The awards were presented in the Allerheiligen‑Hofkirche of the Munich Residenz before a live audience of nominees and invited guests.
In the fiction category, the jury – Maja Beckers (DIE ZEIT), Andreas Platthaus (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) and Marie Schoeß (Bayerischer Rundfunk) – selected Bazyar’s novel Die Lücken (Kiepenheuer & Witsch) for its layered portrayal of a German small‑town over ninety years and its exploration of exclusion.
Susanne Heim received the non‑fiction prize for Die Abschottung der Welt (C.H. Beck), praised for its meticulous research on the fate of Jews fleeing Nazi rule and its relevance to contemporary refugee attitudes.
Both winners receive €10,000 and a porcelain figure from Nymphenburg. The Bavarian Minister‑President’s Honour Award was given to journalist Stefan Aust, presented by Dr Florian Herrmann of the Bavarian State Chancellery.
The Bayern 2 audience award went to Annette Dittert’s Dear Britain, chosen by readers after a vote among five best‑selling titles from Bavarian bookshops.
The event, organised by the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels – Landesverband Bayern and supported by the Bavarian State Chancellery, Bayern 2, the ZEIT publishing group, the Bavarian Sparkassenstiftung and the Reading Promotion Association, was broadcast live on radio and released as a podcast.