The winners of the 2020 Kurd Laßwitz Preis, given to works written in or translated into the German language and published during the previous year, were revealed June 8.
The German language edition of Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments won an award, as did Andreas Fliedner, translator of The Last Days of New Paris by China Miéville
The awards are voted on by authors, translators, editors, publishers, graphic artists and journalists working professionally in SF genre in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. This year, 93 eligible voters participated in the election. The translation category was decided by a jury of ten translators and editors, and eight jurors (radio play directors, radio play authors and radio play experts) voted in the radio play category (where the winner has yet to be determined.)
The award is named after German author Kurd Laßwitz, The presentation ceremony is planned as part of the 15th ElsterCon, which they say “(hopefully) will take place this year September 18-20 in Leipzig.”
Best German language novel first published in 2019
- Perry Rhodan – Das Größte Abenteuer by Andreas Eschbach, Fischer Tor
Best German language short fiction first published in 2019
- “Koloss aus dem Orbit” by Jacqueline Montemurri in Exodus 39, edited by René Moreau, Olaf Kemmler and Fabian Tomascheck, Exodus Verlag
Best foreign novel first published in German in 2019
- Die Zeuginnen (The Testaments) by Margaret Atwood, Berlin Verlag
Best translation first published in 2019
- Andreas Fliedner for Die letzten Tage von New-Paris (The Last Days of New Paris) by China Miéville, Golkonda
Best cover art first published in 2019
- Michael Marrak for Der Garten des Uroboros by Michael Marrak, Amrun Verlag
Best German language audio drama first broadcast in 2019
- Unser Leben in den Wäldern by Marie Darrieussecq and Gerrit Booms, WDR
Special award for one-time outstanding achievements in SF in 2019
- Melanie Wylutzki, Hardy Kettlitz and Klaus Farin for their efforts to rescue Das Science Fiction Jahr
Special award for longterm outstanding achievements in SF in 2019
- Michael Haitel as publisher of p.machinery and for his work with the SFCD
[Based on a press release. Thanks to Cora Buhlert for help with titles of translated works.]
[Update 06/19/2020: The jurors have now selected a winner in the Audio Drama category.]
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The best German language novel winner is a Perry Rhodan prequel, which traces US astronaut Perry Rhodan’s life until that famous first flight of the Stardust, which kicked off the series.
I have to admit I’m a bit surprised that it won. It’s certainly fun, but it wouldn’t have been my choice.
A friend of mine had a large Perry Rhodan collection 40 years ago, and I read lots of it, but always was doubtful about its merits.
As far as German SF series are concerned, it seems to me that a Marc Brandis revival would be very timely. Many of the values it espouses (anti-fascism, ecological concerns) should resonate strongly these days.
I read my share of Perry Rhodan, if only because they were the most accessible SF in 1980s West Germany. They can be fun, but they are mass-produced pulp.
The Mark (with a K) Brandis books were indeed good and remarkably progressive, particularly for the time. They’re back in print as e-books and there is also a series of audiodramas, but no new novels since the 1980s.
Oops, my bad regarding the “Marc”. True story: In university, I had a classmate named “Marc Brandis”. He was not into SF, at least not into that particular series…
I did buy some of the Mark Brandis e-books and read them to my older son. He was only moderately interested, but I think it’s because his being-read-to years were basically at an end.
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