2026 Deutscher Science Fiction Preis (German Science Fiction Award) Finalists
The announcement of the 2026 Deutscher Science Fiction Preis finalists on July 4th landed like a meteor strike—brilliant, scorching, impossible to ignore.
Every year, the SFCD (Science Fiction Club Deutschland), Germany’s largest and most venerable science fiction club, distills an entire nation’s speculative imagination into two razor‑sharp categories:
Best German‑Language Novel and Best German‑Language Short Story.
And every year, the rest of Europe barely notices.
It is a tragedy of translation, a continental blind spot, a cultural oversight so absurd it borders on cosmic comedy:
German SF is one of Europe’s richest literary ecosystems, yet so little of it crosses linguistic borders.
These finalists—these feverish dreamers, these architects of alternate realities—deserve to be read in London, in Paris, in Rome, Madrid, in Lisbon, in Amsterdam and Brussels, in Stockholm, Oslo, Helsinki, Warsaw and Prague, etc.
Instead, they remain largely confined to the German‑speaking world, like rare birds whose wings are clipped by the economics of translation.
But let us not despair. Let us revel.
Because the 2026 shortlist is incandescent.
THE NOVELS: A CONSTELLATION OF FIERY WORLDS
This year’s finalists form a wild, unruly constellation—nine novels, each a star burning with its own spectral color.
Nils Westerboer’s Lyneham stands tall at 496 pages, a fortress of speculative thought.
Anika Beer’s We Burn the Sun (Piper Verlag) is a title that feels like prophecy, a warning, a dare.
Sven Haupt appears twice—Der Himmel wird zur See (The Sky Turns to Sea) and Ein Übermaß von Welt (An Excess of World) —as if reality itself cannot contain him in a single book.
Tom Hillenbrand’s Thanatopia promises death‑worlds and philosophical vertigo.
Christian Märtesheimer’s Pandoras Flotte (Pandora’s Fleet) unleashes fleets of myth and machinery. Aiki Mira’s Denial of Service pulses with cybernetic urgency.
L.U. Sanders’ Glow in the Dark is a massive, independently published beast of 576 pages.
Reda El Arbi’s Asimovs Kindergarten stretches across 656 pages like a techno‑mythic labyrinth.
Each winner will receive €1000, but for the first time ever, the committee has added prize money for second and third place—€500 and €300, respectively.
A gesture of generosity, yes, but also a recognition of abundance: there is simply too much good German SF to reward only one champion.
THE SHORT STORIES: FLASHES OF PURE ELECTRICITY
Short fiction is the nervous system of science fiction—quick, sharp, experimental, alive. And this year’s nominees crackle.
Aiki Mira returns with “Ausreißende Sterne,” (Runaway Stars) proving once again that Mira is one of the most vital voices in German SF today.
Patricia Eckermann detonates tension in “Sabotage.”
Luc François whispers through the void in “Echo.”
Jan Gardemann’s “Notizen eines Sonderlings” (Notes of an Oddball) is a diary of delightful strangeness.
Stephanie Lammers’ “Das letzte Mal” (The Last Time) aches with finality.
Ralph‑Alexander Neumüller leaves a mark with “Wir waren hier.” (We Were Here)
Lisa‑Viktoria Niederberger illuminates futures in “Living Nightlights.”
Michael Pfrommer’s “Die Amazone” roars. Uwe Post gifts us the haunting “Blumen für Lisa‑9.” (Flowers for Lisa‑9)
Jol Rosenberg’s “Kinderladen” (Children’s Shop) twists reality with queer brilliance.
And Maximilian Wust’s “Metanoq” closes the list with a punch.
These stories are lightning in a bottle—yet so few readers outside Germany ever get to feel the shock.
SEPTEMBER 2026: WHEN THE SKY OPENS OVER LEIPZIG
The winners will be announced in September, and the awards will be presented at Elstercon 18, held September 18–20, 2026, at the House of Books Leipzig.
And here is where the tale becomes mythic.
Because ELSTERCON is not just a convention.
It is the beating heart of East German science fiction, a cathedral of imagination, a three‑day ritual where literature meets science under the banner:
18th ELSTERCON: SCIENCE? FICTION! – Literature Meets Science
Since 1992, every two years, Leipzig transforms into a star‑forge.
Lectures, readings, debates, book markets, publisher booths—three days of pure speculative electricity.
Through its continuity and its parade of international guests, Elstercon has become one of the most important SF conventions in Germany.
This year’s Guests of Honor form a dazzling pantheon:
Christopher Ruocchio (USA), Bettina Wurche, Julia Grillmayr, Theresa Hannig, Metin Tolan, T. Orgel, Hardy Kettlitz, Andreas Brandhorst, Angela and Karlheinz Steinmüller, Erik Simon
And the constellation expands with authors and speakers like Dirk Berger, Boris Koch, Carsten Steenbergen, Stephan Wartenberg, Ralf Heckel, Arno and Gabi Behrend, Gregor Jungheim, Bernhard Kempen, and Tessa Maelle.
Elstercon is organized by FKSFL – Freundeskreis Science Fiction Leipzig e.V., founded in 1985, a society of dreamers who have kept the flame alive for decades.
