On Wednesday, September 10 at 7.30 pm, the Literaturhaus' new themed series "Talking about my Generation" will kick off with a reading by Kristine Bilkau from her novel "Halbinsel", which won the Leipzig Book Prize 2025. The evening will be hosted by Shirin Sojitrawalla (DLF and taz).

Linn is in her mid-20s, an environmental volunteer and burnt out. After an attack of weakness, she moves back in with her mother to recuperate. Although her mother is happy, she struggles with her daughter's persistent fragility. Linn seems completely torn between the pressure to perform and the search for meaning, and conflicts from the past gradually break out: between two generations, between two realities of life, between mother and daughter.

KRISTINE BILKAU was born in 1974. She was awarded the Franz-Tumler-Literaturpreis and the Klaus-Michael-Kühne-Preis for her debut novel "Die Glücklichen". She was shortlisted for the German Book Prize with "Nebenan". She received the Leipzig Book Fair 2025 Prize for "Halbinsel".

ORGANIZER:

Literaturhaus Villa Clementine/Kulturamt Wiesbaden as part of Leseland Hessen with the kind support of the Hessian Ministry of Science and Research, Art and Culture, the Sparkassen-Kulturstiftung Hessen-Thüringen and hr2-kultur

On Tuesday, September 16 at 8 pm, the authors Raphaëlle Red and Lene Albrecht will be guests at the Literaturhaus for a reading and discussion as part of the Wiesbaden Biennale. The evening will be moderated by Dr. Ibou C. Diop.

"Make room!" is the motto of this year's Wiesbaden Biennale, linking past and present against the backdrop of new visions for a future of solidarity.

In this context, the two authors Lene Albrecht and Raphaëlle Red will be making guest appearances at the Literaturhaus Villa Clementine. They will be presenting their latest works, which trace their family histories and explore intercontinental and colonial movements. In "Weiße Flecken" (White Spots), Lene Albrecht sends a young woman to Togo for research purposes, where she delves deep into German colonial history. There she comes across threads of her own past and realizes how fragile the fabric of history can be. Raphaëlle Red's protagonist also ends up in Togo, the place of origin of her unknown father. On her journey along the West African coast to the USA, Adikou is repeatedly confronted with questions whose answers she can only find within herself.

Lene Albrecht was born in 1986 and made her debut in 2019 with "Wir, im Fenster". She received a research grant from the Berlin Senate for her work on "Weiße Flecken".

Raphaëlle Red was born in Paris in 1997 and grew up in Berlin. "Adikou" is her debut novel.

ORGANIZER: Literaturhaus Villa Clementine/Kulturamt Wiesbaden in cooperation with the Wiesbaden Biennale of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden

Documentary by Carsten Stormer,
ARTE/ZDF 2025, 52 min.

On Friday, September 19 at 6.30 pm, we will be showing the ARTE film premiere "Philippines - Literature as Resistance against Dictatorships" free of charge.

Whether Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa or bestselling author José Dalisay: authors in the Philippines use words as weapons in their life-threatening fight against dictators, impunity and corruption. The film tells of the power of literature and the unwavering courage of the people of the Philippines. But literature is not accessible to everyone: around 18 million people live below the poverty line. Books are often considered an unaffordable luxury. Cultural manager Charisse Aquino Tugade and retired accountant Hernando Guanlao are fighting for change. With reading programs, book corners and an extraordinary private library, they too are fighting for the freedom of the word.

Broadcast on ARTE on Wednesday, October 15, 2025.

The premiere will be followed by a reading with Filipino author Candy Gourlay from her novel "Wild Song".

ORGANIZER: Literaturhaus Villa Clementine/Kulturamt Wiesbaden in cooperation with ARTE and the network of literature houses

As part of the Philippines' guest country appearance at the Frankfurt Book Fair, author Candy Gourlay will be presenting her novel "Wild Song" at the Literaturhaus on Friday, September 19 at 8 pm. The Wiesbaden actor Oliver Wronka will moderate, translate and read.

The year is 1904. 16-year-old Luki desperately wants to become a warrior, but girls are not allowed to do so. Instead, the tribal elders want her to marry her best friend Samkad. So she leaves her life in the Philippine mountains behind and travels to the World's Fair in Louisiana, where she hopes to have a chance at a self-determined life. Once there, she is bitterly disappointed. Candy Gourlay tells a touching story about colonialism, racism and exploitation in the midst of a changing world.

CANDY GOURLAY was born in the Philippines and is the author of numerous books for young people. She won the National Children's Book Award of the Philippines with her first novel. She lives in London.

The ARTE film premiere "Philippines - Literature as resistance against dictators" will be shown beforehand at 6.30 pm.