"next.gen: connections" mit Silvi Carlsson, Sophia Como und Leh-Wei Liao x Harbour Front Literaturfestival Hamburg

What connects us—to the people who have shaped us, to the expectations placed on us, and to the person we want to be?

In next.gen: connections, three authors come together whose books explore origins, closeness, and self-identity from very different perspectives. They explore family ties, the dynamics of relationships, and the social expectations that shape our lives. At the heart of it all is what develops between people: care and freedom, belonging and detachment, the stories we inherit from others, and those we write for ourselves.

A literary evening exploring all the connections that shape, challenge, and transform us.

Leh-Wie Liao(Glaszeit) tells the story of a young doctor who unexpectedly reunites with her mother after eighteen years. A novel about origins, family, but also desire and the possibility of allowing closeness into her life once more.

Sophia Como(Halbwach) takes us on the adventure of a successful author who seeks closeness without wanting to commit. But when her carefully planned life plan begins to falter, she embarks on a brutally honest journey of self-discovery and explores the question of how we want to live our relationships.

Silvi Carlsson(Good Girl Exit) offers a radical, personal, and political account of people-pleasing, emotional availability, and female socialization. She shows how deeply the “good girl” mold shapes our relationships, careers, and bodies—and what happens when we no longer place men at the center of our thinking.