Bazyar receives Book Prize Full acceptance speech

Oct 5

After Schück's award segue, Guggolz announces the 2026 German Book Prize to Shida Bazyar for Die Lücken and reads the complete jury citation on German history, migration, narrative perspective and the interaction of fictional and documentary elements. Bazyar gives her full acceptance speech: she finds celebration difficult given the persecuted and murdered people behind the novel, dedicates the recognition to them, and invokes Heinz Kahn's skepticism toward honors. She says antisemitic and racist crimes are high, urges resistance to coded deportation rhetoric and draws on Hannah Arendt to warn about normalization and friends' conduct. She then thanks her husband, listeners, agency, publisher, editor and publishing supporters, fellow nominees, parents and sisters. She describes wanting prizes without wishing to compete with other writers, and credits her family's warmth for her humane view of characters. Schück thanks the winner, nominees, organizers and audience and closes the ceremony.

In her October 5 Book Prize acceptance speech, Shida Bazyar dedicates the recognition to the persecuted and murdered people behind Die Lücken and explains her ambivalence about honors through an attributed Heinz Kahn quotation. She says antisemitic and racist crimes are at a high, warns that minorities have reason to worry, and urges resistance to deportation rhetoric expressed under another word. She argues that fascists normalize initially unimaginable proposals and invokes Hannah Arendt's warning about friends' conduct after 1933. These are her claims and appeal, without a named party, independently verified crime series or announced government measure. Her full speech also thanks collaborators and family and acknowledges wanting prizes while rejecting rivalry with other writers.