Navid Kermani
Autorenfoto zu Navid Kermani
© Peter Andreas Hassiepen

Navid Kermani

Navid Kermani was born in Siegen in 1967 and now lives in Cologne. Besides being an author, he is also an established scholar in the field of Islamic studies and a member of the German Academy for Language and Literature and of the Hamburg Academy of Sciences. He has received numerous awards for his literary and academic writing. In 2015, he was awarded the Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels (Peace Prize of the German Book Trade), with the jury stating that he was »one of the most important voices in our society.«

Navid Kermani was born in Siegen in 1967 and now lives in Cologne. Besides being an author, he is also an established scholar in the field of Islamic studies and a member of the German Academy for Language and Literature and of the Hamburg Academy of Sciences. He has received numerous awards for his literary and academic writing. In 2015, he was awarded the Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels (Peace Prize of the German Book Trade), with the jury stating that he was »one of the most important voices in our society.«

Awards (selection)
Friedrich Hölderlin Prize 2020
Samuel Bogumil Linde Prize 2018
Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels 2015
Kleist Prize for Dein Name 2012
Hannah Arendt Prize 2011
Buber Rosenzweig Medal 2011
Friedrich Hölderlin Prize 2020
Samuel Bogumil Linde Prize 2018
Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels 2015
Kleist Prize for Dein Name 2012
Hannah Arendt Prize 2011
Buber Rosenzweig Medal 2011

PUBLICATIONS

Latest first
Black Light
Year of Publication: 2027
Navid KermaniYear of Publication: 2027

Black Light

Simone Weil is perhaps the most brilliant thinker of the 20th century, and certainly the most puzzling. She passed away at just 34 years of age, and yet left behind a massive oeuvre that continues to challenge readers. Against the backdrop of current developments, Navid Kermani analyses Weil’s dramatic life and intellectual development, articulating a new interpretation of her...
The Book of the Listeners Slain by Neil Young
Year of Publication: 2013
Navid KermaniYear of Publication: 2013

The Book of the Listeners Slain by Neil Young

The Book of the Listeners Slain by Neil Young is more than just the most beautiful, wise, eccentric book ever written about rock ’n’ roll – it’s an ode to life itself.


It begins with the colic – night after night the narrator’s newborn daughter is beset by cramps. The only remedy: the songs of Neil Young. For father and daughter this means a journey through the Canadian singer’s...