17th European Literature Days in Krems
What is Authentic? is the theme for Thursday’s launch of the 17th European Literature Days with Martina Hefter and Eva Weber-Guskar +++ Prize-giving ceremony of the Austrian Book Trade Honorary Award for Tolerance in Thought and Action to Eva Menasse +++ More readings and discussions including with Raphaëlle Red, Jonas Lüscher, Nava Ebrahimi, Georgi Gospodinov, Christoph Peters, Gabriela Wiener, Pajtim Statovci, Hanna Bervoets, Jörg Piringer and Elisabeth Klar +++ Watch the festival opening and other events via livestream.
What is considered today as “authentic” – and who decides about this? In an age where the boundaries are fluid between what is authentic, believable and artificial, this year’s European Literature Days highlight a theme from a variety of perspectives that will influence our thinking and actions. The curator and artistic director Walter Grond has again succeeded in gathering together renowned authors and philosophers from across Europe to explore common questions about authenticity and fiction, digital identities and the power of the narrative:
“Science, of all things, which promised to put an end to the world of presumptions, is producing a world in which, thanks to its simulations, networks and AI-generators, in the words of Heraclitus, apparently ‘everything flows’. Basically, belief is making a comeback in our lives in a drastic way”.
Under the headline theme What Is Authentic? on Thursday evening the festival opening takes place in the Klangraum Krems Minoritenkirche with Martina Hefter (Berlin) and Eva Weber-Guskar (Bochum). On Friday and Saturday, more discussions and readings follow including with Jörg Piringer (Vienna), Raphaëlle Red (Berlin), Jonas Lüscher (Munich), Georgi Gospondinov (Sofia), Nava Ebrahimi (Graz), Christoph Peters (Berlin), Pajtim Statovci (Helsinki), Clare Clark (London), Hanna Bervoets (Amsterdam) and Gabriela Wiener (Madrid). The European Literature Days close on Sunday with the presentation of this year’s Austrian Book Trade Honorary Award for Tolerance in Thought and Action to Eva Menasse.
Watch the following events from home via livestream:
Thursday, 20.11.2025
19.30 – Opening
What Is Authentic?
Martina Hefter and Eva Weber-Guskar in conversation // Moderator: Katja Gasser
Friday, 21.11.2025
11.00 – Dialogue
Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence in Publishing
Emma House// Moderator: Rosie Goldsmith
11.40 – Reading and Dialogue
ChatGPT, Data Poetry and Alternative Futures
Jörg Piringer and Paul Feigelfeld // Moderator: Rainer Moritz
17.00 – Reading and Dialogue
The Afterlife of The Past
Raphaëlle Red // Moderator: Rainer Moritz
17.40 – Reading and Dialogue
The Curiosity for Knowledge of the Future
Jonas Lüscher // Moderator: Rainer Moritz
Saturday, 22.11.2025
11.00 – Reading and Dialogue
Queer, Fluid, Posthuman
Elisabeth Klar and Kes Otter Lieffe // Moderators: Irene Zanol and Rebekka Zeinzinger
12.20 – Reading and Dialogue
Nerds, Non-White, Non-Male
Simoné Goldschmidt-Lechner // Moderators: Irene Zanol, Rebekka Zeinzinger
17.30 – Reading and Dialogue
Fabulous Reality
Pajtim Statovci // Moderator: Rosie Goldsmith
18.10 – Reading and Dialogue
Fake Paintings
Clare Clark // Moderator: Rosie Goldsmith
The events will be broadcast on the YouTube-channel of the European Literature Days: www.youtube.com/c/LiteraturhausEuropa
The full programme and information about tickets are available at: https://www.europaeischeliteraturtage.at/de
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