of the year. Bazyar accepted the book prize in the Kaisersaal of the Frankfurt Römer.

In her book, Bazyar addresses Jewish life and the Nazi past of a village in the Hunsrück. Given the subject matter of her novel, it was difficult for her to feel joy about the award, Bazyar said in her acceptance speech. Anti-Semitic and racist crimes are at an all-time high, and no minority in Germany currently has any reason to worry.

Also nominated for the prize were Franziska Gänsler with Orca, Valeria Gordeev with The cicada escapes from its shiny gold shell, Elias Hirschl with bows, Peggy Mädler with self-regulation of the heart and Dana Vowinckel with Anton and Alma.

For the Book Culture and Reading Promotion Foundation, seven jury members viewed 205 titles that have been published since October 2025. The main prize of the German Book Prize is endowed with 25,000 euros. The other five nominees who made it onto the shortlist will each receive 2,500 euros.

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