Berlin  - Julia Franck, the prize-winning German novelist whose harrowing book The Blind Side of the Heart appeared in English this year, denied Wednesday she was campaigning for Social Democrat Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Germany's election.

It was the second rebuff in two days for Steinmeier for Chancellor, a group that rounds up lists of celebrity supporters for his challenge to Chancellor Angela Merkel at the September 27 polls.

Senta Berger, an actress who is president of the Germany Film Academy, said Tuesday she had not authorized the use of her name on a list of Steinmeier supporters from the world of the arts.

Franck, 39, said in Frankfurt that Steinmeier for Chancellor had published online a video of her complimenting the German foreign minister, but took this down from their website a month ago.

She said she had been presented as a Steinmeier supporter without her approval and did not wish to be used in that role. She said she regularly rejected appeals from any political party to campaign for them.

Franck won the German Book Prize, the principal German prize for novelists, in 2007, and her books have been translated into numerous languages. The Blind Side of the Heart describes the horrors of a German woman's life before and during the Second World War.

The previous day, Steinmeier for Chancellor apologized to Berger for using her name in a pro-Steinmeier newspaper advertisement without her consent. Berger, who termed herself pro-SPD, said she felt abused and called it a "disgrace."

Steinmeier's campaign has only managed to slightly close a big gap in support compared with Christian Democratic Union leader Merkel, who is expected to remain in office at the head of another coalition government. dpa