Student Projects and the Anglophone Literary Field in Berlin

Outputs from a recently completed student project seminar on the Anglophone literary field in Berlin are published on The Literary Field Kaleidoscope. A zine, a podcast, an ethnographic diary, and an academic poster explore questions of subtle (or less subtle) forms of exclusion in the lively English-speaking Berlin book world. […] Read more

Books News Autumn and Winter 2023

Gesa Stedman rounds up the rest of the year’s book news, ranging from the controversies at the Frankfurt Bookfair to the impact of the cost of living crisis, the every-increasing commercialisation of the book world and The Bookseller reflecting that, and recent prize winners, most of whom were white men […] Read more

African Book Festival 2021 –
Music to my Ears

For the first time in a loooong time, I’ve attended a literature event: the African Book Festival in Berlin, run by InterKontinental and curated by Kalaf Epalanga. This year’s festival highlighted the craft of authors and artists from Angola, but the programme also included, among others, authors from Nigeria, South […] Read more

Bookshops & the Literary Field in the Time of Corona

Just when I thought I could write a little something about how bookshops and literary event organisers deal with the current situation, I came across a short article by Clare Thorp who wrote about how bookshops in different countries find ways to still sell books into their communities and beyond […] Read more

“You will always be our brothers and sisters” – Poetry and Indigenous Languages from Ireland, Scotland, and Wales

“Strength lies in Celtic and European unity” – this could have been the motto of Tuesday’s event entitled Muttersprache which took place at the Centre for British Studies and was co-organised by The Literary Field Kaleidoscope, Read more

Transitioning from Migration – Berlin’s African Book Festival 2019

“TRANSITIONING FROM MIGRATION: Africa is often regarded as a continent of migration, of countries described vividly […] as ones that citizens flee from. African literature can contribute to our understanding of the causes, processes and aspirations that perpetuate this trend. In this way African literature invites us to imagine an […] Read more

“Quite groggy and very happy”: An account of the first months in the Literaturhaus under the new dual leadership of Janika Gelinek and Sonja Longolius

Gesa Stedman and Sandra van Lente asked the two new directors of the Literaturhaus in an interview about their experiences with the Literaturhaus’ new concept: whether it has worked so far to engage the whole house in Fasanenstraße in their events, to open up their focus to incorporate European literature […] Read more