It all begins with a death: at the age of 38, Édouard Louis’ brother – a talented craftsman who was addicted to alcohol – dies as a result of his drinking. In his new novel, Louis therefore returns once again to the village of his childhood and tells of class,
Two International Booker Prize winners, two novels about social change: in »Our City that Year« [tr. Daisy Rockwell], Geetanjali Shree processes the destruction of a mosque in Ayodhya, India, by religious extremists in 1992 to create a polyphonic portrait of a fractured society. In »Celestial Bodies« [tr. Marilyn Booth], Jokha
»In the midst of war, there is only the white heat of the moment,« writes Margaret Atwood in the foreword to Victoria Amelina’s posthumously published book »Looking at Women. Looking at the War«. The Ukrainian journalist and author was killed in 2023 in a Russian missile attack. In her memory,
Many were and are lonely, especially during the pandemic – with younger people particularly affected. Many boys and men are affected but rarely talk about it. Their withdrawal often goes unnoticed and unheard. What roles do friendship, gaming, media, and socialization play, and is it possible to help oneself –
Who wants to know what the future of literature sounds like? Five prize winners of the Berliner Festspiele’s Treffen junger Autor:innen present their most recent work. With humor, sharp wit, and surreal imagery – sometimes poetically, sometimes hyperrealistically, always personal. They tell stories in both prose and poem of haunted
Escuta! ¡Escucha! Literary voices from Berlin’s Latin American community share their work at the ilb. Spanish and Portuguese contemporary texts showcase its diversity, conversations open spaces, and words resonate. Direct, vibrant, and collective – a multilingual evening, created in collaboration between the community and ilb. Berlin writes, Berlin listens, Berlin
How does one advocate for humanity and human rights under dictatorial regimes? Nobel laureates Irina Scherbakova and Svetlana Alexievich know from personal experience. For over forty years, they have given a voice to those who remain unheard across the former Soviet states – and have themselves faced repression as a
A raft made of gold, flutes carved from palm, and a thin sheet of museum paper – in »Suspended Waters«, Colombian writer-researcher Eliana Hernández-Pachón traces the stories of plant-based objects from the Humboldt Forum’s collection. Her poetic essay shows what plants can reveal and what they can conceal. As part
Donald Trump is back – and with him, renewed concern about the future of American democracy. What does his second term mean for the United States’ self-image and its global role? Author Jamaica Kincaid, historian William Hitchcock, and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Elizabeth Kolbert discuss deepening sociatal divides, political power struggles,
Our heroine is called Fajr and Aube – she uses two names and two languages. One for the outside world and one reserved for herself and her unwanted, unborn child, whom she calls Houri – Houri like the virgins in paradise. Aube has been mute since her throat was cut
What will our world look like after we are gone? What will we leave behind, and what will manage just fine without us? Writer Rubášová and illustrator Janíček present a robot adventure through a posthuman United States: The mechanical protagonists traverse forests, caves, and cities in ruins. The elegant prose
Discussion, Reading with picture-book-cinema, Live-Illustration, Q&A Foxes are known as fearsome hunters, with rabbits, chickens, and mice among their usual prey. But not Schnitzel the Fox—he much prefers juicy watermelons. When he hears about the legendary parties in the Valley of the Vegetarians, he knows he has to go! But
