Heike Geißler Nominated for the Bavarian Book Prize 2025
News02.09.2025
Heike Geißler’s books Despairs has been shortlisted for this year’s Bavarian Book Prize in the non-fiction category.
The jury had the following to say about Geißler’s essay: »When you look at the daily news or your own life, the possible causes and reasons for despair are obvious. In Despairs, Heike Geißler curates a selection of topics ranging from life in the GDR to the hostilities of the present day. And in doing so, she achieves something astonishing: her form of literary self-defence is so powerful and diverse that it leaves no doubt about at least one thing - if you find yourself on the verge of despair, then you ought to take Heike Geißler along with you.«
The Bavarian Book Prize is awarded by the Bavarian State Association of the German Book Trade with the support of the Bavarian State Chancellery. It is sponsored by the Bavarian State Chancellery and supported by Bayern 2 as a media partner, the ZEIT publishing group, the Bavarian Savings Bank Foundation and the Association for the Promotion of Reading. There is a prize for fiction and non-fiction, with the winners of each prize receiving €10,000. This year's jury consists of Andreas Platthaus (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), Cornelius Pollmer (DIE ZEIT), and Marie Schoeß (Bayerischer Rundfunk).
The two winners will be announced after public deliberations on Tuesday 28 October 2025 in Munich.
The jury had the following to say about Geißler’s essay: »When you look at the daily news or your own life, the possible causes and reasons for despair are obvious. In Despairs, Heike Geißler curates a selection of topics ranging from life in the GDR to the hostilities of the present day. And in doing so, she achieves something astonishing: her form of literary self-defence is so powerful and diverse that it leaves no doubt about at least one thing - if you find yourself on the verge of despair, then you ought to take Heike Geißler along with you.«
The Bavarian Book Prize is awarded by the Bavarian State Association of the German Book Trade with the support of the Bavarian State Chancellery. It is sponsored by the Bavarian State Chancellery and supported by Bayern 2 as a media partner, the ZEIT publishing group, the Bavarian Savings Bank Foundation and the Association for the Promotion of Reading. There is a prize for fiction and non-fiction, with the winners of each prize receiving €10,000. This year's jury consists of Andreas Platthaus (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), Cornelius Pollmer (DIE ZEIT), and Marie Schoeß (Bayerischer Rundfunk).
The two winners will be announced after public deliberations on Tuesday 28 October 2025 in Munich.