Emma und Amir – Im Schatten des Terrors

In the organizer's words:

Reading and discussion with author Bianca Schaalburg

An exciting political comic between Berlin and Paris: After an apparent Islamist attack in Berlin-Neukölln, Amir, of German-Iraqi origin, is targeted by the police. His friend Yusuf, an investigative journalist, dies in the attack and is suspected of being the assassin. In order to prove his and Yusuf's innocence, Amir sets off for Paris, Yusuf's last place of residence, together with Emma from Berlin - and stumbles upon the trail of an international right-wing extremist conspiracy.

With virtuoso visual compositions, surprising perspectives and narrative suspense, Bianca Schaalburg unfolds a stirring graphic novel about friendship, prejudice and political manipulation. The story takes us from Berlin to Paris - through swimming pools, hotels, cemeteries and cinemas - and impressively demonstrates what graphic storytelling can achieve.

Bianca Schaalburg, born in Berlin in 1968, studied Visual Communication at the Berlin University of the Arts. She has been publishing cartoons, comics and illustrations for many years. She was a finalist for the Berthold Leibinger Stiftung Comic Book Prize in 2021 with her comic Der Duft der Kiefern and won the German Youth Literature Prize in 2022. Emma and Amir was also shortlisted for the Comic Book Prize in 2025.


The event is part of the OFFEN FÜR KULTUR project at the Hansa Library and is free of charge.

You can find the full OFFEN FÜR KULTUR program here: www.offen-fuer-kultur.de.


OFFEN FÜR KULTUR is funded by the LOTTO-Stiftung Berlin.