The Berlin International Literature Festival () or ''ilb'' is an annual event based in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Every September, the festival presents contemporary poetry, prose, nonfiction, graphic novels and international children's and young adult literature. Renowned authors present themselves next to new talents within the wide-ranging and political programme. The festival is an event of the "Peter-Weiss-Stiftung für Kunst und Kultur e.V." The founder and former festival director is

Ulrich Schreiber Ulrich Schreiber (born July 5, 1951 in Solingen, Germany) is a German cultural manager. He is the founder and was the director of the International Literature Festival Berlin until March 2023. He is co-founder and co-director of thInternational L ...

. Since 2023, Lavinia Frey has been the director of the festival. The festival takes place at various locations in Berlin. Since 2005, the main venue has been the Haus der Berliner Festspiele. The festival is primarily supported by the Hauptstadtkulturfonds (Capital Cultural Fund). Other sponsors include the

Federal Foreign Office The Federal Foreign Office (, ; abbreviated AA) is the Foreign minister, foreign ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany, a federal agency (Germany), federal agency responsible for both the country's foreign policy and its relationship with ...

, the

Heinrich Böll Foundation The Heinrich Böll Foundation (German language, German: ''Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Eingetragener Verein, e.V.''; Abbreviation: HBS) is a German legally independent political foundation. Affiliated with Alliance '90/The Greens, Alliance 90/The Gr ...

, the Foundation Jan Michalski, as well as various other embassies, cultural institutes, and publishers.

Program

The festival's program is divided into literary events, book premieres, and political discussions. A day of the festival is also dedicated to graphic novels. Since 2002, internationally renowned guest authors of the ilb have voluntarily visited Berlin prisons during the festival to read from their books and discuss them with inmates. Since 2005, there have been annual collaborations with Science Year, an initiative by the

Federal Ministry of Education and Research The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (; abbreviated BMFTR) is a cabinet-level ministry of Germany. It is headquartered in Bonn, with an office in Berlin. The Ministry provides funding for research projects and institutions (aim ...

. Since 2019, the ilb has cooperated with the Cluster of Excellence "Temporal Communities: Doing Literature in a Global Perspective" at the

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...

. At all events, texts are presented by the authors in the language they were written, followed by a German translation, which are performed by actors. A discussion between the presenter, author and audience typically follows each reading. In November 2015, the Berlin International Literature Festival published an appeal to support

Ashraf Fayadh Ashraf Fayadh (; born 1980 in Saudi Arabia) is an artist and poet of Palestinians, Palestinian origin. He is the son of refugees from Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip and lives in Saudi Arabia. He was active in the British-Arabian arts organization, ...

, a Palestinian-Saudi Arabian poet imprisoned and lashed for

apostasy Apostasy (; ) is the formal religious disaffiliation, disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous re ...

, with a Worldwide Reading on 14 January 2016. Every year, the ilb opens with a celebratory opening event. The opening speakers for each year have been: * Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse (2024) * Francesca Melandri (2023) * David van Reybrouck (2022) * Leïla Slimani (2021) * Mario Vargas-Llosa (2020) * Petina Gappah (2019) *

Eva Menasse Eva Menasse (born 11 May 1970 in Vienna) is an Austrian author and journalist. She has studied history and German literature. Menasse had a successful career as a journalist, writing for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in Frankfurt F ...

(2018) *

Elif Shafak Elif Shafak ( ; née Bilgin; born 25 October 1971) is a British Turks, Turkish-British novelist, essayist, public speaker, Political science, political scientist and activist. Shafak writes in Turkish language, Turkish and English language, En ...

(2017) *

César Aira César Aira (Argentine Spanish: ; born 23 February 1949 in Coronel Pringles, Buenos Aires Province) is an Argentine writer and translator, and an exponent of contemporary Argentine literature. Aira has published over a hundred short books of st ...

(2016) *

Javier Marías Javier Marías Franco (20 September 1951 – 11 September 2022) was a Spanish author, translator, and columnist. Marías published fifteen novels, including '' A Heart So White'' (''Corazón tan blanco,'' 1992'')'', '' Tomorrow in the Battle Th ...

(2015) *

Pankaj Mishra Pankaj Mishra (born 9 February 1969) is an Indian essayist, novelist, and socialist. His non-fiction works include ''Temptations of the West: How to Be Modern in India, Pakistan, Tibet, and Beyond'', along with ''From the Ruins of Empire: The I ...

