Shida Bazyar wins Wilhelm Raabe Literature Prize for ‘Die Lücken’

Author Shida Bazyar has been awarded the 2026 Wilhelm Raabe Literature Prize for her novel ‘Die Lücken’ (The Gaps). The award, which includes a prize of 30,000 euros, is sponsored by the city of Braunschweig and Deutschlandfunk.

Set in the fictional Hunsrück town of Heimesbach, the novel spans 90 years of German history. The jury praised the work for creating ‘one of the most explosive novels of our time,’ noting its ability to weave together historical and fictional material. The narrative explores individual involvement in Holocaust crimes and the gradual normalization of antisemitism, disenfranchisement, and exclusion from the 1920s through to the present day.

Through various perspectives—ranging from Jewish families and Nazi profiteers to modern Iranian refugee families—the book examines the mechanisms of reinterpreting and relativizing political and local history. The award ceremony is scheduled for November 7 at the Kleines Haus of the Braunschweig State Theatre.