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Frankfurt Book Fair 2025: OFF Stage Switzerland 

Press release, Literature
OFF Bühne Schweiz 2025
© Sabine Affolter & Patrick Savolainen

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For the third year running, Pro Helvetia is providing Swiss literature with an international platform called OFF Stage Switzerland at the Frankfurt Book Fair. This year’s programme is curated by Annina Niederberger and Nuria Sublet. It focuses on political tipping points and the power of influence that stories have in a democratic society. OFF Stage Switzerland also features the Swiss literary scene through short readings, workshops and the new silent reading raves.

Current political issues will be at the heart of three panel discussions with selected writers. Under the heading Demokratie am Scheideweg (Democracy at a crossroad), authors Usama Al Shahmani (In der Tiefe des Tigris schläft ein Lied, Limmat Verlag) and Oliver Nachtwey (Zerstörungslust, Suhrkamp) talk about the conditions that give rise to social backlash and counterstrategies. Under the title Jenseits der Bubbles (Beyond the bubbles), author Martina Clavadetscher (Die Schrecken der anderen, C.H. Beck) and journalist Gilda Sahebi (Verbinden statt Spalten, S. Fischer) ask about possible new narratives regarding community. The third discussion, entitled Körperpolitiken (Body policies), with Swiss parliamentarian and writer Anna Rosenwasser (Herz, Rotpunktverlag) and German author Hugo [fka Evan] Tepest (Sind Penisse real?, Piper Verlag), focuses on the current rise of antifeminism.

‘In an environment of hardening attitudes and with extreme positions becoming increasingly normal, we are interested in the contribution that literature can make to the current political debate,’ say curators Annina Niederberger and Nuria Sublet.

‘Literature mirrors social developments and opens spaces for numerous voices to reflect on these developments. At a setting as prominent as the Frankfurt Book Fair, it is important for Pro Helvetia to provide a platform where voices from the Swiss literary scene can be heard,’ adds Reina Gehrig, Head of Literature at Pro Helvetia.

Discussions about AI licences, the publishing of contemporary drama texts, and literary translation as a form of resistance are the topics of three further panel events. Among the participants at the event spotlighting translation is Annette Hug, a translator of Filipino literature. The Philippines are the Guest of Honour at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair.

Other OFF Stage Switzerland programme items include workshops, networking events and short readings by Anna Schmid, Antoinette Rychner, Asa Hendry, Dorothee Elmiger, Fork Burke, Lydia Dimitrow, Martin Oesch, Martina Clavadetscher, Michael Fehr, Olga Lakritz, Peter Stamm, Usama Al Shahmani and Vamille. 

Programme 2025

The full programme and the names of all invited participants can be found here:

About the curators

Annina Niederberger (born 1989) studied German, Social Sciences and Sociology in Basel and Berlin. She worked as programme curator with a focus on participation and diversity at the international literature festival BuchBasel (book basel) and at Literaturhaus Basel (literature house Basel), where she was also responsible for communication and event organisation. From 2019 to 2021, she was production manager at the Internationales Lyrikfestival Basel (international poetry festival Basel).

Nuria Sublet (born 1997) earned a Master’s degree in German and Sociology at the University of Basel and was subsequently employed as an intern in Pro Helvetia’s Literature division. Since December 2024, she has been working for the Swiss literature festival Solothurner Literaturtage (Solothurn literature days) in the fields of programming and communication.

About the partners

This year’s partners of OFF Stage Switzerland include the associations Associazione Librai ed Editori della Svizzera italiana (ALESI), LIVRE SUISSE, Schweizer Buchhandels- und Verlags-Verband (SBVV), A*dS Autorinnen und Autoren der Schweiz, the European Writers’ Council (EWC), the European Council of Literary Translators’ Associations (CEATL), Swiss Book Prize, studiyo filipino, the Philippine National Book Development Board, Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg and silent reading rave from Switzerland.

The OFF Stage Switzerland initiative is one of several measures taken by Pro Helvetia to promote literature from Switzerland at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Others include support for the Swiss collective booth and the mentoring programme Frankfurter Seilschaften.

About the participants of Frankfurter Seilschaften 2025

In cooperation with the association A*dS Autorinnen und Autoren der Schweiz, Pro Helvetia is inviting seven emerging Swiss, FINTA (women, intersex, non-binary, transgender, and agender people) writers to the Frankfurt Book Fair: Vera Hohleiter, Joanna Yulia Kluge, martian m. mächler, Louisa Merten, Giulietta Mottini, Karin Rey, Valeska Marina Stach. The aim of the support programme Frankfurter Seilschaften is to familiarise the selected writers with the book fair’s procedures, facilitate contacts with other authors and professionals in the literature business, and enable the participants to build an international network. Swiss author Tabea Steiner is this year’s mentor.

