The Young Storyteller Award 2024 in Cologne: Short Stories, Big Emotions
- Julia Radi
- Oct 16, 2024
- 11 min read
Updated: Feb 21
Behind every great story there is a great person.
An evening full of excitement, humor and depth: There was a lot to laugh and a lot to cry about. This was the finale of the Young Storyteller Award 2024. When the last customers left the Thalia bookstore on Neumarkt in Cologne on October 11, 2024 at 8:00 p.m., the evening only just began. All eyes turned to the stage, which was surrounded by musical instruments, microphones and chairs. Only one chair was empty: The chair on which the finalists would sit for five minutes each. Just five minutes to share the most important things about yourself, read a passage from the nominated book and make an unforgettable impression on the audience and the jury.
What is at stake? Well, on the one hand there is the prize money of €43,000 and three mentoring programs offered by the organizers story.one and Thalia. On the other hand, it was about the stories themselves: A once in a lifetime opportunity to see your story printed and tell it in your own voice.
I feel grateful to have been an audience member of the finale of the Young Storyteller Awards 2024. Were you there? What lessons can you take away from the experience? Would you like to be there next year? Have you written or read any of the stories? More than 3,000 stories were submitted! Let me know in the comments or send me an email. In this blog post I am sharing the experience with you so that you can (re)live this unforgettable evening.
Table of Contents
The Storytellers
Let's start with the heart of the competition: The young voices who inspire us with their stories. Through a selection process, 15 contributions from more than 3,000 submissions were selected for the finale. On October 11, 2024, the time had come: The books were printed and lovingly displayed for the public to admire and buy. After months of writing, waiting and hoping, it was finally time to receive the attention and recognition they deserved.
The top 15 entries corresponded to the eleven finalists, as well as three special prizes for the most beautiful design and a special prize for the most innovative idea. While the awarding of the special prizes was already decided before the evening, the competition for the first three places was just beginning. Eleven storytellers and the jury members sat in the front row, eagerly waiting for their turn.
We clapped enthusiastically to receive each new person on stage. But as we said goodbye, the applause became even louder and more enthusiastic, because we now knew who we were celebrating and why we were celebrating them. It was like magic: Within a few minutes, perhaps even a few sentences, a single person can light up an entire room and captivate a crowd with their personality, their story and their cause. The atmosphere was charged with emotions. Each person who boldly stepped into the spotlight was completely different from the one before, but they all had one thing in common: They knew the magic of storytelling.
I'm sure that by now, you are just as eager to hear the stories as I was at the beginning of the evening. The titles were presented in alphabetical order. Even though it took two hours, the time flew by. Each performance included a short reading from one's own book. I enjoy writing reviews of books I've read. In this case, however, I will briefly describe my impression of the readings. You can also listen to them yourself, as story.one made an audio recording of the event. If you would like a complete overview of the participating storytellers and their books, here is the link to the Thalia website:
The books represent a wide variety of genres. Three books particularly captured my attention because of the life stories of the authors. These stories were told with such heartbreaking candor and emotion that we could all empathize with them. Each of the following books stands on its own in advocating for a particular group in our society:
“Schwarz ist eine Farbe" (Translation: Black is a Color). According to the blurb by Mila Engeln, this volume of poetry was written “For Her. For Him. For Them. For You.” It is a unique contribution to the finale in two ways. First, “Schwarz ist eine Farbe” is the only work of poetry (rather than prose). The genre “notes app poetry” is contemporary and currently attracts thousands of readers on social media platforms. Do you also feel the desire to see the verses that remain in your mind and heart on paper in front of you instead of just on a tiny screen? Mila Engeln's words are moving and unforgettable. She is a strong advocate for mental health and the LGBTQIA+ community. We have to be brave and use our voice because many people don't have this opportunity. In her reading and appearance in front of the audience, Mila Engels gave these important topics a voice. You can read more about this in the book “Schwarz ist eine Farbe”.
“Die kleine Dolmetscherin” (translation: The Little Interpreter) is a personal story by Anahid Naziri, which describes how Anahid, as a ten-year-old child, fled to Austria with her mother and took on the role of her interpreter. After the reading, I realized with frightening clarity that there is much more to interpreting than pure translation. In a critical moment, one wrong answer can change everything.
The reading was breathtaking, tense and highly emotional. Of all the stories, it was the one I wanted to hear from start to finish right then. The value of a self-spoken audio book is invaluable, especially when it comes to biographical descriptions. The reading ended with a cliffhanger. The book addresses very serious social issues. For anyone who fears a bad end to the story, I can at least reassure you that, in her own words, Anahid Naziri has gone from being the little interpreter to the grown-up interpreter.
