Iris Wolff: »Lichtblicke in die Zeitgeschichte«

April 15, 2026 / 7 p.m. / Leipzig City Library, Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz 10-11

"Glimpses of light into contemporary history" - Reading with Iris Wolff

It is already a small tradition that the winners of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Literature Prize are invited to Leipzig. The prize citation for 2026 states: "Iris Wolff, who was born in Sibiu in 1977, grew up in Banat and Transylvania and has lived in Germany since 1985, is an author who expresses forms of freedom with poetic elegance and scenic density. In the face of the horrors of 20th century ideologies, her novels capture signs of philanthropy and solidarity of values. They depict maltreated biographies under the impression of European history, especially from the landscape of memory of the Banat and other regions of Romania before and after Ceaușescu's regime. This is told using the example of characters who flee or stay, who seek a new home beyond Romania - and miss their old home. Iris Wolff's novels are all about questions of belonging, about the diversity of languages and religions in Europe, which makes them highly topical."

Her novel "Lichtungen", for which she received the Uwe Johnson Prize and was shortlisted for the German Book Prize, was last with us at the Summer Festival 2024; we are delighted to be able to host her at the City Library this time, where she will talk about her work with literary scholar Michael Braun.

Admission: 10,- / 7,- EUR ǀ Event organized by the Literaturhaus Leipzig in cooperation with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Leipzig Municipal Libraries

Discounts are available for disabled people and their companions (only if registered in the disabled pass), unemployed people, schoolchildren and students (up to 35) as well as holders of the Leipzig Pass or an honorary pass (only on presentation of the pass).