From 3 to 12 September 2026, Berlin will be transformed for the 26th time into a center of international contemporary literature. Under the motto \u00abYou are born with your face turned everywhere\u00bb, the International Literature Festival Berlin (ILB) brings together established and emerging voices from many parts of the world. The high-caliber festival program takes up social debates and, for the first time on a larger scale, celebrates the connection of literature with music, performance and dance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Highlights of the program include readings and conversations with Nobel Literature laureate Han<\/strong> Kang<\/strong>, Christian<\/strong> Kracht<\/strong>, Cornelia<\/strong> Funke<\/strong>, Christopher Clark<\/strong> and Dave<\/strong> Eggers<\/strong>. Numerous actors will perform German texts on stage, among them Ulrich<\/strong> Matthes<\/strong>, Martina Gedeck<\/strong> and Charly<\/strong> H\u00fcbner<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The festival brings readers and writers together. The carefully curated selection of live experiences at the ILB brings stories to life and invites exchange. More than 25,000 visitors<\/strong> will meet over 100 writers<\/strong> from around 40<\/strong> countries. 240 contributors<\/strong> from literature, music, science, and society will shape some 120 events<\/strong> \u2013 including readings, panels, performances and workshops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The festival will be ceremoniously opened on 3 September with an opening address by this year\u2019s Curator in Residence Jeet Thayil<\/strong> and a welcome speech by the festival’s patron Boualem<\/strong> Sansal<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n FESTIVAL MOTTO \u00abYOU ARE BORN WITH YOUR FACE TURNED EVERYWHERE\u00bb<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The magic of literature lies in its ability to let us step into a completely different life. This year\u2019s festival motto takes up this radical openness to new perspectives that connects readers and writers. The motto is reflected in the festival program, which crosses genre and discipline boundaries as never before: literature from prose to poetry, from graphic novel to picture book, meets jazz and chamber music, performance and dance at the 26th ILB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00abI am convinced that, in a highly connected yet bewildering world, the festival creates curated oases of attention. We want to offer our festival guests depth and invite them to turn their gaze in ever new directions.\u00bb<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n LAVINIA FREY, FESTIVAL DIRECTOR<\/p>\n\n\n\n THE FESTIVAL WITHIN THE FESTIVAL: CURATOR IN RESIDENCE JEET THAYIL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For its 26th edition, the ILB is expanding the Curator in Residence program introduced in 2024 into a festival within the festival.<\/strong> The Indian writer, poet and musician Jeet Thayil<\/strong> describes his program as a \u00abjam session\u00bb<\/strong> in which different art forms and cultures meet to spontaneously create singular stage experiences. At the heart of his ten events are collaboration, improvisation, and the singularity of artistic performance. With his guests \u2013 among them Eileen<\/strong> Myles<\/strong>, Tishani Doshi<\/strong> and Mohammed<\/strong> Hanif<\/strong> \u2013 Thayil explores the connection between writing and performance and asks about the role of artistic collaboration in a globalized world. For the first time in the festival\u2019s history, authors will also perform together with the ILB House<\/strong> Band<\/strong>, a jazz trio led by Diego<\/strong> Pi\u00f1era<\/strong>, which will create a distinctive festival atmosphere within the Curator in Residence program and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thayil, who gained international recognition with his debut novel \u00abNarcopolis\u00bb (2012), shaped the festival motto together with the ILB team. \u00abYou are born with your face turned everywhere\u00bb, a passage from the Shvetashvatara Upanishad whose English translation he reworked himself, opens his most recent novel \u00abThe Elsewhereans\u00bb (2025), in which Thayil writes about origin and belonging in a life lived between continents. This cosmopolitan outlook is the guiding idea of his programme and inspired the choice of this year\u2019s motto:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00abI love the inclusive nature of this idea. That everyone is everything. That divisions of gender and race and political\/sexual identity are secondary to our greater human identity. It\u2019s such a wise way of attending to the one life we\u2019ve been granted, and instructive to note that it was written circa the 4th century BCE.\u00bb<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n JEET THAYIL, CURATOR IN RESIDENCE<\/p>\n\n\n\n LITERARY HEADLINERS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2026, the ILB once again brings major voices of world literature to Berlin, building on the strong response to last year\u2019s anniversary program. \u00ab25 Years of World Literature\u00bb becomes \u00abLiteraturwelten\u00bb. Under this title, the festival presents five events with authors from Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America: Nobel Literature laureate Han<\/strong> Kang<\/strong>, Yvonne Adhiambo<\/strong> Owuor<\/strong>, Julia<\/strong> Fiedorczuk<\/strong>, Daniela<\/strong> Catrileo<\/strong>, Dave<\/strong> Eggers<\/strong>, Katie Kitamura<\/strong> and Christian<\/strong> Kracht<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Further highlights of the literary program include readings and conversations with international authors such as Douglas<\/strong> Stuart<\/strong>, Adania<\/strong> Shibli<\/strong>, Vigdis Hjorth<\/strong> and Amitav<\/strong> Ghosh<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DIALOGUES & DISCUSSIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Dialogues & Discussions format, the ILB invites visitors to take part in central debates of the present while looking both to the past and the future. Seven panels and two themed evenings bring a wide spectrum of views to the stage for shared discussion, doubt, dissent, and persuasion. Central themes this year