Christina Morina has been announced as the winner of the 2024 German Non-Fiction Book Prize for her work “Tausend Aufbrüche. Die Deutschen und ihre Demokratie seit den 1980er Jahren” (One Thousand New Beginnings. Germans and their Democracy since the 1980s) published by Siedler Verlag.
The jury’s reasoning for selecting Morina’s work:
“There is a general consensus that democracies around the world are in crisis. However, the question of what it truly means to live in a democracy often takes a backseat. Christina Morina uses sources that have been largely ignored until now to show how the understanding of democracy has evolved differently in East and West Germany since the 1980s. Her meticulously researched and revealing historical analysis, based on letters, petitions, and pamphlets, gives a voice to the citizens of both the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany. With this book, Morina provides surprising and necessary impulses for current social debates. Her work takes risks without polarizing, emphasizing that democracy is a process, not a state.”
The jury for the 2024 German Non-Fiction Book Prize includes Sibylle Anderl (DIE ZEIT newspaper), Julika Griem (Institute for Cultural Studies in Essen), Michael Hagner (ETH Zurich), Stefan Koldehoff (Deutschlandfunk radio), Michael Lemling (Lehmkuhl bookstore), Patricia Rahemipour (Institute for Museum Research, Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation), and Katrin Vohland (Natural History Museum Vienna).
The following titles were also nominated for the award:
Jens Beckert: Verkaufte Zukunft. Warum der Kampf gegen den Klimawandel zu scheitern droht (Sold Future. Why the Fight Against Climate Change is Doomed to Fail) (Suhrkamp), Sebastian Conrad: Die Königin. Nofretetes globale Karriere (The Queen. Nefertiti’s Global Career) (Propyläen), Ruth Hoffmann: Das deutsche Alibi. Mythos „Stauffenberg-Attentat“ – wie der 20. Juli 1944 verklärt und politisch instrumentalisiert wird (The German Alibi. Myth of the “Stauffenberg Assassination” – How 20 July 1944 is Romanticized and Politically Exploited) (Goldmann), Roman Köster: Müll. Eine schmutzige Geschichte der Menschheit (Trash. A Dirty History of Humanity) (C.H.Beck), Frauke Rostalski: Die vulnerable Gesellschaft. Die neue Verletzlichkeit als Herausforderung der Freiheit (The Vulnerable Society. The New Vulnerability as a Challenge to Freedom) (C.H.Beck), Marcus Willaschek: Kant. Die Revolution des Denkens (Kant. The Revolution of Thinking) (C.H.Beck), Moshe Zimmermann: Niemals Frieden? Israel am Scheideweg (Never Peace? Israel at a Crossroads) (Propyläen).
The German Non-Fiction Book Prize, awarded by the Buchkultur und Leseförderung foundation of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, honors the non-fiction book of the year. The award recognizes a non-fiction book originally written in German that contributes to social debates.
The main sponsor of the award is the Deutsche Bank foundation, with support from the city of Hamburg and the Frankfurt Book Fair. Minister of Culture Claudia Roth also supports the German Non-Fiction Book Prize. Deutschlandfunk Kultur is the media partner of the award.
A photo of the winner will be available for download at 8 pm here: www.boersenverein.de/pressefotos
Frankfurt am Main/Hamburg, 11 June 2024
Press contact:
Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels e.V.
(German Publishers and Booksellers Association)
Thomas Koch, Head of Press and Public Relations
Phone +49 (0) 69 1306-293, email: t.koch@boev.de
Robin Jung, Junior PR Manager
Tel +49 (0) 69 1306-426, email: jung@boev.de
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