Martina Hefter Wins the German Book Prize
Martina Hefter has emerged victorious in this year’s prestigious German Book Prize, one of the most esteemed accolades in German-language literature, for her remarkable novel Hey guten Morgen, wie geht es dir? (“Hey, good morning, how are you?”). This announcement coincides with the commencement of the Frankfurt Book Fair, the largest book trade fair globally, taking place this week.
The novel, Hey guten Morgen, wie geht es dir?, intricately weaves the tale of a middle-aged woman who, overwhelmed by the challenges of caring for her chronically ill husband, finds an escape in the bizarre realm of online love scamming as a willing target. The jury for the German Book Prize praised the novel, stating, “Navigating between melancholy and euphoria, and reflecting on trust and deception, the novel combines the grueling aspects of everyday life with mythological figures and cosmic dimensions in a captivating manner.”
Notable Achievements
- This year, Hefter also received the Grand Prize of the German Literature Fund and the Literature Prize of the State Capital Wiesbaden for the same novel.
- This marks her fourth novel, following a 16-year hiatus since her last prose work, Die Küsten der Berge (“The Coasts of the Mountain”), published in 2008. During this period, she has released several poetry anthologies.
As the recipient of the German Book Prize, Hefter will receive a monetary reward of €25,000, while the five shortlisted authors—Maren Kames, Clemens Meyer, Ronya Othmann, Markus Thielemann, and Iris Wolff—will each be awarded €2,500.
The Frankfurt Book Fair
The announcement of Germany’s most significant literary award aligns with the opening of the Frankfurt Book Fair, the largest and oldest book fair worldwide. This year, the fair runs from October 16-20, with the first three days reserved for industry professionals, while the general public is welcomed during the weekend.
Last year’s event attracted over 200,000 visitors from 130 different countries, with more than 110,000 of them being members of the general public. Notably, Salman Rushdie was honored with the Peace Prize during the 2023 edition of the fair.
The Frankfurt Book Fair boasts a rich history, dating back over 500 years, long before the advent of printed books. Originally, it began as a modest fair for selling handwritten manuscripts, evolving into a more formal event following Johannes Gutenberg’s groundbreaking invention of the printing press in the 15th century. The fair was re-established after World War II in 1949, and this year marks its 76th iteration.
This year’s theme is ‘FBM24 is Read!ng – Read. Reflect. Relate,’ with Italy serving as the national guest of honor, a position the country has not held since 1988. In celebration of this honor, the Italian committee has selected notable figures like physicist and author Carlo Rovelli, writer Susanna Tamaro, and philosopher Stefano Zecchi as literary keynote speakers. With over 90 authors participating, highlights include a discussion between Sapiens author Yuval Noah Harari and philosopher Kohei Saito on “Is a system reboot the only way to have a future worth living?” Other prominent authors attending include Roberto Saviano, Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim, Eva Menasse, and Omri Boehm.
Controversies from the Previous Year
The previous year’s fair was marred by controversy when the LitProm LiBeraturpreis award ceremony for Palestinian author Adania Shibli was abruptly canceled. Shibli’s novel, Minor Detail, published in 2020, recounts the harrowing true story of a young Palestinian girl’s 1949 rape and murder by Israeli soldiers.
The cancellation drew widespread criticism from the literary community, culminating in an open letter signed by over 1,000 authors, including Nobel Prize laureates Abdulrazak Gurnah, Annie Ernaux, and Olga Tokarczuk. In response, LitProm issued a statement of formal apology to Adania Shibli, explaining that the decision to postpone the award ceremony was influenced by the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas, aiming to avoid a politically charged atmosphere that could lead to potential disturbances or threats against Shibli.
Following this backlash, LitProm has decided to suspend the award for the current year’s fair, reflecting the ongoing tensions in the region.