In this class, we will read short stories and novels that have been published in the last years including the work of the 2021 German book prize winner. These texts are not yet part of a canon and their place in literary history is far from settled. This affords us a liberty of judgment and at the same time allows us to observe the journalistic discourse - reviews, radio, and television features - as it develops its aesthetic criteria. The seminar then pursues at least three goals: first, to familiarize you with the ‘literature of now,' the narrative techniques and concerns (are there any thematic or formal trends we could tentatively identify?); second, to explore how the German ‘literary apparatus' functions (publishers, prizes, press and so on), and third, to develop analytical (and conceptual) tools that can meet these newest literary texts eye to eye. The texts that will concern us are the following (and in the following order in case you want to get a head start!): Terézia Mora, "Die Liebe unter Aliens" (Erzählung) (2016), Esther Becker, Wie die Gorillas (2021), David Wagner, Vier Äpfel (2009), Thomas Kunst, Zandschower Klinken (2021), Shida Bazyar, Drei Kameradinnen (2021), Antje Rávik Strubel, Die Blaue Frau (2021). You are expected to read these books over the course of the semester. Most of them are available as eBooks, through our library or interlibrary loan.