Literary award · Germany · since 1980

Geschwister-Scholl-Preis

German literary award. Established 1980 in Germany.

About Geschwister-Scholl-Preis

The Geschwister-Scholl-Preis is a literary prize which is awarded annually by the Bavarian chapter of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels and the city of Munich. Every year, a book is honoured, which "shows intellectual independence and supports civil freedom, moral, intellectual and aesthetic courage and that gives an important impulse to the present awareness of responsibility". The prize is named in memory and honor of Sophie and Hans Scholl, who are collectively referred to as the Geschwister Scholl ("Scholl siblings"). It is endowed with 10,000 euros and is presented at a ceremony at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) in Munich.

From the Wikipedia article “Geschwister-Scholl-Preis”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Recent winners

YearWinnerWinning work
2025Oliver Nachtwey—
2025Carolin Amlinger—
2024Katerina Gordeeva—
2023David Van Reybrouck—
2022Andrey Kurkov—
2021Joe Sacco—
2020Dina Nayeri—
2019Ahmet Altan—
2018Götz Aly—
2017Hisham Matar—
2016Garance Le Caisne—
2015Achille Mbembe—
2014Glenn Greenwald—
2013Otto Dov Kulka—
2012Jürgen Dehmers—

From Wikidata; the list may be incomplete for some years.

Eligibility and entering

Check the official rules of the Geschwister-Scholl-Preis for the current eligibility window, accepted formats, residency or language requirements and any entry fee. For most established prizes the publisher submits on the author's behalf, often with a limit on entries per imprint.

If you are self-published, look for an explicit statement that independently published books are accepted, and budget for entry fees and copies for judges.

Sources & data