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

Guardian Angels

Guardian Angels_ilb17©Nadifa Mohamed

Hosting Project – Become a Guardian Angel!

Dear friends of arts & letters,

The festival team at the international literature festival berlin is currently preparing for the arrival of over 200 guests from all over the world who will come to Berlin for two weeks of readings, discussions, and debates.

This year, we would like to again provide these authors with hosts who will welcome them to Berlin. The guests will enjoy a unique opportunity to be shown the festival city by Berlin locals.

The sponsorship offers you the opportunity to get to know “your author” and their literary work. It is meant to be a means of cultural exchange and to give the festival’s guests a chance to immerse themselves in Berlin city life in a friendly, personal, and perhaps even family-like atmosphere.

Show the guests the side of Berlin that you enjoy the most. You might offer them a city tour, take them to secret places, or plan a culinary tour of your neighborhood – whatever appeals most to you.

What you do with the guest and how much time you spend together depends on the guest’s schedule and interests. During the festival, there will be a fixed meeting point to make it easier for our “Angels” and authors to come together.

Anyone can become an Angel, provided that the following criteria are met:

  • You live in Berlin and know the city well
  • You are over 18 years of age
  • You are in Berlin during the festival from September 9-19, 2020
  • You are dependable, organized, and punctual
  • You speak German, English, or an additional language
  • You are willing to take part in a preparatory meeting shortly prior to the festival

Are you interested in becoming a host? Then send us an email to guardianangels@literaturfestival.com by August 23rd with the following information:

  1. Last name, first name, age
  2. E-Mail + cell phone number
  3. Language skills
  4. Availability during the festival (days + times)
  5. Occupation / activities
  6. Ideas/suggestions for excursions/activities
  7. Would you like to subscribe to the ilb newsletter?

If you are chosen as a Guardian Angel, we will show our appreciation with free tickets for five festival events.


We look forward to your support!

We are happy to answer any additional questions.

Guardian Angels say:

“My encounter with the author was very positive! I took a stroll with my author through Wilmersdorf and Kreuzberg. I expected to learn more about my author’s homeland and the people who live there. These expectations were met to my complete satisfaction.” 

Rebecca Weber

“I am really happy with the selection of ‘my’ authors, since I had already heard of both.” 

Katharina Goetze

“For us Angels, it is a wonderful opportunity to personally get to know an author and spend a few hours with them talking about their books. In the best case, you spend this time with your ‘preferred author’, but even the ones you don’t yet know can be absolutely fantastic new discoveries.”

Thea Geinitz

“My expectations were more than fulfilled. Conversations from author to author, learning interesting things about a colleague from another country. The afternoon and evening with Martin Winckler were fantastic, we got along very well!”

Oliver Bottini

“It was like drawing lots. I didn’t draw a blank. No, I didn’t stand at the Berlin airport in cold September to fetch him dressed in a bikini and draped in a 1,60 m-long wings. When he saw me in my black turtleneck, he grinned and said: ‘I always imagined my guardian angel to look like this!’ After the reading, he wanted to treat 200 people to drinks, but I gave them the finger and we dashed away into the night.”

Anka Dahlem

Oliver Bottini