Nominations

The 25 nominated titles
in alphabetical order:

Cover Illustration Ahmadjan und der Wiedehopf

Ahmadjan und der WiedehopfbyMaren Amini

Carlsen

In her comic, Maren Amini weaves together the story of her father Ahmadjan’s flight from his homeland with the Persian epic “Konferenz der Vögel”; Ahmadjan travels through the same...

Cover Illustration Bauchlandung

Bauchlandung. Geschichte einer Teenager-SchwangerschaftbyWanda Dufner

Edition Moderne

Noemi is 17, shy and insecure; she finds kissing disgusting, sex is taboo in her family, and abortions are considered evil. But Noemi’s friends have their first boyfriends; she thinks this lad...

Cover Illustration Blutsauger

BlutsaugerbyAndré Breinbauer

Carlsen

The flat in the old Viennese building, centrally located and with her grandmother’s old tenancy agreement, is a dream come true! If only it weren’t for that eerie neighbour in a floor-...

Cover Illustration Das Lied der Arktis

Das Lied der ArktisbyJean-Paul Krassinsky and Bérengère Cournut

Translation: Resel Rebiersch

Schreiber & Leser

Loss, loneliness, cold and an iron will to survive on the one hand; family, friends, a sense of community and love on the other. These emotions guide the reader through the Arctic as if through a...

Cover Illustration Der süßeste Bruder der Welt ... und andere Irrtümer

Der süßeste Bruder der Welt ... und andere IrrtümerbyElin Lindell

Translation: Katharina Erben

Klett Kinderbuch

Danica, known as Dani, is actually quite happy with her single mum; all she knows about her dad is his donor code. The only thing missing from her happiness is a little sibling. Getting on her nerves...

Cover Illustration Der verkehrte Himmel

Der verkehrte HimmelbyMikael Ross

avant-verlag

It’s about a severed finger – about a Vietnamese woman who has fallen victim to human traffickers. And it’s about three teenagers from Berlin’s Lichtenberg district who get...

Cover Illustration Der Zahn

Der Zahn byAyşe Klinge

Kibitz

Ayşe Klinge’s unusual vampire story tackles several themes at once: the exclusion of those who are different, overcoming fear, the loss of one’s first teeth, and friendships that survive...

Cover Illustration Die Frau als Mensch 2

Die Frau als MenschbyUlli Lust

Reprodukt

In the first volume of “Die Frau als Mensch”, Ulli Lust dispels the common gender stereotypes of early human history and depicts an egalitarian early society. This is in line with current...

Cover Illustration Die große Verdrängung

Die große VerdrängungbyRoberto Grossi

Translation: Myriam Alfano

avant-verlag

Can our world still be saved? This is the question posed by Roberto Grossi’s graphic essay “Die große Verdrängung”. In a compelling way, he combines personal experiences with...

Cover Illustration Fleischeslust

FleischeslustbyMartin Oesch

Edition Moderne

Erwin is actually old enough to retire, but he cannot bring himself to give up his local butcher’s shop – not least because he cannot find a successor. Times are changing; people are...

Cover Illustration Hackenporsche

HackenporschebyMelanie Lüdtke

Schwarzer Turm

The cover itself gives it away: this graphic novel is about a young woman who, heavily laden, is trying to climb a steep flight of stairs but isn’t quite sure she’ll make it. This sets...

Cover Illustration von In den trüben Gewässern Istanbuls

In den trüben Gewässern IstanbulsbyÖzge Samancı

Translation: Silv Bannenberg

Helvetiq

“In den trüben Gewässern Istanbuls” is never quite what it seems. Ece and Meltem are two students and amateur divers who, in 1995 Istanbul, share their poverty and a stuffy dormitory, and...

Cover Illustration Jakob Neyder

Jakob NeyderbyFranz Suess

avant-verlag

Unspoken tensions and conflict avoidance are a recurring theme in Jakob’s network of relationships. Through subtle observations, Franz Suess depicts the world of a young man who has neither a...

Cover Illustration Kaputt

KaputtbyAlison Bechdel

Translation: Katharina Erben

Reprodukt

In “Kaputt”, Alison Bechdel tells the story of a fictional comic book writer named Alison Bechdel who wants to draw an essay about money and capitalism. “Kaputt” is a...

Cover Illustration Meine Geschichten von Mutter und Tochter

Meine Geschichten von Mutter und TochterbyKatharina Greve

avant-verlag

In a wonderfully anarchic yet tender manner, Katharina Greve has mother and daughter tackle and overcome life’s minor and major challenges. Whether it’s accidents whilst roller-skating,...

Cover Illustration Peri Meno

Peri MenobyRinah Lang

Carlsen

‘Oh dear, the menopause – the Meno … what?’ So many people suffer through the menopause, an inevitable phase of life. Why is so little known about it, and why is there far...

Cover Illustration Red

RedbyJosephine Mark

Kibitz

At first glance, “Red” seems like one of those cosy, provincial British crime novels, with quirky characters and an old-fashioned interior. Yet Josephine Mark transforms this setting into...

Cover Illustration Saloon

Saloon. Das ist FamiliensachebyMia Oberländer

Edition Moderne

What a brilliant idea to turn a family reunion into a modern-day Western! The grandmother’s invitations to her grandson, son, daughter and daughter-in-law have the feel of a summons...

Cover Illustration Schweigen

SchweigenbyBirgit Weyhe

avant-verlag

It is above all the brutality resulting from this silence that Birgit Weyhe focuses on. The silence of the perpetrators after the Nazi era, the silence of the victims – and the silence of all...

Cover Illustration Shrimpie und ich

Shrimpie und ichbyMoni Port and Claudia Weikert

Kibitz

First day at school: the first schoolbag, the first fountain pen, a new place. We’ll never forget these memories. But it can also be a daunting day, especially for the very shy ones. Käthe is...

Cover Illustration Sonntag

SonntagbyOlivier Schrauwen

Translation: Christoph Schuler

Edition Moderne / Colorama

Thibault, in his mid-thirties, is an average, uninteresting and not particularly likeable man who prefers to do nothing. And that is exactly how he spends this Sunday: doing nothing, putting things...

Cover Illustration The Strange House

The Strange HousebyUketsu and Kyo Ayano

Translation: Claudia Peter

Panini Manga

The floor plan of a house piques a young author’s curiosity and presents him with seemingly unsolvable puzzles: Why is there this inexplicable room with no doors? Why, of all places, is the...

Cover Illustration Unruhe

UnruhebySarah Hübner

Jaja Verlag

A sense of unease pervades the small, secluded village of “Ruhe”, somewhere deep in the mountains. A place where nothing ever changes and where nothing is ever meant to change. But then,...

Cover Illustration Zwei weibliche Halbakte

Zwei weibliche HalbaktebyLuz

Translation: Lilian Pithan

Reprodukt

In 1919, Otto Müller painted his work “Zwei weibliche Halbakte” and sold it ten years later to the Jewish art collector Ismar Littmann. It was not until 1999 that the painting was...