(2014) *

Taiye Selasi Taiye Selasi (born 2 November 1979 in London, England) is an United States, American writer and photographer. Of Nigerian and Ghanaian origin, she describes herself as a "local" of Accra, Berlin, New York City, New York and Rome. In 2005, Selasi ...

(2013) *

Liao Yiwu Liao Yiwu ( zh, c=廖亦武 , p=Liào Yìwǔ; also known as Lao Wei ( zh, 老威); born 16 June 1958) is a Chinese author, reporter, musician, and poet. He is a critic of Communist Party of China, China's Communist Party, for which he was impri ...

(2012) *

Tahar Ben Jelloun Tahar Ben Jelloun (; born 1 December 1944) is a Moroccan writer who rose to fame for his 1985 novel ''L'Enfant de sable'' ('' The Sand Child''). All of his work is written in French although his first language is Darija. He has been nominated f ...

(2011) *

Juan Goytisolo Juan Goytisolo Gay (6 January 1931 – 4 June 2017) was a Spanish poet, essayist, and novelist. He lived in Marrakesh from 1997 until his death in 2017. He was considered Spain's greatest living writer at the beginning of the 21st century, yet ...

(2010) *

Arundhati Roy Suzanna Arundhati Roy (; born 24 November 1961) is an Indian author best known for her novel ''The God of Small Things'' (1997), which won the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997 and became the best-selling book by a non-expatriate Indian author. ...

(2009) *

Nancy Huston Nancy Louise Huston, Order of Canada, OC (born September 16, 1953) is a Canadian novelist and essayist, a longtime resident of France, who writes primarily in French and translates her own works into English. Biography Huston was born in Calgary ...

(2008) *

David Grossman David Grossman (; born January 25, 1954) is an Israeli author. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages. In 2018, he was awarded the Israel Prize for literature. Biography David Grossman was born in Jerusalem. He is the eld ...

(2007) *

Édouard Glissant Édouard Glissant (; 21 September 1928 – 3 February 2011) was a French writer, poet, philosopher, and literary critic from Martinique. He is an influential figure in Caribbean thought and cultural commentary and Francophone literature. Li ...

(2006) *

Carlos Fuentes Carlos Fuentes Macías (; ; November 11, 1928 – May 15, 2012) was a Mexican novelist and essayist. Among his works are ''The Death of Artemio Cruz'' (1962), '' Aura'' (1962), '' Terra Nostra'' (1975), '' The Old Gringo'' (1985) and '' Christop ...

(2005) *

Antjie Krog Antjie Krog (born 1952) is a South African writer and academic, best known for her Afrikaans poetry, her reporting on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and her 1998 book '' Country of My Skull''. In 2004, she joined the Arts faculty of t ...

(2004) *

Shashi Tharoor Shashi Tharoor (; born 9 March 1956) is an Indian politician, author, and former diplomat, who has been serving as Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, since 2009. He is currently the Chairman of Committee on External Affairs. ...

(2003) *

Dževad Karahasan Dževad Karahasan (25 January 1953 – 19 May 2023) was a Bosnian writer, essayist and philosopher. Karahasan was awarded the Herder Prize and Goethe Medal for his writings. In 2020, the city of Frankfurt awarded him the Goethe Prize. Early li ...

(2002) *

Charles Simic Dušan Simić ( sr-cyr, Душан Симић, ; May 9, 1938 – January 9, 2023), known as Charles Simic, was a Serbian American poet and poetry co-editor of ''The Paris Review''. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1990 for '' The W ...

(2001).

(translation: ''The Extraordinary Book'') is an international children's and youth literature prize.Internationales Literaturfestival Berlin zeichnet 30 Bücher als außergewöhnlich aus
Kinder- und Jugendmedien.de, 20. September 2016Das außergewöhnliche Buch
Börsenblatt, February 2021Das außergewöhnliche Buch
Kinder- und Jugendbuchverlage, 2021Internationale Kinder- und Jugendliteraturpreise
Universität Düsseldorf, 2021 Since 2012, it has been awarded every year in September by the Children's and Youth Literature section of the festival.internationales literaturfestival berlin – Das außergewöhnliche Buch
internationales literaturfestival berlin, 2021Buchmarkt – Eröffnung des Internationalen Literaturfestivals Berlin
Buchmarkt, 6. September 2018Berlin – Das außergewöhnliche Buch 2019 – Ausstellung des internationalen literaturfestivals berlins (ilb) in der Philipp-Schaeffer-Bibliothek
Berlin.de, 5. September 2019 The award honors remarkable books for children, teenagers and young adults.Gesucht: Das außergewöhnliche Buch in Berlin-Mitte
Abendblatt Berlin, 15. September 2019 The books are selected by a group of voting members that changes annually. The voting group consists mainly of international adult writers and illustrators, and has also included scientists, politicians and young writers. Each member selects one book to be awarded. Members in previous years have included Azouz Begag,

John Boyne John Boyne (born 30 April 1971) is an Irish author, novelist, and writer. He is the author of sixteen novels for adults, six novels for younger readers, two novellas, and one collection of short stories. Boyne's historical novel '' The Boy in ...

