‘Leipzig Liest’: 18 Years Old - And Everyone’s Celebrating

"‘Leipzig liest’ (‘Leipzig Reads’) once again presents a very diverse program." It sounds a lot like an advertising slogan, and was in fact said by Leipzig Book Fair director Oliver Zille, who admittedly has a mandate to market "his" event. However, one look at the hard facts shows that Zille could be accused of almost making an understatement. This year’s fair features no less than 1,900 events with over 1,500 authors at more than 300 different venues - and with nine event series of its own – three at the fair, and six in the city centre – Club Bertelsmann in 2009 is once again making a literary statement in Leipzig.

For reasons of tradition alone, the Club is more or less obligated to show this level of involvement, because it is thanks not least to the Club’s support that “Leipzig liest” has become what it is today: the largest literary festival in Europe. "Since its inception in 1992, our festival of reading has developed spectacularly," said Christiane Munsberg, responsible for cultural projects at Club Bertelsmann. "We are very proud to have played our part in making it what it is through perfect teamwork with the Leipzig Book Fair and the city of Leipzig, plus the expertise we have built up."

Even After The Fair Is Over, The Motto Is: Keep On Reading

From 1992 to 2009 – that’s 18 years of reading and literacy promotion. Accordingly, there is a vast program of happenings to celebrate its coming of age. At the fair, they include familiar Club events such as the Blue Sofa, and away from it, a wide range of events in relaxed settings. Because even when the tradeshow closes its gates, the city continues reading well on into the night.

For example, the “Crime Club,” also in its 18th year, will once again prove that even Leipzig’s district court can pack in the visitors. Fans of crime fiction will definitely come into their own this year: Heyne author Sabine Thiesler (“Totengräberin”) will introduce exciting new reading material here with her colleagues Arne Dahl, Zoran Drvenkar and Jan Costin Wagner on Mar 12 and 13. The same approach will also be used for the first time at this year's "Long LVZ Mystery Night", where the Club brings together several female mystery writers (under the slogan "Ladies Choice") on Saturday Mar 14, to read and discuss books.

Stefanie Zweig And Senke Rosenblum Read And Tell Stories

Even without fiction, the traditionally sold-out "East-West German Night" also creates a stir. As this year marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall, this year’s event on Mar 12 is marking the occasion with the likes of author and musician Konstantin Wecker having their say.

The Club event series "Jewish Contexts" (Mar 12-14), a perennial feature of the Leipzig Book Fair, has a similarly long history. This year, contemporaries including Georg Stefan Troller, Mirjam Pressler, Stefanie Zweig and Senke Rosenblum will not only read from their books, but also talk about their lives. The same will take place at "German-Israeli Relations" on Mar 13, with discussions between authors from the two countries.

Two other reading events round off the Club program at this year’s "Leipzig liest": bestselling author Jonathan Stroud (" Bartimaeus ", CBJ) introduces his new fantasy novel " Heroes of the Valley " with actor Florian Fischer at Leipzig’s Cinestar cinema on 12 March. On the same day at the Leipzig Club branch, local heroine Sabine Ebert also reads from her historical novels.

www.leipzig-liest.de