Marian Blasberg

Marian Blasberg was selected for the 2026 Shortlist with A Daring Escape from China to the U.S. via the Darién Gap.

Marian Blasberg was born in Düsseldorf, where he later studied philosophy and literature. In 2004/05, he attended the Deutsche Journalistenschule in Munich. From 2006 to 2014, he worked as a reporter for Die Zeit. Since 2014, he has been a staff writer at DER SPIEGEL and is now based in Rio de Janeiro.

Christoph Giesen

Christoph Giesen was selected for the 2026 Shortlist with A Daring Escape from China to the U.S. via the Darién Gap.

Christoph Giesen was born in Berlin. Since August 2025, he has been DER SPIEGEL‘s correspondent in London. Before that, he reported from Beijing. From 2010 to 2022, he worked for the Süddeutsche Zeitung. He studied journalism, political science, and “China in Comparative Perspective” in Leipzig, Shanghai, and at the London School of Economics. He is co-author of the book “The Chinese Phantom: The Hunt for the World’s Most Dangerous Arms Dealer”.