German Book Prize Shortlist

In other news from last week, the shortlist for the 2008 German Book Prize has been announced. Here are the six finalists:

Dietmar Dath: Die Abschaffung der Arten (Suhrkamp)

Sherko Fatah: Das dunkle Schiff (Jung und Jung)

Iris Hanika: Treffen sich zwei (Droschl)

Rolf Lappert: Nach Hause schwimmen (Hanser)

Ingo Schulze: Adam und Evelyn (Berlin Verlag)

Uwe Tellkamp: Der Turm (Suhrkamp)

Coincidentally, the English translation of Ingo Schulze’s 600-page New Lives will be released by Knopf days after the winner of this prize is announced . . .

From the announcement:

The list is not representative of “any uniform thematic or stylistic line,” said jury spokesman Rainer Moritz in Frankfurt am Main on Wednesday, Sept. 17. Rather, it’s an indication of the “rich diversity of very readable novels submitted by German-language authors in 2008.”

All of the nominees are between the ages of 39 and 49; in other words, all part of the middle generation of current authors.

The winner will be announced on October 13th, just before the start of the Frankfurt Book Fair.