Jennifer Clement Jennifer Clement (born 1960) is an American-Mexican author. Clement has written several novels, including ''Gun Love'' (2018) and ''Prayers for the Stolen'' (2014), and published several collections of poetry and the memoirs 'Widow Basquiat' (200 ...

Roddy Doyle Roderick Doyle (born 8 May 1958) is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, eight books for children, seven plays and screenplays, and dozens of short stories. Several of his books have been ...

Jón Gnarr Jón Gnarr (; born Jón Gunnar Kristinsson on 2 January 1967) is an Icelanders, Icelandic actor, comedian, and politician who served as the Mayor of Reykjavík, Mayor of Reykjavík from 2010 to 2014. He is currently a member of the Althing for ...

David Graeber David Rolfe Graeber (; February 12, 1961 – September 2, 2020) was an American and British anthropologist, Left-wing politics, left-wing and anarchism, anarchist social and political activist. His influential work in Social anthropology, social ...

Robert Habeck Robert Habeck (; born 2 September 1969) is a German politician (Alliance 90/The Greens) and writer who served as Vice Chancellor of Germany, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action in the cabinet of Chancellor Olaf Scholz and ...

Navid Kermani Navid Kermani (; ; ; born 27 November 1967) is a German writer and oriental studies, orientalist. He is the author of several novels as well as books and essays on Islam, the Middle East and Christian-Muslim dialogue. He has won numerous prizes f ...

Geert Mak Geert Ludzer Mak (born 4 December 1946 in Vlaardingen) is a Dutch journalist and non-fiction writer. Honors For his book ''In Europe: Travels through the Twentieth Century'', he received the Leipziger Buchpreis zur Europäische Verständigung (2 ...

Scott McCloud Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod; June 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist and comics theorist. His non-fiction books about comics, ''Understanding Comics'' (1993), '' Reinventing Comics'' (2000), and '' Making Comics'' (2006), are made in comic ...

, David Van Reybrouck,

Boualem Sansal Boualem Sansal (, born 15 October 1949 in Theniet El Had) is an Algerian author who writes in French. In 2024, he became a French citizen. He holds an engineering degree from the National Polytechnic School and a PhD in economics. Sansal has wo ...

Riad Sattouf Riad Sattouf (; born 5 May 1978) is a French cartoonist, comics, comic artist, and film director. Sattouf is best known for his graphic memoir ''L'Arabe du futur'' (''The Arab of the Future'') and for his film The French Kissers, ''Les Beaux Goss ...

, Raoul Schrott, and

Meg Wolitzer Meg Wolitzer (born May 28, 1959) is an American novelist, known for '' The Wife'', ''The Ten-Year Nap'', ''The Uncoupling,'' ''The Interestings'', and ''The Female Persuasion.'' She is a co-director of the BookEnds writing fellowship program at St ...

. From 2012 to 2020, 240 books have been awarded, including '' The Invisible Cities'', ''

The Adventures of Pinocchio ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' ( ; , i.e. "The Adventures of Pinocchio. Story of a Puppet"), commonly shortened to ''Pinocchio'', is an 1883 Children's literature, children's fantasy novel by Italian author Carlo Collodi. It is about the mischi ...

'', ''

The Diary of a Young Girl ''The Diary of a Young Girl'', commonly referred to as ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', is a book of the writings from the Dutch language, Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Neth ...

'', the ''

Struwwelpeter ''Der Struwwelpeter'' ('Shock-Headed Peter') is an 1845 German children's book written and illustrated by Heinrich Hoffmann. It comprises ten illustrated and rhymed stories, mostly about children. Each cautionary tale has a clear moral lesson ...

'', ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

'', ''

The Little Prince ''The Little Prince'' (, ) is a novella written and illustrated by French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 and was published po ...

'', '' The Treasure Island'', and ''

Around the World in Eighty Days ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' () is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employed French valet Passepartout attempt to circumnavigate ...

''.

Multiple award-winning books

* ''

Momo Momo may refer to: Geography * Momo (department), Cameroon, a division of Northwest Province * Momo, Gabon, a town in the Woleu-Ntem province * Momo, Piedmont, a town in the province of Novara, Italy People Given name or nickname Athletes * ...

'' by

Michael Ende Michael Andreas Helmuth Ende (12 November 1929 – 28 August 1995) was a German writer of fantasy and children's fiction. He is known for his epic fantasy '' The Neverending Story'' (with its 1980s film adaptation and a 1995 animated television ...

(2012, 2013, twice in 2019) * '' The Arrival'' by

Shaun Tan Shaun Tan (born 15 January 1974) is an Australian artist, writer and film maker. He won an Academy Award for '' The Lost Thing'', a 2011 animated short film adaptation of the 2000 picture book he wrote and illustrated. He also wrote and illustrat ...

(2013, 2015, 2016, 2019) * ''

Ronia, the Robber's Daughter ''Ronia, the Robber's Daughter'' ( Swedish: ''Ronja rövardotter'') is a children's fantasy book by the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, first published in 1981. The book has been translated into at least 39 languages. It was adapted as a film ...

'' by

Astrid Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (; ; 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil i Lönneberga, Emil of Lönneberga, ...

(2012, 2018, 2019) * ''

Watership Down ''Watership Down'' is an adventure novel by English author Richard Adams, published by Rex Collings Ltd of London in 1972. Set in Hampshire in southern England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their natur ...

'' by

Richard Adams Richard George Adams (10 May 1920 – 24 December 2016) was an English novelist. He is best known for his debut novel ''Watership Down'' which achieved international acclaim. His other works included ''Maia'', '' Shardik'' and '' The Plague Do ...

(2018, 2020) * ''

Skellig ''Skellig'' is a children's novel by the British author David Almond, published by Hodder in 1998. It was the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year and it won the Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's outstanding ...

'' by

David Almond David Almond (born 15 May 1951) is a British author who has written many novels for children's literature, children and young adult fiction, young adults from 1998, each one receiving critical acclaim. He is one of thirty children's writers, and ...

(2016, 2020) * ''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'' by

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelist ...

(2016, 2020) * ''

The Alchemist An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy. Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to: Books and stories * ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho * ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Ben ...

'' by

Paulo Coelho Paulo Coelho de Souza ( , ; born 24 August 1947) is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist and a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters since 2002. His 1988 novel '' The Alchemist'' became an international best-seller. Early life Paulo Coelho ...

(2012, 2019) * '' Danny Champion of the World'' by

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...

(2015, 2016) * ''

Emil and the Detectives ''Emil and the Detectives'' () is a 1929 novel set mainly in Berlin, by the German writer Erich Kästner and illustrated by Walter Trier. It was Kästner's first major success and the only one of his pre-1945 works to escape Nazi censorship. The ...

'' by

Erich Kästner Emil Erich Kästner (; 23 February 1899 – 29 July 1974) was a German writer, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known primarily for his humorous, socially astute poems and for children's books including ''Emil and the Detectives'' and '' Lisa an ...

(2015, 2017) * '' The golden compass'' by

Philip Pullman Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman (born 19 October 1946) is an English writer. He is best known for the fantasy trilogy ''His Dark Materials''. The first volume, ''Northern Lights'' (1995), won the Carnegie Medal

(2012, 2014) * ''

History of Western Philosophy Western philosophy refers to the Philosophy, philosophical thought, traditions and works of the Western world. Historically, the term refers to the philosophical thinking of Western culture, beginning with the ancient Greek philosophy of the Pre ...

'' by

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...

(2012, 2013) * ''

Holes A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...

'' by

Louis Sachar Louis Sachar ( ; born March 20, 1954) is an American young-adult mystery-comedy author. He is best known for the ''Wayside School (book series), Wayside School'' series and the novel ''Holes (novel), Holes''. ''Holes'' won the 1998 U.S. Nationa ...

(2013, 2014) * ''The River'' by Alessandro Sanna (2016, 2018) * '' Where the Sidewalk Ends'' by

Shel Silverstein Sheldon Allan Silverstein (; September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, cartoonist, songwriter, and musician. Born and raised in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended university before being drafted into ...