include the culture of public debate in Germany and the fragility of democratic structures worldwide. The panel \u00abDer Streit um das Recht\u00bb takes up the case of the jurist Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf<\/strong> and asks just how \u00abbroken\u00bb the debate surrounding her candidacy for the Federal Constitutional Court actually was. Under the title \u00abSteht am Ende die Freiheit\u00bb, writers and activists discuss in one evening the experiences of Iranians in times of war and crisis. The renowned historian Christopher Clark<\/strong> speaks with Andreas Kossert<\/strong> about Kossert’s family history of flight and expulsion in the Polish city of Lodz. Together with author Karolina Kuszyk<\/strong>, they celebrate the premiere of Kossert\u2019s most personal book, \u00abElsas Welt\u00bb. Further events look at digital violence against women; the lived realities of East Germans whose families partly have African roots; the growing power of the tech bros; the electoral successes of right-wing populists in Germany; and the experiences of democratic activists in exile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n YOUNG PROGRAM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Young Program (6 to 16 September<\/strong>) brings young readers together with international authors and their stories. Opening speaker \u00d6zge<\/strong> Samanc\u0131<\/strong>, Cornelia<\/strong> Funke, Sydney<\/strong> Smith<\/strong>, Mareike Kr\u00fcgel<\/strong> and many other guests present picture books, children\u2019s and young adult novels as well as graphic novels at various venues across Berlin, including \u2013 alongside the Haus der Berliner Festspiele \u2013 the Theater an der Parkaue and die gelbe Villa. Well-attended readings and individual workshops form the heart of the Young Program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the first time, as part of the project \u00abJugend kuratiert\u00bb<\/strong>, young people themselves have helped decide which books will be presented at the festival. Also new this year is the Lesesause<\/strong> on 6 September at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele \u2013 a celebration for children with their families, offering, alongside readings and hands-on activities, a big concert party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n COMMON THREADS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The common threads running through this year\u2019s festival programme are environment and ecology<\/strong>; power, technology and dystopias<\/strong>; war and crisis<\/strong>; and the importance of open debate<\/strong> as a cornerstone of democratic societies. Another connecting motif is the question of origin and belonging in the age of globalization, and the experience of the \u00abElsewhereans\u00bb who have found their home in the densely interconnected global village. The festival\u2019s contributors engage with these themes in widely varying ways and open up unique points of access for the audience in the form of fiction, discussion, performance and music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The program brochures for the general and Young Program are available for download at\u00a0www.literaturfestival.com<\/a>. Tickets for all events are available now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PATRON<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The patron of the 26th edition of the International Literature Festival Berlin is Boualem Sansal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n VENUES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Program:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Haus der Berliner Festspiele (Festival Center) | Dokumentationszentrum Flucht, Vertreibung, Vers\u00f6hnung | Humboldt Forum | JVA des offenen Vollzugs, Teilanstalt Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. | Berliner Philharmonie | Leibniz-Zentrum f\u00fcr Literatur- und Kulturforschung | Bookinista<\/p>\n\n\n\n Young Program:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Haus der Berliner Festspiele | die gelbe Villa | Theater an der Parkaue | Workshops at numerous Berlin cultural institutions<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n DATES & FURTHER INFORMATION 26th ILB<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 3 \u2013 12 September 2026 Program Further information:\u00a0literaturfestival.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Download MediaKit and press images<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n TICKETS & PRICES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Tickets are available here:<\/strong>\u00a0https:\/\/www.berlinerfestspiele.de\/programm\/2026\/internationales-literaturfestival-berlin<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The box office opens at all venues one hour before the start of the event. Tickets for the ILB are also available at the box office in the Gropius Bau.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Service line of the Berliner Festspiele on+49 (0) 30 25489 – 100 Regular: 12 \u20ac | reduced: 8 \u20ac Special prices apply to selected events. Festival Pass 150 \u20ac | 75 \u20ac<\/strong> TICKETS & ADVICE YOUNG PROGRAM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n tickets@literaturfestival.com<\/strong> PRICES YOUNG PROGRAM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n School classes: \u20ac5 per pupil (accompanying adults free of charge) | reduced: \u20ac3 per pupil <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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6 \u2013 16 September 2026 Young Program<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>or via email to ticketinfo@berlinerfestspiele.de<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Special price regular: 18 \u20ac | reduced: 12 \u20ac<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Further details are available on our website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Graphic Novel Day Pass 5 \u20ac<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Service line: +49 (0) 30 – 278786 – 70 \/ – 72<\/strong>
Mon – Fri, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Individuals: \u20ac12 full price | reduced: \u20ac8
Further information:\u00a0literaturfestival.com\/junges-programm-besuch\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n