13 March 2019 press release

The German National Library shall once again have its own stand in hall 5 (H 5112) at the Leipzig book fair this year. As part of "Leipzig liest" a number of readings and special guided tours shall be taking place in the German National Library on Deutscher Platz. Further information (available only in German) www.dnb.de/buchmesse.

Ingrid Noll "Goldschatz" ("Hoard of Gold") //Reading and discussion // Leipzig liest // German National Library in Leipzig // Thursday, 21. March 2019, 19:00

Five young people want to give consumer society the finger: they are determined to stop Aunt Emma’s old farmhouse from being torn down, and instead want to transform it into an alternative house-share for students. However, they don’t have the money for the renovation work. But then they discover a little sack of precious gold coins among Emma’s old junk. The treasure doesn’t solve the problem, though – quite the opposite, in fact.

Born in Shanghai in 1935, Ingrid Noll studied German and Art History in Bonn. After her children left home, she began writing crime novels, all of which became best-sellers, with many being adapted for the big screen.

An event in collaboration with Diogenes Verlag as part of "Leipzig liest".

Costs: Admission 4.00 Euro. Reading room. Doors open at 19:30 / Contact www.dnb.de/veranstaltungleipzig to make a reservation, call 0341-2271-286 or purchase a ticket on the door

Eva und Erwin Strittmatter "Du bist mein zweites Ich" ("You are my second self") // Reading from the correspondence with Erwin Berner and Angelika Neutschel // Leipzig liest //German National Library in Leipzig // Friday, 22 March 2019, 18:00

Eva and Erwin Strittmatter met at a "Young Authors" conference in 1952. She worked for the Association of Authors (Schriftstellerverband) in Berlin, he was a freelance writer living in Spremberg, and so the two entered into a correspondence.
Their letters from the 1950s range from their first tentative admissions of their feelings for one another to explorations of the creative writing process, and tell of artistic and family crises, of encounters with colleagues, of life in the GDR, and the ways that an author must do battle for his work.

The readers will be: Erwin Berner, author, actor and oldest son of Eva and Erwin Strittmatter; and the actress Angelika Neutschel.

An event in collaboration with Aufbau Verlag as part of "Leipzig liest".

Admission free, Vortragsraum, Doors open at 17:30 / Contact www.dnb.de/veranstaltungleipzig to make a reservation or call 0341-2271-286

Hannes Köhler "Ein mögliches Leben" ("A potential life") // Reading and discussion // Leipzig liest //German National Library in Leipzig // Friday, 22 March 2019, 20:00

Hannes Köhler’s novel "Ein mögliches Leben" (Ullstein Verlag) received the Ravensburger Verlag Foundation’s book award for the family novel of 2018. In his novel spanning different generations, the author brings to life the experiences of German prisoners of war in US camps.
The story of a grandson who travels with his 90-year-old grandfather to the sites of the US’s POW camps is set in the present
Born in Hamburg in 1982, Hannes Köhler lives as a freelance author and translator in Berlin.

An event in collaboration with the Ravensburger Verlag Foundation as part of "Leipzig liest".
Moderation: Andrea Reidt

Admission free, Lecture hall, Doors open at 19:30 / Contact www.dnb.de/veranstaltungleipzig to make a reservation or call 0341-2271-286

"Leben, Wanderungen & Schicksale Johann Christoph Sachses, eines Thüringers, von ihm selbst verfasst" ("The life, wanderings & fortunes of Johann Christoph Sachse, a native of Thuringia, as told by the man himself") // Reading and discussion// Leipzig liest //German National Library in Leipzig // Saturday, 23 March 2019, 18:00

The adventure-packed life story of a library assistant.
In 1822, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe commissioned Cotta to publish the life story of Goethe’s library assistant, Johann Christoph Sachse, who worked for him at the Duchess Anna Amalia Library. Sachse’s writings provide a vivid portrayal of working-class life in Germany. A great re-discovery – presented by Michael Knoche, long-term director of the Anna Amalia Library, and publisher Peter Graf.

An event in collaboration with Verlag Das kulturelle Gedächtnis as part of "Leipzig liest".

Contact www.dnb.de/veranstaltungleipzig to make a reservation or call 0341-2271-286

Background

For over a century now the German National Library has been collecting, documenting, archiving and making publicly available all written and sound recording publications issued in Germany, or in German, since 1913. It provides its comprehensive range of services at its twin sites in Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main, but also in digital form to a global circle of users. In addition, the German National Library also houses valuable and extensive special collections in the German Exile Archive 1933-1945 and the German Museum of Books and Writing. It showcases its valuable collections and promotes the culture of books, reading and music by regularly staging readings, exhibitions, lectures and concerts. It houses over 30 million media units and attracts roughly 220,000 visitors to its two sites in Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main with its collections and rich and varied programme of events.

Contact person

Annett Koschnick