TextTransit
The “TextTransit” writing group is designed to be intercultural.
The group is aimed at authors or students interested in writing who speak and write other languages or who, as non-native speakers, want to write their literary texts in German. Students who write purely in German are of course just as welcome. The course language is German. The group is led by changing authors every 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 group participants and collaboration: a literary campaign should be developed from within the group.
The current call for tenders for TextTransit is available in event Calendar.
Heads of TextTransit
All TextTransit leaders are Berlin authors and have an intercultural connection. The presentation is in alphabetical order.
Maria Cecilia Barbetta
María Cecilia Barbetta was born in Buenos Aires in 1972 and grew up in the
Ballester immigrant district, where her novel “Night Lights” is set, and visited
the German school there. In 1996 she moved to Berlin and stayed. Her first novel,
»Alteration tailoring Los Milagros« (2008), was, among other things, with the aspect-
Awarded literary prize. María Cecilia Barbetta writes in German. Her second novel
about the eve of a political upheaval, “Night Lights” (2018), was released with the
Alfred Döblin Prize, the Chamisso Prize/Hellerau and was on the shortlist for the
German Book Prize.
Dilek Güngör
Dilek Güngör, born in Schwäbisch Gmünd in 1972, studied translation in Germersheim, journalism in Mainz and race and ethnic studies in Warwick, England. As a journalist and columnist, she worked for the “Berliner Zeitung”, the “Stuttgarter Zeitung” and for the Zeit-Online column “10 nach 8” and until 2020 as deputy editor-in-chief of the magazine “Kulturtausch”. Her novel “The Secret of My Turkish Grandmother” was published in 2007. Her novel “I am Özlem” was published by Verbrecher Verlag in spring 2019, and “Father and I” was published in summer 2021. He was nominated for the German Book Prize. Her novel “A for Ada” has been available everywhere since January 2024.
She will lead TextTransit in the summer semester of 2024.
Franziska Hauser
Franziska Hauser, born in Berlin in 1975, is an author and photographer. She has two children.
She studied stage design and fine art at the KHS Berlin Weißensee and photography at the Ostkreuzschule. In 2015, her novel “Sommerdreieck” was published by Rowohlt Verlag and received the debut prize from lit.Cologne. The photo illustrated book “Seven Years of Luxury” was published by Kehrer Verlag and her second novel “The Storm Swimmer” was published by Eichborn Verlag in 2018, which was nominated for the German Book Prize. She writes and photographs for Das Magazin, Berliner Zeitung, FAZ, Brigitte, Maxi, Die Welt, Separé, etc. In 2016 she took part in the novel workshop at the Bavarian Academy of Writing. Her third novel “The Glass Sisters” was published by Eichborn Verlag in February 2020.
Mariusz Hoffmann
Mariusz Hoffmann was born in Poland in 1986. He studied philosophy in Hamburg, later creative writing and cultural journalism as well as literary writing and editing in Hildesheim. There he was co-editor of the literary magazine Bella triste and part of the Litradio editorial team. In 2017 he was awarded the Open Mike in the prose category. In 2019 he was a participant in the Jürgen Ponto Foundation's writing workshop. This was followed by residency grants in Ahrenshoop and in the Broumov Monastery (Goethe Institute Czech Republic). In 2023, Mariusz Hoffmann's debut novel "Polnischer Abgang" was published by Berlin Verlag. He was awarded the Alfred Döblin scholarship for work on his next book. In addition to his work as an author, Mariusz Hoffmann also teaches creative writing at the Schreibhain Author School.
Yael Inokai
Yael Inokai (*1989) studied philosophy in Basel and Vienna and screenwriting at the German Film and Television Academy in Berlin. She is a member of the editorial board of the magazine PS: Notes on the literary business / political writing. She lives and works as a freelance author in Berlin. She was awarded the Swiss Literature Prize for her second novel “Mahlstrom”.
Elnathan John
Elnathan John is a Nigerian lawyer, novelist and satirist. His short stories were shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2013 and 2015. His novel Born on a Tuesday won the Betty Trask Award and was shortlisted for the Nigeria Prize for Literature. It has been translated into German and French. His satirical collection "Be(com)ing Nigerian, A Guide " was published by Cassava Republic Press in 2019. His most recent book, "On Ajayi Crowther Street", a graphic novel, was also published in 2019. In German, it was published in 2021 under the title "Lagos: Life in Suburbia". Elnathan was a member of the Jury of the Man Booker International Prize 2019. He lives in Berlin.
Caca Savic
Caca Savić was born in Austria in 1977 and studied art and cultural sociology in Vienna. The poet and author has lived in Berlin since 2005. Last published particle land, Verlagshaus Berlin, Berlin 2020 and contributions in: Accents 1/23 - magazine for literature published by Carl Hanser Verlag, edited by Maren Wurster, Munich 2023. 2022 was Savić Scholarship holder of the Austrian Society for Literature in the Casa-Litterarum-Paliano, Italy. In 2020 she received the HCArtmann scholarship in Salzburg, Austria.