Clemens Meyer Critiques Book Prize Jury After Selection

Clemens Meyer Critiques Book Prize Jury Over Literature Award

Frankfurt am Main (dpa) - Author Clemens Meyer (47) is seething after the Deutscher Buchpreis awards ceremony in Frankfurt. He vocalized his outrage, saying, "It’s a disgrace for literature that my book was not selected for the prize," during an interview with Der Spiegel. Meyer stormed out of the ceremony upon learning that Monika Hefter's book, Hey Guten Morgen, Wie Geht Es Dir?, received the esteemed award instead.

Meyer conveyed to Der Spiegel that while he intends to continue writing, he has had enough of the Deutscher Buchpreis: "I say never again. The nervous tension is too much for me." He elaborated that if his book were to top the bestseller list, he would gain 100,000 new readers, alleviating his current financial troubles.

The Deutscher Buchpreis is regarded as one of the most significant accolades in the industry, awarded for the 20th time this year. The seven-member jury reviewed 197 novels from Deutschland, Österreich, and der Schweiz. In the final round, alongside Hefter and Meyer, authors Maren Kames (i>Hasenprosa), Ronya Othmann (i>Vierundsiebzig), Markus Thielemann (i>Von Norden Rollt Ein Donner), and Iris Wolff (i>Lichtungen) also contended.

Meyer, who was born in Halle/Saale in 1977 and resides in Leipzig, featured his novel Die Projektoren in the shortlist. His earlier work, Im Stein, was shortlisted for the Deutscher Buchpreis in 2013. The 47-year-old has received over 20 literary awards, including the Leipziger Buchmesse prize in 2008 for his short story collection Die Nacht, die Lichter.