Literature

Berlin writes many stories. Who lives and studies here knows this. 

That is why we invite all students who write literary texts to present them in our projects, to develop them further and to network with others. You can find information about our offers here and current events in our event calendar. If you want to stay informed about upcoming literature events and calls, then subscribe to our literature newsletter, which we send at irregular intervals: 

Lies los! 

Lies los! offers student authors and listeners a "safe space" in which a fair and respectful framework for exchange, feedback and networking is created. Students who write can read their texts aloud, others listen. 

 

Any literary form is welcome. You don't have to be a professional either. Many students are reading with us for the first time.

In the winter semester, Lies los! takes place online. You can read your own texts via Webex, listen to others and exchange ideas about the texts.

Please register for the events. Current dates can be found in the event calendar.

Berlin Stories

With the first student writer-in-residence project Berlin Stories we want to capture the specific perspective of Berlin students on their city over a longer period of time. Each year, a new city writer is selected by an jury. Their texts can be found on our Berlin Stories Blog.

The writers-in-residence 2022 are Paula van Well and Elisabeth Pape. 

Former city writers

The writer-in-residence 2021 was Momo Bera.

The writer-in-residence 2020 was Dana Vowinckel. 

The writer-in-residence 2019 was Josephine Bätz.

The first city writer in 2018 was Charlotte Wührer. 

Press reviews

TextTransit

The writing group "TextTransit" is intercultural and multilingual, i. e. it is aimed at authors or students who are interested in writing, who speak and write in other languages or who, as non-native speakers, want to write their literary texts in German.

A new application for the group is possible before the start of every semester via our event calendar. 

Students who write in German are of course just as welcome. The course language is German. The group is led by a different author each semester.

The aim of the group is to improve one's own literary writing through continuous work on the texts over a semester. Equally important is the critical exchange between the group participants and the cooperation: a literary action is to be developed from the group. 

Leading authors of the writing group

Other leading authors

  • Winter semester 2021/22: María Cecilia Barbetta 
  • Summer semester 2021: Franziska Hauser
  • Winter semester 2020/21: Yael Inokai 
  • Summer semester 2020: Franziska Hauser  

Press reviews

Book Club

Foto: Pexels auf Pixabay

Foto: Pexels auf Pixabay

Book club on the topics: Antiracism, Feminism and Intersectionality 

Based on current books, the book club is intended to become a safe space for exchange, debate and self-reflection.

The club will be lead by Bianca Othmann. She studied German Literature and Cultural Studies at Humboldt University, has been working at studierendenWERK BERLIN and is responsible for the literary projects of the cultural department as a student assistant.

Literature Anthology

"In der Weserstraße sonnt sich ein Haus. Literaturanthologie mit Texten studentischer Autor*innen"

In January 2021 the first literature anthology of the studierendenWERK BERLIN is published! It contains texts from all literary projects of the Office Culture & International Affairs. The anthology covers the period from 2018-2020 and thus the creative period of our three Berlin Stories authors. 

If you would like to receive a free copy, please contact us (NB: Most of the texts are in German): Kultur@stw.berlin

But it is not only the writers-in-residence whose texts take us on a literary journey through student life in the capital of Germany. The finalists on the Berlin Stories shortlist, the authors of the reading platform Lies los! and the authors of the intercultural writing group TextTransit also share their perspectives and experiences with us through their texts. The anthology was illustrated and designed by Isabella Zappe.

Networking spaces

Foto: Franziska Hauser

Foto: Franziska Hauser

We create networking spaces. This means that students who participate in one project can and should also get to know the participants of the other literary projects. In this way, new inspirations arise and author networks can be created. 

At the open reading platform Lies los! our city writer and participants of the writing group TextTransit will also read. In addition, all TextTransit participants from different semesters can get to know each other in the open TextTransit networking room.

Also, all students who participate in our literary projects have the opportunity to publish their texts as blog posts or spoken texts on Soundcloud.

Impressions of our readings