It is here, in Leipzig, that the Kurd Lasswitz Award and the German Science Fiction Prize are regularly bestowed. It is here that German SF stands tallest.
THE GREAT DIVIDE: EAST AND WEST, TRADITION AND FUTURE
Germany’s SF convention landscape is a galaxy of contrasts.
In the West, the SFCD conventions dominate—traditional, literary, deeply rooted in fandom history.
In the East, Elstercon reigns—bold, intellectual, fiercely international.
Together, they form the twin pillars of German speculative literature.
And yet, beyond Germany’s borders, their voices fade.
Why?
Why does a country with such a rich SF tradition remain so under‑translated?
Why do European readers devour Anglo‑American SF while ignoring the treasures next door?
It is a loss for all of us.
A cultural impoverishment.
A failure of curiosity.
A CALL TO TRANSLATORS, PUBLISHERS, DREAMERS
The 2026 finalists are not merely nominees.
They are ambassadors of a literary tradition that deserves to travel.
They are proof that German SF is not a niche—it is a universe.
As September approaches, and Leipzig prepares to ignite once more, one hopes that the flames of Elstercon will be seen far beyond Germany’s borders.
That these novels and stories will find translators bold enough to carry them across Europe.
That readers from Barcelona to Bucharest to will finally discover what they have been missing.
Because the sun is burning.
The stars are running away.
The sky is turning to sea.
And German science fiction is calling.
It is time we answered.
2026 Deutscher Science Fiction Preis (German Science Fiction Award) Finalists
The nominees for the Deutscher Science Fiction Preis 2026 were announced July 4th 2026.
The juried award for the best short story and best novel published in the German language in the previous year is sponsored by the SFCD (Science Fiction Club Deutschland), Germany´s largest science fiction club.
Each winner will receive €1000, and the award committee has added prize money for second and third place finalists.
“In light of the large number of excellent texts and with a desire to further promote science fiction, the committee will also award prize money to second and third place winners starting with the 2026 German Science Fiction Prize.”
The second place winner in each category will receive 500 euros.
The third place winner in each category will receive 300 euros.
The winners will be announced in September, and the awards will be presented at Elstercon 18 (Leipzig, Germany), to be held September 18-20, 2026.
BEST GERMAN LANGUAGE NOVEL / BESTER DEUTSCHSPRACHIGER ROMAN
We burn the sun by Anika Beer, 480 Seiten, Piper Verlag
Der Himmel wird zur See (The Sky Turns to Sea) by Sven Haupt, 272 Seiten, Eridanus Verlag
Ein Übermaß von Welt (An Excess of World) by Sven Haupt, 224 Seiten, Eridanus Verlag
Thanatopia by Tom Hillenbrand, 384 Seiten, Kiepenheuer & Witsch
Pandoras Flotte (Pandora’s Fleet) by Christian Märtesheimer, 364 Seiten, Atlantis Verlag
Denial of Service by Aiki Mira, 256 Seiten, Fischer TOR
Glow in the Dark by L.U. Sanders, 576 Seiten, Independently published
Lyneham by Nils Westerboer, 496 Seiten, Klett-Cotta
Asimovs Kindergarten by Reda El Arbi, 656 Seiten, lectorbooks
BEST GERMAN LANGUAGE SHORT STORY / BESTE DEUTSCHSPRACHIGE KURZGESCHICHTE
“Sabotage” by Patricia Eckermann, published in Andymonaden, edited by Michael Wehren, Memoranda Verlag
“Echo” by Luc François, published in Angstvoll und leicht sehnsüchtig, edited by Samuel Hamen, Hydre Éditions
“Notizen eines Sonderlings” (Notes of an Oddball) by Jan Gardemann, published in CAPRICE 01, edited by Frank G. Gerigk, p.machinery
“Das letzte Mal” (The Last Time) by Stephanie Lammers, published in c’t 02/2025
“Ausreißende Sterne” (Runaway Stars) by Aiki Mira, published in Andymonaden, edited by Michael Wehren, Memoranda Verlag
“Wir waren hier” (We Were Here) by Ralph-Alexander Neumüller, published in Tales of Science II, edited by Marianne Labisch und Kiran Ramakrishnan, p.machinery
“Living Nightlights” by Lisa-Viktoria Niederberger, published in Klimazukünfte 2050. Wie werden wir leben?, edited by Fritz Heidorn and Sylvia Mlynek, Hirnkost Verlag
“Die Amazone” (The Amazon) by Michael Pfrommer, published in Vom Filme schmieden. Und anderen Träumen, edited by Patrick A. Kompio und Sebastian Fesser, Independently published
“Blumen für Lisa-9” (Flowers for Lisa‑9) by Uwe Post, published in EXODUS 49, edited by René Moreau, Heinz Wipperfürth and Hans Jürgen Kugler, Eigenverlag René Moreau
“Kinderladen” (Children’s Shop) by Jol Rosenberg, published in Queer*Welten 15, edited by Judith Vogt, Lena Richter und Heike Knopp-Sullivan, Ach je Verlag
“Metanoq” by Maximilian Wust, published in NOVA 37, p.machinery
