v.l.n.r.: Cornelia Funke © Emanuele Camerini, Özge Samancı © Annette Hornischer, Erin Entrada Kelly © Laurence Kesterton, Sydney Smith © Steve Farmer
In our highly connected yet often bewildering world, this capacity for perspective-taking feels more essential than ever. This years Young Program invites young readers to try on different ways of seeing our world alongside the protagonists of each story.
From 6 to 16 September, we welcome school classes and families to readings at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Theater an der Parkaue, and the gelbe Villa, as well as to workshops across the city. On 8 September, we celebrate the Opening of the Young Program with a speech by Özge Samancı, who will then present her graphic novel «Evil Eyes Sea». We also look forward to welcoming many further international authors and illustrators, among them Cornelia Funke, Erin Entrada Kelly and Sydney Smith.
This year, we are pleased to share two major pieces of news: for the first time, we are joining forces with Thalia to present «Lesesause» on Sunday, 6 September at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele. A festive celebration of books for children and their families, with readings, a concert, and crafting activities. And: young people are shaping the program of the 26th ILB themselves! The reading club «Die LesArtigen», comprising nineteen participants aged 14 to 17, will create two events of their own as part of the «Jugend kuratiert» (Youth Curates) project.
«With ‹Jugend kuratiert›, we are deepening our commitment to participation; with ‹Lesesause›, we are significantly expanding our family programme. My heartfelt thanks go to the Young Program team and all our partners for their enthusiasm and support, without which these new ventures would not have been possible.»
Festival Director Lavinia Frey
The full program and ticketing information can be found on our website.