Berlin, Bremen, Göttingen, March 11, 2026
The Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) actively misled the three bookstores excluded from the German Bookstore Prize. In an email dated February 10, 2026, for which the BKM is responsible, to the bookstores, it states: “Unfortunately, I must inform you that you were not selected for an award by the independent jury. Given the very high quality of the applications, the jury did not take its decision lightly. The decision made therefore in no way diminishes our high regard for your great commitment.”
In its statement of March 9, 2026, the jury clarified that it had intended to award the prize to the three bookstores. The subsequent decision to exclude the three bookstores from the award was made by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) and was outside the jury's control.
“Such a lie as in the rejection email to the bookstores is cowardly and unworthy of a Federal Commissioner for Culture and Media. Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer has not only damaged the bookstore prize but also his own office. We are now also considering filing a complaint with the Federal Chancelleryregarding official misconduct,” explained attorney Sven Adam, representing the Rote Straße bookstore (Göttingen), regarding the new information revealed by the jury's statement.
The Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) falsely claimed that the booksellers had not been selected by the jury for the prestigious bookstore prize. Had a whistleblower not exposed the events, the bookstores would still be under the mistaken impression that the expert jury had decided against them. "The impression arises that Weimer and his agency lied to avoid public scrutiny and judicial review," explains attorney Voigt, representing the "Golden Shop" bookstore (Bremen).
Meanwhile, it has also come to light that two of the three excluded bookstores had even been awarded the title of "particularly outstanding bookstores" and received a prize of €15,000. These are the Golden Shop bookstore (Bremen) and the Rote Straße bookstore (Göttingen). "This has not only increased the amount in dispute in the lawsuits, but it also makes it clear that the Federal Commissioner has absolutely no respect for the expert jury," continued attorney Voigt.
Since yesterday, lawsuits against theFederal Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) have also been pending before the administrative courts in Berlin and Cologne. "With our lawsuits, we want to have it legally established that the data transfers between the Federal Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution were unlawful. The application of the Haber procedure sends a message to every bookstore, every publisher, every cultural institution in this country: Be careful what you put in your window. Think carefully about whom you invite. Be cautious when applying for funding. The exchange of data promotes a creeping self-censorship that is incompatible with freedom of expression and of the press," concludes attorney Dr. Jasper Prigge, who represents the bookstore "Zur schwankenden Weltkugel" (Berlin).
In addition to the numerous offers of support from politics, society, and especially the book trade, a fundraising campaign to financially support the legal proceedings of the three bookstores has been running since the weekend at https://lesen-hilft.org/ . The website states: "This campaign is more than just financial support. It is a sign that independent book culture is important."
For press inquiries:
Attorney Sven Adam (Göttingen) – +49 (0) 551 488 31 69 – kontakt@anwaltskanzlei-adam.de
Attorney Dr. Jasper Prigge (Düsseldorf) – +49 (0) 211 4174 89 90 – kontakt@prigge-recht.de
Attorney Lea Voigt (Bremen) – +49 (0) 421 335 16 78 – voigt@strafdefender-bremen.de
For the bookstores: Bookstore Rote Straße (Göttingen), Golden Shop (Bremen), Bookstore zur schwankenden Weltkugel (Berlin)
The rejection emails from the BMK dated February 10, 2026 can be found here:
