Munich Literature Festival 2015

The “forum:autoren” programme is an experimental event format which is staged during the Munich Literature Festival. In 2015, the writer Albert Ostermaier served as the artistic director of the “forum:autoren” with events based on the motto “front:text”.
The project included readings and discussions with writers who either live in regions in crisis or were forced to leave their countries because of civil war and have written about their experiences. The programme also highlighted the fate of refugees currently living in Germany. Not only did the Literature Festival cooperate with numerous theatres, museums, clubs and cultural institutions, but also sought long-term partnerships with refugee centres in Munich. For example, the organisers initiated a sponsorship programme in which writers and actors supported refugees and asylum seekers, and stage joint concerts, poetry slams, readings, an exhibition and a football game.
The “front:text” programme aimed to artistically and discursively address the greatest challenges of our times, and discuss the experiences and stories of civil war, displacement, escape and asylum at the heart of the city.

Artistic directors: Albert Ostermaier

Writers: Alaa al-Aswani (EG), Martin Caparros (AR/ES), Jenny Erpenbeck, Navid Kermani, Scholastique Mukasonga (RWA), Zakhar Prilepin (RU), Salman Rushdie (IN/GB), Zeruya Shalev (IL), Shumona Sinha (IN/FR), Ilija Trojanow (BG/DE), Najem Wali (IQ/FR)