Press Release | Berlin, 05/05/2025

German Non-Fiction Prize 2025: Authors of Nominated Titles on the Blue Sofa

• Authors present their nominated books at Bertelsmann Unter den Linden in Berlin
• Shelly Kupferberg and Christine Watty will moderate the event
• Karin Schlautmann: “If you read, you educate yourself, you can participate, help make things happen, and shoulder responsibility.”

Berlin, May 5, 2025 – Bertelsmann is hosting award-winning authors on the Blue Sofa: The nominees for the German Non-Fiction Prize 2025 will take a seat on the Blue Sofa at the international media, services, and education company’s Berlin premises on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, starting at 7 pm. In conversations with moderators Shelly Kupferberg and Christine Watty, they will present their books and discuss key issues affecting our society.

The following nominees for the German Non-Fiction Prize and their works will be featured on the Blue Sofa:

• Ingo Dachwitz & Sven Hilbig, Digitaler Kolonialismus. Wie Tech-Konzerne und Großmächte die Welt unter sich aufteilen (Digital Colonialism. How Tech Corporations and Superpowers Are Dividing the World Among Themselves) (C.H.Beck), February 2025
• Aladin El-Mafaalani, Sebastian Kurtenbach & Klaus Peter Strohmeier, Kinder – Minderheit ohne Schutz. Aufwachsen in der alternden Gesellschaft (Children – An Unprotected Minority. Growing Up in an Ageing Society) (Kiepenheuer & Witsch), January 2025
• Franz-Stefan Gady, Die Rückkehr des Krieges. Warum wir wieder lernen müssen, mit Krieg umzugehen (The Return of War. Why We Must Learn to Deal with War Again) (Quadriga), October 2024
• Ines Geipel, Fabelland. Der Osten, der Westen, der Zorn und das Glück (The East, the West, Anger and Happiness) (S. Fischer), August 2024
• Martina Heßler, Sisyphos im Maschinenraum. Eine Geschichte der Fehlbarkeit von Mensch und Technologie (Sisyphus in the Machine Room. A Tale of the Fallibility of Man and Technology) (C.H.Beck), February 2025
• Walburga Hülk, Victor Hugo. Jahrhundertmensch (Victor Hugo. Man of the Century) (Matthes & Seitz Berlin), November 2024
• Bernhard Kegel, Mit Pflanzen die Welt retten. Grüne Lösungen gegen den Klimawandel (Saving the World with Plants. Green Solutions Against Climate Change) (DuMont), October 2024
• Ulli Lust, Die Frau als Mensch. Am Anfang der Geschichte (Woman as Human. At the Beginning of History) (Reprodukt), February 2025

The German Publishers and Booksellers Association’s Foundation for Book Culture and the Promotion of Reading (Stiftung Buchkultur und Leseförderung des Börsenvereins des Deutschen Buchhandels) awards the German Nonfiction Book Prize for Nonfiction Book of the Year. The prize recognizes outstanding nonfiction books in original German-language editions that provide an impetus for social debate on important topics. The aim of the award is to strengthen the importance of nonfiction books as a basis for knowledge transfer, differentiated opinion-forming, and public discourse.

Karin Schlautmann, Head of Bertelsmann Corporate Communications, said: “Books and Bertelsmann are inextricably linked. In Penguin Random House, Bertelsmann has one of the world’s largest trade book publishing group among its companies. Today more than ever, it is challenging and crucial to distinguish facts from manipulation. Those who read educate themselves – and those who educate themselves can participate, help make things happen, and shoulder responsibility. The works nominated for the German Non-Fiction Prize 2025 reflect this attitude: they open up new perspectives and make an important contribution to social discourse.”

The Blue Sofa on May 13 is part of the “Freedom of Expression Week” to promote freedom of expression and the value of open social dialog. Deutschlandfunk Kultur is accompanying the event as a media partner and will broadcast a shortened version of the talks afterwards. The full video recording of the Blue Sofa will be available in the Mediathek  .

We cordially invite all interested parties to experience the best nonfiction books of the year and their authors live on the Blue Sofa. Admission to the event is free: Register here  .

About the Blue Sofa
The Blue Sofa is one of the longest-running and most successful literary formats in the German-speaking world. Since it was founded in 2000, more than 3,100 authors have taken a seat here to present their new books at book fairs and beyond. In recent years, the format has been jointly organized by Bertelsmann, ZDF, Deutschlandfunk Kultur and 3sat; since 2023, Bertelsmann has continued The Blue Sofa with a new concept under its sole responsibility. The most prominent guests to date have included Nobel Prize winners Svetlana Alexievich, Mikhail Gorbachev, Günter Grass, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Herta Müller, Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, Orhan Pamuk, Joseph Stiglitz, Olga Tokarczuk, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Mo Yan. www.das-blaue-sofa.de/en 

About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is a media, services and education company with about 75,000 employees that operates in some 50 countries around the world. It includes the entertainment group RTL Group, the trade book publisher Penguin Random House, the music company BMG, the service provider Arvato Group, Bertelsmann Marketing Services, the Bertelsmann Education Group and Bertelsmann Investments, an international network of funds. The company generated revenues of €19 billion in the 2024 financial year. Bertelsmann stands for creativity and entrepreneurship. This combination promotes first-class media content and innovative service solutions that inspire customers around the world.