24th ilb
5 – 14 Sep 2024 Program
9 – 18 Sep 2024 Young Program

23rd ilb Day 5 – Salman Rushdie, Luisa Neubauer, Mohammed Alnaas

Dear audience,

»Puritanism, I am afraid, is always with us« – the first festival week ended yesterday with Salman Rushdie’s live performance via broadcast at the Berliner Ensemble. In conversation with Daniel Kehlmann, Rushdie spoke about his latest novel »Victory City« and gave insights into its making.
In the morning, Armin Nassehi, Luisa Neubauer and Lora Anne Viola spoke about challenges to our democracy in the Kuppelhalle of silent green.

Armin Nassehi, Luisa Neubauer, Rainald Manthe, Lora Anne Viola (from left to right) © Charlotte Kunstmann

Here, in the evening, the German Prize for Nature Writing was awarded to Susanne Eules. Head of the ilb Program Simone Schröder welcomed the audience on behalf of the festival, literary critic Beate Tröger gave a eulogy, and Claudia Roth, Minister of State for Culture and Media, also attended the event and delivered a welcoming speech.
At the Collegium Hungaricum, Elisabeth Plessen wittily introduced us to her novel »The Woman in the Trees« alongside Alexander Lehnert.

Elisabeth Plessen
Elisabeth Plessen reads from »The Woman in the Trees« © Sydney Noemi Stein

»The only thing I have left is my art« – Victoria Lomasko

Irina Rastorgueva and Victoria Lomasko spoke to Vladimir Velminski about the situation of Russian artists in exile.

Irina Rastorgueva, Vladimir Velminski, Victoria Lomasko
Irina Rastorgueva, Vladimir Velminski, Victoria Lomasko © Sydney Noemi Stein
Irina Rastorgueva and Nora Mengel
Irina Rastorgueva and Programm-Manager and Head of ilbDigital Nora Mengel © Sydney Noemi Stein

»I wrote a story about a man that shouldn’t have a story« –Mohammed Alnaas

The evening concluded with a reading by IPAF laureate Mohammed Alnaas and sold-out book tables of Elizabeth Duval’s »After Trans. Sex, Gender and the Left« at the Instituto Cervantes.

Mohammed Alnaas and Katharine Halls
Mohammed Alnaas and Katharine Halls © Sydney Noemi Stein
Benito Bause
Benito Bause reads from »Bread on Uncle Milad’s Table« © Sydney Noemi Stein