Awarding of the Berlin Publishing Prize 2023

Berlin is at the forefront of annual new publications; in addition to traditional houses, there is a continually growing number of young, independent publishers who are conquering their place on the book market from Berlin. Shaped by a multi-faceted literary life, books are visible that, beyond bestseller lists and marketable formats, assert what defines the Berlin publishing scene: bibliodiversity.

After the pandemic and in the multiple crises that characterize our times, many publishers are forced to review their programs and reinvent themselves in order to secure their existence. Independent publishers are particularly hard hit by this. They publish books at high economic risk and are passionate about literature. The Berlin Publishing Prize 2023 is therefore more important than ever!

The three Berlin Publishing Prizes, endowed with a total of 68,000 euros, are intended to support the entire Berlin publishing landscape - as they help all publishers in Germany's largest publishing city to gain more public visibility.

In 2022, the Great Berlin Publishing Prize went to avant-verlag, while the two smaller Berlin Publishing Prizes went to Elfenbein Verlag and Ciconia Ciconia.

The Berlin Publishing Prize 2023 will also make it clear that Berlin publishers often make a name for themselves as initiators of aesthetic, thematic and manufacturing innovations. That they encourage and promote social, scientific and political discourse with their books. We are very excited about the jury's decision and look forward to the awarding of the Berlin Publishing Prize on November 5th in the Deutsches Theater!

The Prize The Berlin Publishing Prize has been awarded jointly by the Berlin Senate Departments for Culture and Social Cohesion as well as Economy, Energy and Enterprises since 2018 and is supported with funds from the European Union from the “Operational Program of the ERDF Berlin 2014-2020”. The Grand Berlin Publishing Prize, which is endowed with 35,000 euros, as well as two Berlin Publishing Prizes worth 15,000 euros each are awarded. The three other publishers on the shortlist, which will be published in mid-October 2023, will receive recognition worth 1,000 euros. The Berlin Publishing Prize is awarded to publishers whose publications stand out from the mainstream (not only) of the Berlin publishing landscape in the best sense of the word.

Source: Berlin Publishing Prize 2023