About A Literary Brunch (readings):
Participating authors: Marjana Gaponenko, Anna Weidenholzer, Navid Kermani**, Matthias Nawrat, Jonas Lüscher, Monique Schwitter. Moderator: Tess Lewis
The six German-language authors of Festival Neue Literatur give a sampling from their work, providing a taste of new writing from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. Traditional German fare will be served.
Authors and works:
Marjana Gaponenko was born in 1981 in Odessa, Ukraine. She fell in love with the German language as a young girl, and began writing in German when she was sixteen. She has a degree in German studies from Odessa University. Who is Martha? is her second novel and was awarded the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize in 2013. She has also published volumes of poetry and lives in Vienna and Mainz.
Featured Novel: Wer ist Martha?
Navid Kermani, born 1967, lives as a writer in Cologne. After completing school, he studied Oriental Studies, Philosophy, and Theater in Cologne, Cairo, and Bonn. He completed his studies in 1998 as a Dr. Phil. at the Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelms Universität Bonn and received his post-doctoral degree in 2005 (“Habilitation”). He has completed a number of fellowships at institutions such as the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin / Institute for Advanced Study, the Villa Massimo, German Academy of Rome, and the Kulturwissenschaftliches Kolleg Essen (Institute for Advanced Study).
Featured Novel: Grosse Liebe
Jonas Lüscher was born in Switzerland in 1976. After working in the German film industry he studied at the Munich School of Philosophy. Currently pursuing his doctoral studies in philosophy at the ETH Zurich, he lives in Munich.
Featured Novel: Frühling der Barbaren
Matthias Nawrat was born in the Polish town of Opole and moved with his family to Bamberg at the age of 10. His debut novel Wir zwei allein was published in 2012. The same year he was awarded the Kelag Prize at the Bachmann Competition. Recently he won the Adelbert von Chamisso Award. He lives in Berlin.
Featured Novel: Unternehmer
Monique Schwitter was born in 1972 in Zurich and now lives and works in Hamburg. Between 1993 and 1997 she studied acting and directing at the Mozarteum University of Dramatic Arts in Salzburg and went on to perform in Zurich, Frankfurt and Graz. In 2005, she published her first volume of short stories, Wenn’s schneit beim Krokodil ( When It Snows at the Crocodile’s), for which she was awarded the 2006 Robert Walser Prize for the best literary debut of the year. In 2008 she published her novel Ohren haben keine Lider ( Ears Have No Lids) and in 2011 Goldfischgedächtnis ( Goldfish Memory), a collection of short stories.
Featured Novel: Goldfischgedächtnis
Anna Weidenholzer was born in 1984 in Linz and now lives in Vienna. She studied Comparative Literature in Vienna and Wroclaw, Poland. Weidenholzer has been published numerous times in literary magazines and anthologies and has won many awards, such as the Alfred- Gesswein-Prize (2009), the Residency Stipend at the Schloss Wiepersdorf (2011), the State Grant for Literature (2011/2012), Stadtschreiberin of Kitzbühel (2012), and the Reinhard- Priessnitz-Prize (2013). Her debut novel Der Platz des Hundes (2010) earned her a nomination for the European Festival of the Debut Novel in Kiel in 2011. Her novel Der Winter tut den Fischen gut was nominated in the fiction category of the Leipzig Book Fair Prize in 2013.
Featured Novel: Der Winter tut den Fischen gut
A Literary Brunch is part of Festival Neue Literatur, New York’s only annual German-language literary festival held in English, will take place from February 19–22, 2015, at venues throughout New York City. This will be the sixth installment of Festival Neue Literatur, where New York City once again plays host to six authors from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. These authors are rising stars in the German-language world—but their oeuvre still remains to be discovered by U.S. readers.
Festival Neue Literatur 2015 is made possible through generous support from BMW of North America. Additional support is provided by Elderberry Catering, McNally Jackson Books, powerHouse Arena, Radeberger Gruppe, and Tattly.
Events at Deutsches Haus are free and open to the public. If you would like to attend this event, please send an email to deutscheshaus.rsvp@nyu.edu. As space at Deutsches Haus is limited, please arrive ten minutes prior to the event to ensure you get a good seat. Thank you!
** Unfortunately, Navid Kermani had to withdraw from the event schedule unexpectedly. In his place, an actor will read an excerpt from his novel.
