Does nonfiction appeal to the readers for whom it was written? Can such books provide the "common ground" for a democratic culture of debate? Or do they merely contribute to the consolidation of existing opinions? What chance do non-mainstream topics have within publishing houses, and is a long-term discourse even possible in the fast-moving book market? Do "old" topics need to be reworked in order to become relevant again? And what role does science play in social change - can books really mobilize people and opinions?

That's what we'll be talking about with political scientist Astrid Séville (Professor at Leuphana University Lüneburg), communication scientist Shota Gelovani (Fellow at THE NEW INSTITUTE), Peter Kraus vom Cleff (Managing Director of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels) and Ulrich Kühn (Head of the Arts and Cultural Journalism Department at NDR Kultur).

The evening will be hosted by Jan Ehlert, who also presents the NDR Non-Fiction Prize and is known as one of the hosts of the podcast eat.READ.sleep. Of course, we will also present the eight nominated titles for the German Non-Fiction Prize. The winner will be announced the following day at the Elbphilharmonie.

The event is organized in cooperation with the Felix Jud Bookstore.