(2014, 2016) * '' The Treasure Island'' by

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

(2012, 2014) * '' Brown Girl Dreaming'' by

Jacqueline Woodson Jacqueline Woodson (born February 12, 1963) is an American writer of books for children and adolescents. She is best known for '' Miracle's Boys'', and her Newbery Honor-winning titles '' Brown Girl Dreaming'', '' After Tupac and D Foster'', ''F ...

(2016, 2018)

Multiple award-winning writers

, six-time winner for ''

The Night of Wishes ''The Night of Wishes: Or the Satanarchaeolidealcohellish Notion Potion'' is a German fantasy book by the German children's book author Michael Ende that was first published in 1989 and awarded with the Swiss literary award "La vache qui lit" in 1 ...

'', ''

The Neverending Story ''The Neverending Story'' () is a fantasy novel by German writer Michael Ende, published in 1979. The first English translation, by Ralph Manheim, was published in 1983. It was later adapted into a film series and a television series. Plot T ...

'' and ''

'' *

, five-time winner for ''

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1964 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka. The story was origina ...

'', '' Danny Champion of the World'', '' The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More'' and ''

The BFG ''The BFG'' (short for ''The Big Friendly Giant'') is a 1982 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. It is an expansion of a short story from Dahl's 1975 novel '' Danny, the Champion of the World''. The book is dedicated to Dahl's oldest ...

'' *

, five-time winner for ''

The Lost Thing ''The Lost Thing'' is a picture book written and illustrated by Shaun Tan that was also adapted into an Academy Award-winning animated short film. Plot Set in a dystopian Melbourne, Australia, in the near future, ''The Lost Thing'' is a story ...

'' and '' The Arrival'' *

, four-time winner for ''

Mio, My Son ''Mio, My Son'' is a children's book by Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren. It was first published in 1954 in Sweden with the Swedish title ''Mio, min Mio'' (literally "Mio, my Mio"). The writing is stylised and the story strongly reminiscent of tra ...

'' and ''

'' *

Tonke Dragt Antonia "Tonke" Johanna Dragt (; 12 November 1930 – 12 July 2024) was a Dutch writer and illustrator of children's literature. Her book ''De brief voor de koning'' was chosen by Collectieve Propaganda van het Nederlandse Boek, CPNB as the best ...

, three-time winner for '' Letter to the King'', ''Aan de andere kant van de deur'' and ''Torenhoog en mijlenbreed'' *

, three-time winner for ''

The 35th of May, or Conrad's Ride to the South Seas ''The 35th of May; or, Conrad's Ride to the South Seas'' () is a novel by Erich Kästner, first published in 1932. Unlike most of Kästner's other works - set in a completely realistic contemporary Germany - the present book is a work of fantasy ...

'' and ''

'' *

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

, three-time winner for ''

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' is a picaresque novel by American author Mark Twain that was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Commonly named among the Great American Novels, th ...

'', ''

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (also simply known as ''Tom Sawyer'') is a novel by Mark Twain published on June 9, 1876, about a boy, Tom Sawyer, growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1830s-1840s in the town of St. Petersbu ...

'' and ''

Roughing It ''Roughing It'' is a book of semi-autobiographical travel literature by Mark Twain. It was written in 1870–71 and published in 1872, following his first travel book '' The Innocents Abroad'' (1869). ''Roughing It'' is dedicated to Twain's m ...

Guests

Since 2001, more than 2,500 authors from more than 120 countries have presented their work at the festival, among them Nobel Prize Winners

Svetlana Alexievich Svetlana Alexandrovna Alexievich (born 31 May 1948) is a Belarusian investigative journalist, essayist and oral historian who writes in Russian. She was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to s ...

J. M. Coetzee John Maxwell Coetzee Order of Australia, AC Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, FRSL Order of Mapungubwe, OMG (born 9 February 1940) is a South African and Australian novelist, essayist, linguist, and translator. The recipient of the 2003 ...

Nadine Gordimer Nadine Gordimer (20 November 192313 July 2014) was a South African writer and political activist. She received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, recognised as a writer "who through her magnificent epic writing has ... been of very great ben ...

Günter Grass Günter Wilhelm Grass (; 16 October 1927 – 13 April 2015) was a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was born in the Free City of Danzig (now Gda ...

Doris Lessing Doris May Lessing ( Tayler; 22 October 1919 – 17 November 2013) was a British novelist. She was born to British parents in Qajar Iran, Persia, where she lived until 1925. Her family then moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where ...

Herta Müller Herta Müller (; born 17 August 1953) is a Romanian-German novelist, poet, essayist and recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature. She was born in Nițchidorf (; ), Timiș County in Romania; her native languages are German and Romanian. Si ...