Participating authors: Marjana Gaponenko, Anna Weidenholzer, Navid Kermani**, Matthias Nawrat, Jonas Lüscher, Monique Schwitter. Moderator: Tess Lewis
The six German-language authors of Festival Neue Literatur give a sampling from their work, providing a taste of new writing from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. Traditional German fare will be served.
Authors and works:
Marjana Gaponenko was born in 1981 in Odessa, Ukraine. She fell in love with the German language as a young girl, and began writing in German when she was sixteen. She has a degree in German studies from Odessa University. Who is Martha? is her second novel and was awarded the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize in 2013. She has also published volumes of poetry and lives in Vienna and Mainz.
Featured Novel: Wer ist Martha?
Navid Kermani, born 1967, lives as a writer in Cologne. After completing school, he studied Oriental Studies, Philosophy, and Theater in Cologne, Cairo, and Bonn. He completed his studies in 1998 as a Dr. Phil. at the Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelms Universität Bonn and received his post-doctoral degree in 2005 (“Habilitation”). He has completed a number of fellowships at institutions such as the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin / Institute for Advanced Study, the Villa Massimo, German Academy of Rome, and the Kulturwissenschaftliches Kolleg Essen (Institute for Advanced Study).
Featured Novel: Grosse Liebe
Jonas Lüscher was born in Switzerland in 1976. After working in the German film industry he studied at the Munich School of Philosophy. Currently pursuing his doctoral studies in philosophy at the ETH Zurich, he lives in Munich.
Featured Novel: Frühling der Barbaren
Matthias Nawrat was born in the Polish town of Opole and moved with his family to Bamberg at the age of 10. His debut novel Wir zwei allein was published in 2012. The same year he was awarded the Kelag Prize at the Bachmann Competition. Recently he won the Adelbert von Chamisso Award. He lives in Berlin.
Featured Novel: Unternehmer
Monique Schwitter was born in 1972 in Zurich and now lives and works in Hamburg. Between 1993 and 1997 she studied acting and directing at the Mozarteum University of Dramatic Arts in Salzburg and went on to perform in Zurich, Frankfurt and Graz. In 2005, she published her first volume of short stories, Wenn’s schneit beim Krokodil ( When It Snows at the Crocodile’s), for which she was awarded the 2006 Robert Walser Prize for the best literary debut of the year. In 2008 she published her novel Ohren haben keine Lider ( Ears Have No Lids) and in 2011 Goldfischgedächtnis ( Goldfish Memory), a collection of short stories.
Featured Novel: Goldfischgedächtnis
Anna Weidenholzer was born in 1984 in Linz and now lives in Vienna. She studied Comparative Literature in Vienna and Wroclaw, Poland. Weidenholzer has been published numerous times in literary magazines and anthologies and has won many awards, such as the Alfred- Gesswein-Prize (2009), the Residency Stipend at the Schloss Wiepersdorf (2011), the State Grant for Literature (2011/2012), Stadtschreiberin of Kitzbühel (2012), and the Reinhard- Priessnitz-Prize (2013). Her debut novel Der Platz des Hundes (2010) earned her a nomination for the European Festival of the Debut Novel in Kiel in 2011. Her novel Der Winter tut den Fischen gut was nominated in the fiction category of the Leipzig Book Fair Prize in 2013.
Featured Novel: Der Winter tut den Fischen gut
A Literary Brunch is part of Festival Neue Literatur, New York’s only annual German-language literary festival held in English, will take place from February 19–22, 2015, at venues throughout New York City. This will be the sixth installment of Festival Neue Literatur, where New York City once again plays host to six authors from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. These authors are rising stars in the German-language world—but their oeuvre still remains to be discovered by U.S. readers.
Festival Neue Literatur 2015 is made possible through generous support from BMW of North America. Additional support is provided by Elderberry Catering, McNally Jackson Books, powerHouse Arena, Radeberger Gruppe, and Tattly.
Events at Deutsches Haus are free and open to the public. If you would like to attend this event, please send an email to deutscheshaus.rsvp@nyu.edu. As space at Deutsches Haus is limited, please arrive ten minutes prior to the event to ensure you get a good seat. Thank you!
** Unfortunately, Navid Kermani had to withdraw from the event schedule unexpectedly. In his place, an actor will read an excerpt from his novel.