In the organizer's words:

Reading & talk with Verena Keßler and "GYM" (Hanser Berlin 2025)

Our bar is open! We look forward to seeing you!

Moderation: Sophia Bahl

Shiny mirrors, defined bodies, casual flirtations at the bar. The protagonist in Verena Keßler's brightly colored novel loves her new job at MEGA GYM. There is no pressure to perform, no overtime, just lovely colleagues and a boss who is a proud feminist. Everything would be perfect if it weren't for the tiny little lie she got carried away with during the interview. She recently gave birth, she claimed, and now everyone wants to see baby photos and keeps asking about "the little one". But it is only when bodybuilder Vick turns up that it becomes clear that an invented child is not the only secret of this secretive narrator. A story about obsession, ambition and the self-destructive flip side of beautiful surfaces.

Verena Keßler, born in Hamburg in 1988, lives in Leipzig, where she studied at the German Literature Institute. Her debut novel Die Gespenster von Demmin was nominated for numerous prizes and awarded the Kranichsteiner Jugendliteratur-Stipendium. Her most recent novel Eva was published by Hanser Berlin, for which she received the literary prize "Der zweite Roman".

We have reserved five tickets for the event. Please send us an email to bahl@manulit.de