German Book Prize 2024
Martina Hefter wins the German Book Prize

There was a festive atmosphere in the Kaisersaal of Frankfurt's Römer when the six finalists were presented. The tension grew until it was finally announced that Martina Hefter would receive the German Book Prize 2024.

By Börsenblatt Fachmagazin der Buchbranche

Martina Hefter has won the 20th German Book Prize with her novel Hey guten Morgen, wie geht es dir? This was announced by Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, Chairman of the Börsenverein, shortly before 7 p.m. in the Kaisersaal of Frankfurt's Römer – applause broke out.

‘Hey, good evening, how are you?’: This is how Karin Schmidt-Friderichs greeted the author on stage shortly after the secret of the best German-language novel of the year had been revealed.

According to the jury, Hefter's book is a ‘cleverly choreographed novel’ that combines gruelling everyday life with mythological figures and cosmic dimensions in a fascinating way, navigating between melancholy and euphoria, trust and deception.

Be vigilant

The protagonist is a dancer and performance artist in Leipzig, like the author herself. Helfer reported at the award ceremony that she had had many conversations about her book in recent months – including many people who, ‘according to a party I don't want to name here’, are not at the centre of society – because of the colour of their skin, a disability or because they don't feel they belong to any gender. She did not want to make a political speech, said Hefter, visibly moved: ‘But we must be vigilant – and should be loud to intervene.’

Incidentally, the author recently started sharing a tattoo on her forearm with her editor at Klett-Cotta, which they both briefly held up to the camera during the livestream of the award ceremony: a wild bee, which also plays a role in the novel. According to Hefter, going to the tattoo parlour together with the editor was a very special experience. The trip was worth it.

The jury statement

‘The protagonist in Martina Hefter's Hey guten Morgen, wie geht es dir? is in her mid-50s, leads a precarious life as a performance artist in Leipzig and cares for her husband who has MS. On sleepless nights, she chats with a Nigerian love swindler who is after her money.

The question arises as to who is exploiting whom – and what happens when, contrary to expectations, the boundaries between digital games and real affection become blurred. The novel combines gruelling everyday life with mythological figures and cosmic dimensions in a fascinating way, navigating between melancholy and euphoria, reflecting on trust and deception. Martina Hefter tells of all this in her cleverly choreographed novel, which exerts its very own attraction.’

The jury for the German Book Prize 2024 consists of Jury spokesperson Natascha Freundel (rbb), Gerrit Bartels (Der Tagesspiegel), Magda Birkmann (freelance literary mediator and bookseller), Torsten Hoffmann (University of Stuttgart), Marianna Lieder (freelance critic), Regina Moths (Buchhandlung Literatur Moths) and Klaus Nüchtern (Der Falter).

‘How literature inspires us’

‘For 20 years, the German Book Prize has been providing guidance, awakening a love of reading and reflecting current and emerging themes and trends. Then as now, it promotes enthusiasm for books and creates awareness for the book medium. The greatest development in the last two decades has been literature itself, the perspectives and voices that have become visible through it. The voices that confirm our view of the world and those that irritate us and make us think. In this way, literature inspires us to look beyond the limits of our own perception,’ says Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, President of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association.

All about the book prize

Also nominated for the award were: Maren Kames: Hasenprosa, Clemens Meyer: Die Projektoren, Ronya Othmann: Vierundsiebzig, Markus Thielemann: Von Norden rollt ein Donner and Iris Wolff: Lichtungen.

Martina Hefter will receive prize money of 25,000 euros; the five other finalists will each receive 2,500 euros. The winning title was determined in several selection stages. Since the start of the competition, the seven jury members have reviewed 196 titles published between October 2023 and September 2024. A longlist of 20 titles was compiled from these novels. From this, the jury selected six titles for the shortlist.