Louise K. Böhm & Franziska Gänsler: 2 Autorinnen, 1 Bühne

In the organizer's words:

Summer with manulit at the Orangerie Theater!

2 authors, 2 novels, 1 stage: Louise K. Böhm and Franziska Gänsler

Plus a talk, drinks and a summery finale at the Orangerie Theater Cologne

Louise K. Böhm reads from her debut novel KASKADEN (Penguin Literature 2026)

Franziska Gänsler reads from her third novel ORCA (Kein&Aber 2026)

Moderation: Sophia Bahl

KASKADEN If Jojo could simply erase her origins, she would. She may have left the suburban gray far behind her, but at university she is still constantly afraid that someone might find out that she doesn't belong here. Her work in the lab is the only thing that keeps her going. When Jakob enters her life, Jojo finds a new lightness. But then she receives a sign of life from her former best friend, and suddenly everything is back: the years with Yara, with whom she spent more time than with her own parents. Who had a retort ready for every remark. And who disappeared from one day to the next, even though they wanted to escape the suburbs together.

Louise K. Böhm tells the story of a deep friendship, full of wisdom and yet light as a feather. An electrifying novel about origins and belonging - with two heroines you will never forget.

A great new narrative talent waiting to be discovered: Louise K. Böhm's debut deals with friendship and origins in a way that has never been read before.

Louise K. Böhm, born in Berlin in 2000, studied literary writing, cultural journalism and cultural policy in Hildesheim after completing her first degree in media, before moving to the music industry for work and to Hamburg for pleasure. Her texts appear in various literary magazines and anthologies. On social media, she shares literature recommendations as @louschreibt_, gives insights into her everyday life as an author and raises awareness about classism in the cultural sector. "Kaskaden" is her first novel.

ORCA The supermarket meat counter by day, silence by night: that's Cora's life. Until her childhood friend Olympia is arrested and everything comes back to her. The summer when they met again, when everything was humming inside her, the seawater still on her skin, the glitter on her cap, the decorated fingernails. The long days in the big, empty house with Olympia, who recognizes Cora for who she is. And how quickly she no longer has Olympia just for herself after the illegal party where they cross a line for the first time, after Olympia spends so much time with Ariel and her activist group. While Cora tries to keep in touch at school and with Olympia, a radical idea knocks out her urges - and Cora becomes entangled in a web of lies from which there seems to be no escape.

Franziska Gänsler's debut novel Ewig Sommer was published in 2022 and has been translated into various languages, adapted for the theater and won several awards. In 2025, the English-language edition was a New York Times Editor's Pick. After Wie Inseln im Licht (2024), Orca is her third novel. Franziska Gänsler lives in Augsburg and Berlin.

We have reserved free solo tickets. Please send us an email to bahl@manulit.de

We look forward to seeing you there!