Berlin-based publisher InterKontinental has won the 2025 German Publishing Prize, awarded by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Culture and Media. The recognition comes four years after the press launched with an ambitious mission: to make African and Afrodiasporic writing central to the German literary landscape.

Founded in 2021 by Karla Kutzner, Stefanie Hirsbrunner, and Venice Trommer, InterKontinental publishes literary fiction and nonfiction by authors from Africa and the diaspora. The press is part of the African Book Festival Berlin and is dedicated to intercultural exchange, literary excellence, and political engagement. From the beginning, the three founders insisted that literature is not neutral terrain, each title they publish asks readers to confront histories of colonialism and power.

“This award affirms that what we do—bringing African and Afrodiasporic voices into German literature—is socially and politically urgent,” says Kutzner. “But prizes alone don’t build the future. Without structural, state-supported funding, diversity risks becoming a marketing slogan rather than a lived literary practice.”

For the women behind the press, the prize is both celebration and challenge. While they welcome the recognition, they emphasize that awards are no substitute for structural change.

“Every book we publish is a contribution to the conversation about who gets to speak, to remember and who gets to be heard,” says Hirsbrunner, a political scientist by training. “Literature is participation. It’s not luxury—it’s access.”

The team insists that sustainable support must follow symbolic gestures. “The German Publishing Prize is important,” Kutzner adds, “but we need more than applause. We need policies that make diversity viable—so that literature in Germany can remain open, plural, and democratic.”

InterKontinental’s journey connects to a larger conversation about how African literature circulates in Europe. At the publisher’s launch in 2021, Brittle Paper founder Dr. Ainehi Edoro served as Guest of Honor. In her keynote, she called for a new literary infrastructure that would allow African stories to breathe within the European book world. Four years later, that vision feels increasingly tangible.

The success of InterKontinental represents more than a milestone for a single press. It’s evidence that African literature, when given space, transforms the cultural imagination of nations.

Congratulations to Karla Kutzner, Stefanie Hirsbrunner, Venice Trommer, and the entire InterKontinental team on this well-deserved recognition!