Writer Clemens Meyer scolds book prize jury

The writer Clemens Meyer (47) is furious with the jury after receiving the German Book Prize in Frankfurt. "I shouted that it was a disgrace for literature that my book didn't win the prize," he said in an interview with the magazine "Der Spiegel", describing his reaction at the award ceremony.

Meyer had left the ceremony on Monday when it was announced that it was not his work that had won the prestigious award, but Monika Hefter's book "Hey guten Morgen, wie geht es dir?". As the author told Der Spiegel, he wanted to continue writing literature, but he was done with the German Book Prize: "I say: never again. This nervous tension is too much for me."

And: "If I was number one on the bestseller list now, I would have 100,000 new readers and could pay off my debts. I would be rid of my financial worries for a while." According to the author, he currently has to finance a divorce and has accumulated 35,000 euros in tax debt.

The German Book Prize is considered one of the most important awards in the industry and was awarded for the 20th time. The seven-member jury reviewed 197 novels from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In addition to Hefter and Meyer, the finalists included Maren Kames ("Hasenprosa"), Ronya Othmann ("Vierundsiebzig"), Markus Thielemann ("Von Norden rollt ein Donner") and Iris Wolff ("Lichtungen").

Meyer, who was born in Halle/Saale in 1977 and lives in Leipzig, was in the final round with his book "Die Projektoren". His earlier work "Im Stein" was shortlisted for the German Book Prize in 2013. The 47-year-old has already been awarded more than 20 literary prizes. In 2008, he won the Leipzig Book Fair Prize for his short story collection "Die Nacht, die Lichter".