Orhan Pamuk Ferit Orhan Pamuk (born 7 June 1952; ) is a Turkish novelist, screenwriter, academic, and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. One of Turkey's most prominent novelists, he has sold over 13 million books in 63 languages, making him ...

Wole Soyinka Wole Soyinka , (born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian author, best known as a playwright and poet. He has written three novels, ten collections of short stories, seven poetry collections, twenty five plays and five memoirs. He also wrote two transla ...

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (28 March 1936 – 13 April 2025) was a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and politician. Vargas Llosa was one of the most significant Latin American novelists and essayists a ...

Gao Xingjian Gao Xingjian ( zh, 高行健; born January 4, 1940) is a Chinese émigré and later French naturalized novelist, playwright, critic, painter, photographer, film director, and translator who in 2000 was awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in Literature, ...

as well as

Han Kang Han Kang (; born 27 November 1970) is a South Korean writer. From 2007 to 2018, she taught creative writing at the Seoul Institute of the Arts. Han rose to international prominence for her novel ''The Vegetarian'', which became the first Kore ...

Juli Zeh Juli Zeh (, Julia Barbara Finck, née Zeh; born 30 June 1974) is a German writer and judge. She is known for novels such as '' The Method'' (2009), '' Unterleuten'' (2016) and '' About People'' (2021). Early life and education Juli Zeh is the da ...

Rebecca Solnit Rebecca Solnit (born 1961) is an American writer and activist. She has written on a variety of subjects, including feminism, the environment, politics, place, and art. Solnit is the author of seventeen books, including '' River of Shadows'', whi ...

Monica Ali Monica Ali (; born 20 October 1967) is a British writer of Bangladeshi and English descent. In 2003, she was selected as one of the "Best of Young British Novelists" by ''Granta'' based on her unpublished manuscript; her debut novel, ''Brick L ...

, Samantha Schweblin, Carla Guelfenbein,

Yasmina Reza Yasmina Reza (; born 1 May 1959) is a French playwright, actress, novelist and screenwriter best known for her plays ''Art (play), 'Art and ''God of Carnage''. Many of her brief satiric plays have reflected on contemporary middle-class issues. ...

Mona Eltahawy Mona Eltahawy (, ; born August 1, 1967) is a freelance Egyptian-American journalist and social commentator based in New York City. She has written essays and op-eds for publications worldwide on Egypt and the Islamic world, on topics including wo ...

Hanan al-Shaykh Hanan al-Shaykh (; born 12 November 1945) is a Lebanese author of contemporary literature. Biography Hanan al-Shaykh was born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1945, into a strict Shi'a family. Her father and brother exerted strict social control over ...

, Marie NDiaye, Ozge Samanci,

Dacia Maraini Dacia Maraini (; born November 13, 1936) is an Italian writer. Maraini's work focuses on women's issues, and she has written numerous plays and novels. She has won awards for her work, including the Formentor Prize for ''L'età del malessere'' ...

, Ljudmila Ulitzkaya,

Bernice Chauly Bernice Chauly (born 1968, Georgetown, Penang) is a Malaysian writer, poet, educator, festival director, actor, photographer and filmmaker. Biography Born to a Chindian teacher couple, she read Education and English Literature at the Universi ...

, Laksmi Pamuntiak, and

Antonio Tabucchi Antonio Tabucchi (; 24 September 1943 – 25 March 2012) was an Italian writer and academic who taught Portuguese language and literature at the University of Siena, Italy. Deeply in love with Portugal, he was an expert, critic and translator o ...

Publications

* ''Catalogue'': The annual festival catalogue in contained photos, biographies and selected bibliographies of all participating writers.The catalogue was published until 2021. * ''The Berlin Anthology'': All authors who participated in the program section 'Literatures of the World' come together and select 99 poems, that will be published in their original language and a German translation. * ''Scritture Giovani'': Each year, the ilb publishes five short stories which have been exclusively written for the ilb Scritture Giovani contest according to a specific theme in the languages of the five participating countries (UK, Italy, Norway, Germany and a guest country).

References

External links

Official festival website

Programme booklets

Opening speeches

Official website of the Worldwide Readings

Word Alliance

Das außergewöhnliche Buch website (in German)

Das außergewöhnliche Buch website (in English)

Children´s and Youth Program of the International Literature Festival Berlin (English key facts)
{{Authority control Literary festivals in Germany Festivals in Berlin Children's literary awards German literary awards Awards established in 2012