The performance was very moving, strong and impressive. This was Anahid's plea: If you are in a situation where a child is translating for a parent, please remember that they are still a child. The pressure and responsibility of interpreting is huge, and a child who has to take it on will be forced to grow up too quickly.
Personally, I think that the authority figures who confront a child in an already difficult situation can either reduce the pressure or increase it a hundredfold. The level of consideration and empathy you show someone can change their life forever - for better or for worse.
“Horch mal, Mama!” (tranlation: Listen, Mom!) by Nina Porsinger is also a book that tells a personal story from the author's life. Nina Porsinger shares her experiences as a mother with us. Her hope is that the book “Horch mal, Mama!” will reach other parents whose children are affected by deafness or hearing loss. After years of experience, Nina Porsinger was able to write a moving and emotional report that contains valuable information for parents in a similar situation. It is the first German book written by and for parents about the cochlear implant, hearing aids, decision-making processes, sign language and social acceptance. The moving quote we can all take away from the talk is: “If someone does not accept your daughter for who she is, then she does not need that person in her life.” (Paraphrasing a quote from Nina Porsinger.)
The next four stories are based on the life situations of real people or mythological figures:
Janine Bürkner's “Das letzte Hemd hat keine Taschen" is a report of a lengthy inheritance dispute. (Translation: The Last Shirt Has No Pockets refers to the idiom "to give somebody the shirt off one's back".)
Hella Michelmann illustrates the ups and downs of backpacking in “Geh nicht reisen”. (Translation: Don’t Go Traveling.)
In “Natürlich ohne Butter” Marcella Mair describes a day of chaotic, improvised everyday life. (Translation: Without Butter, Of Course refers to the public debate of the question whether chocolate spread should be applied to bread with or without butter.)
Lorenz Huber cordially invites us to optimistically look for the things in life that motivate us to get back up when we fall. The book is called "Sisyphus hat keinen Bock mehr" (Translation: Sisyphus Has Had Enough). Every person has to find their own thing that will give them strength and motivation to keep rolling their personal boulder up the mountain. Sometimes we are so lost in what we are doing that we can't see anything beyond the boulder. If we look at something else, our thinking will expand. And when times are really hard, can we allow ourselves to believe that the meaning of life could lie in being? Can we allow ourselves to just be?
I recommend these books to those who are interested in a profound but charming analysis of the topics in question.
Four of the books are fictional texts that could shine as a longer book or as part of a series:
Night Law by Iris Hannesen was the only book read in English. I admire the creativity and professionalism with which the book was written. The fictional world, whose population is divided into a “day shift” and a “night shift” to save living space, offers almost endless opportunities for social criticism. Of all the entries, this was the book that I can most easily imagine as a novel with several hundred pages.
In “Massenhysterie für Anfänger” (translation: Mass Hysteria for Beginners) Stella Krückeberg tells the bizarre story of a man who escapes onto a plastic garbage patch after a getting lost at sea. Even more bizarre, however, is the reaction of society, which proceeds to happily throw plastic into the sea "to help the shipwrecked." This book takes a critical look at a society that places more value on trends than on little things like the climate crisis, nature conservation or logic.
Joseph Singer's “Deserve: Jeder bekommt, was er verdient” (translation: Deserve: Everyone Gets What They Deserve) presents a fascinating thought experiment. Joseph, who is planning to open a vegetarian snack bar with his wife, invites the audience to the fictional restaurant “Deserve”. The magical promise of the chef at “Deserve” is this: You will be served a meal that is tailored to your preferences, tastes and needs in every way. It will be exactly what you deserve - for better or for worse. Would you dare to try it? (Disclaimer: As also noted by the host, I am referring exclusively to the fictional restaurant “Deserve”. I hope that the vegetarian snack bar will be a success. The only thing that will be magical about it is how delicious the food tastes. As a vegan person, I personally hope for a few vegan options.)
Kate Donner transports us to 1888's Scotland. Loch Lomond lies in the middle of a foggy and shadowy landscape. The mermaid Lorena lives there. Can she stay away from the human world or will dark machinations continue to draw her in? Kate Donner mentioned thriller and true crime as the genre of this book. If you like dark stories in an atmospheric, supernatural setting, “Gesang der Ertrunkenen” (translation: Song of the Drowned) might be your cup of tea.
The Event and the Award Ceremony
On to the big question of the evening: Who will reach the top three places? Prize money ranging from €5,000 to €20,000 was at stake, as well as three mentoring programs. The winners of the last Young Storyteller Awards were not only present on stage, but also in the jury. They announced that they donated a large portion of the prize money to humanitarian aid for people affected by the earthquake in Turkey. Again, some finalists said that they would donate the prize money to charity. This shows that the storytellers not only want to tell moving stories, but also make a difference in the world. Isn't that heart touching?
