Literature Biedermann and Elmiger write unusual bestsellers
Nelio Biedermann trumps all: his novel "Lázár" is the best-selling novel in bookshops in German-speaking Switzerland in 2025. Dorothee Elmiger, winner of the Swiss Book Prize, follows in fifth place. Successes that are unusual for various reasons.
31.12.2025, 11:13
31.12.2025, 11:14
SDA
The number one is a family saga, a journey through the 20th century - written by an author born in 2003: with "Lázár", Nelio Biedermann relegates established bestselling authors such as Martin Suter and Dan Brown to second place. This is shown by the annual bestseller list of the Swiss Booksellers and Publishers Association (SBVV) in the hardcover fiction category.
It is also worth noting that "Lázár" was only published at the beginning of September, meaning it only took four months to reach the top spot. At the end of the year, Biedermann was at the top of the bestseller list for seven weeks.
In fifth place is an adventurous book, thematically dark and formally daring: in "Die Holländerinnen", Dorothee Elmiger traces the disappearance of two female tourists in the tropical rainforest and packs it into a retelling in indirect speech. The novel is also full of individual stories that fit into the overall plot. It was published in mid-August.
Elmiger can look back on five weeks in which "Die Holländerinnen" was the best-selling book in its category. Last fall, she was the first Swiss author ever to win the German and Bavarian Book Prize before the Swiss one. From then on, "Die Holländerinnen" began to climb the bestseller list.
"Success cannot be planned"
After Biedermann's "Lázár" was published on September 1, the media was full of portraits and reviews for weeks. There was also a great deal of interest in the young author from Zurich, who is publishing his first novel with the prestigious Rowohlt publishing house in Berlin. In addition, "Lázár" was published almost simultaneously in 20 countries.
Is the novel's success ultimately just the result of clever marketing? "I would be wary of making such a claim," says Tanja Messerli, Managing Director of the SBCA, to the Keystone-SDA news agency. Biedermann had written the book he wanted to write and it had been well received by the public.
After more than 30 years in the book trade, she knows: "Success cannot be planned." You can have a "flair", but "there's also a lot of luck involved".
"A small miracle"
Dorothee Elmiger's latest book was probably even harder to predict as a bestseller. Like her previous works, "Die Holländerinnen" is an exploratory text that leaves questions unanswered and breaks with reading expectations. But the work of the 40-year-old native of Appenzell, who lives in New York, has been positively reviewed by critics - and, as the three book prizes show, also appreciated by the juries.
"For me, this book is a small miracle," says Tanja Messerli from SBVV. "It's unusual for such a condensed, multi-layered work to reach a wide audience." She believes that blaming the book prices entirely for this is too short-sighted.
"The book picks up a lot of readers who keep it in conversation." During the Christmas sales, "Die Holländerinnen" was number one on the bestseller list for three weeks.
High Swiss representation
Other books, such as those by Graubünden author Philipp Gurt ("Engadiner Teufel" and "Todesengel"), who is represented twice in the top 10, generate less enthusiasm in the press, but reliably find their audience. Like second-placed Martin Suter ("Wut und Liebe") and sixth-placed Christine Brand ("Vermisst - der Fall Emily"), Gurt is a regular on the Swiss-German annual bestseller list.
As is the case every year, crime thrillers, often with a regional flair, feature particularly often. There are a total of six Swiss authors in the top ten places, the same number as in 2024.
With Diogenes, Kampa and Dörlemann, three Swiss publishers are also represented in the top 10. All three are based in Zurich, although Kampa took over Dörlemann in 2024 but continues to run it as a separate company.
"A very good year in terms of content"
For Tanja Messerli, 2025 was a "very good year in terms of content". The financial year in the book trade is not quite over yet, Messerli predicts "a black zero". In view of the strong competition from various entertainment offerings, this is not a bad result.
The book is holding its own in a digitalized society. "Expressing yourself, writing, writing poetry, that's a basic need for people all over the world," says Messerli. "People like Dorothee Elmiger and Nelio Biedermann can be role models for their young fans in particular. "*
*This text by Ramon Juchli, Keystone-SDA, was realized with the help of the Gottlieb and Hans Vogt Foundation.
