The debut novel has been shortlisted for the ›Bayerische Buchpreis 2017‹. The prize is awarded by the Bavarian Publisher and Booksellers Association and supported by the Bavarian State Ministry of Economics and the Media and is endowed with 10’000 Euros. The award ceremony will take place in Munich in November 2017.

The biographical novel about William James Sidis spent 6 weeks on the Spiegel Bestseller List and has received rave reviews by the press:

»...so gripping that you do not want to put it down even after the first page. [...] The author weaves a magnificent novel of development.«
Annette Bruhns / Spiegel Wissen, Hamburg

»Klaus Cäsar Zehrer wrote a fabulous novel, clever and thrilling.«
Alexander Kissler / Cicero Literaturen, Berlin

»This well-researched and brilliantly fictionalised debut novel is an engrossing read. […] This is an eloquent, clever and poignant book which will enthral a wide range of readers.«
New Books in German, London

»The Genius is an impressive biographic story, surprisingly densely told on more than 650 pages, a more than successful debut novel.«
Peter Budig / Nürnberger Nachrichten

»A great joy to read – researched in an outstanding way, told in a virtuoso manner and explosive in terms of social policy.«
Brigitte Woman, Hamburg