Before the end of the grand finale, it should be emphasized once again that the Young Storyteller Award is not a normal writing competition! It is not enough to send a text to the jury and have this text evaluated on its own merits. No, the overall package counts in the Young Storyteller Award. To participate, you need an intriguing title, an innovative idea, a fascinating topic, a professionally designed cover, a blurb, an author photo and an inspiring biography! The design and idea are so important that special prizes were awarded for it. "4 Minuten" (translation: 4 Minutes) by Marie C. Caesar was considered to be the most innovative book. The spezial prizes for the best design were awarded to "All die Dinge, die ich nicht bereue" (Translation: All the Things I Do Not Regret, Author: Sarah Urbanski), "Damals in Nordkorea 1952 - 1953" (Translation: Back Then in North Korea, Author: Ailun Jiang) and "The Flowing Solitude of Elowen Ashwood"(Carya Fee).
The Young Storyteller Award is characterized by the fact that your story can appear as a book in the sales catalog of the bookseller Thalia. The booklets measure approximately 20.9 × 13.2 × 0.9 cm and are around 70 pages long. The 15 books that were included in the finale on October 11th were available for sale near the stage. The event was wonderfully organized. I would like to thank the team at story.one and Thalia for their generosity. The hosting, catering and music were excellent. In my opinion, it would have been helpful to announce the schedule online or 15 minutes in advance. Surprisingly, the event lasted over two hours without a break and the location of the exit was unclear. Otherwise, everything was very well organized.
Who was the winner? That was a very good question. The results were so close that the points were counted three times. The musical performance was interrupted a few times by the humorous question “Is the result already there? And how about now?”. Finally the result was confirmed and everyone was eagerly waiting for it to be announced. It was:
Place: Stella Krückeberg, “Massenhysterie für Anfänger”
Place: Anahid Naziri, “Die kleine Dolmetscherin”
Place: Mila Engeln, “Schwarz ist eine Farbe”
In my opinion, these contributions deserve the recognition and awards. While “Schwarz ist eine Farbe” and “Die kleine Dolmetscherin” are particularly touching and emotional stories, “Massenhysterie für Anfänger” is a charming, humorous and perceptive social satire. What all of the evening's performances have in common is that each person bravely ventured onto the stage to share not only their book, but also their deepest motivations, individual experiences and personality with us, the audience.
Schlussgedanken
The Young Storyteller Award is a very special experience for everyone who loves telling or listening to stories. The books are published with the addition “Life is a story”. I would like to thank all the storytellers for the unforgettable moments they created on the pages and on stage. I appreciate individuality, inspiration and creativity and align the content of my blog with these values. The experience of being part of the Young Storyteller Award 2024 was very enriching and that is why I would like to illustrate and immortalize it in this post.
When I enter a bookstore, I ask myself: "Am I retreating from the world or am I experiencing the world even more intensively, deeply and comprehensively than I could outside of books? Are stories a retreat that offers refuge from reality or are they arenas in which I learn more about the world?" The Young Storyteller Award offers me this answer: Stories are an insight into another person's world. And what kind of people are they? After attending countless book fairs, Instagram Lives, podcasts and events for authors, I learned this:
Behind every great story there is a great person.
I want to inspire people to discover their inner and outer worlds. I believe that we can learn something about ourselves through reading and listening to stories. You can find out more about my goal here.
Finally, I have four recommendations for you:
Take part in the Young Storyteller Award 2025.
Visit the event.
Until then, you can follow this year's authors on social media platforms.
Read the stories submitted to the Young Storyteller Award 2024.
How can this help you? It could help you to reach your reading and learning goals, get out of a reading slump, and give new books a home. Maybe you can just enjoy the atmosphere of such events. Furthermore, events, competitions and trade fairs offer an opportunity to find other “book people”. This could be the start of friendships, networking, or a book club.
If you share my passion for books, feel free to write me an email or read more about me and my work. My blog “Learn with Juli” is about various topics, but writing, reading and learning from books is particularly close to my heart. I am offering you inspiration and information for your reading journey and daily life. Do not miss out on my future blog posts and book reviews! They will include fiction and non-fiction books, recommendations, guides, advice, success stories and useful examples that will help you to create the daily life of your dreams.
Let’s discuss in the comments or per email: What is your personal experience with the Young Storyteller Award? What are your thoughts on this blog post? Do you have any questions, wishes or feedback? Let’s connect!
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