Frankfurt Book Fair 2025

15–19 October 2025 

Click here for the full programme

OFF Stage Switzerland 2025 

Location: Hall 3.1, F122 (Frankfur Book Fair). 

Follow us on Instagram for live updates from the OFF Stage Switzerland.

Further information

Enquiries

media@prohelvetia.ch  

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Generative AI models are trained millions of times with copyright-protected content, so far without asking for permission and without compensation. Now, solutions involving work licenses for such use are being proposed and discussed. But should writers and publishers really grant licences to systems that essentially compete with their work? And if so, how are such licences to be designed? How much should they cost? Author Monika Pfundmeier, lawyer Susanne Barwick, Cornelia Mechler, managing director of the Swiss authors’ association Autorinnen und Autoren der Schweiz A*dS, and Nicole Pfister Fetz, Secretary General of the European Writers' Council (EWC), debate the pros and cons of AI licences.

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Nicole Pfister Fetz © private

Nicole Pfister Fetz (born 1968) is an art historian, cultural lobbyist and Secretary General of the European Writers' Council (EWC). Prior to that, she worked as managing director of the Swiss authors’ association Autorinnen und Autoren der Schweiz A*dS and president of Suisseculture Sociale. She is also a guest lecturer for cultural lobbying at the University of Basel.

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Asa Hendry
Asa Hendry © Nargess Behrouzian

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Theater im Regal (Theatre on a shelf)
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Wednesday 15.10. 13:00-13:45

Event in German.

Plays by Schiller, Büchner and Goethe belong to the school curriculum in the German-speaking world. But what about contemporary drama texts? Unlike canonical texts, they are hardly available for the general public and often disappear from sight after the pieces have been staged. Does this need to be reconsidered in the theatre and publishing sector? Should plays be retained in writing, or does their very strength lie in their fleetingness? Together with Laura de Weck, Yvonne Büdenhölzer and Asa Hendry talk about long-term visibility of drama and about what happens to drama texts after they have been published.

Asa Hendry
Asa Hendry © Nargess Behrouzian

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Yvonne Büdenhölzer
Yvonne Büdenhölzer © Max Zerrahn

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Laura de Weck © Sasha Ilushina

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Wednesday 15.10. 14:30-15:15

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In cooperation with silent reading rave.

Meeting point: OFF Stage Switzerland
Bring along: your own book

Further silent reading raves:
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Saturday 18 October, 15:30

Short reading
In der Tiefe des Tigris schläft ein Lied (Limmat Verlag 2025)
Usama Al Shahmani

Wednesday 15.10. 15:30-16:00

Short reading in German.

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Usama Al Shahmani
Usama Al Shahmani © Ayse Yavas

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OFF’n’BAR
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Wednesday 15.10. 16:30-17:00

Event in German.

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Usama Al Shahmani
Usama Al Shahmani © Ayse Yavas

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Literary practitioners and professionals from the book industry are invited to attend.

16:30: Toast by author Usama Al Shahmani
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Monica Vuerich
Monica Vuerich © Katja Sievers

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Die Holländerinnen (Hanser Verlag 2025)
Dorothee Elmiger

Thursday 16.10. 13:00-13:30

Short reading in German.

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Dorothee Elmiger
Dorothee Elmiger © Georg Gatsas

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Accent
Demokratie am Scheideweg (Democracy at a crossroad)
Autoritärer Backlash und Gegenstrategien (Authoritarian backlash and counterstrategies)
Usama Al Shahmani, Oliver Nachtwey, Geneva Moser

Thursday 16.10. 14:00-14:45

Event in German.

Fascist-like tendencies can increasingly be observed in numerous democratic societies. How can the rise of such movements be explained? In Zerstörungslust (Suhrkamp, 2025), Oliver Nachtwey and Carolin Amlinger describe the growing hostility to democracy as a revolt against liberal societies that no longer make good their promises of emancipation and social advancement. In his novel In der Tiefe des Tigris schläft ein Lied (Limmat, 2025), Usama Al Shahmani shows, with Iraq as an example, the harrowing impact that the Nazis had even beyond the confines of Europe. Nachtwey and Al Shahmani jointly talk about the origins of fascist movements and the measures it takes to make democracy appeal to a solid majority of the population again.

Usama Al Shahmani
Usama Al Shahmani © Ayse Yavas

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Oliver Nachtwey
Oliver Nachtwey © Jürgen Bauer Suhrkamp Verlag

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Geneva Moser
Geneva Moser © private

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Short reading
Die Schrecken der anderen (C.H. Beck 2025)
Martina Clavadetscher

Thursday 16.10. 15:15-15:45

Short reading in German.

Martina Clavadetscher takes us into dark zones of history and society, where untold stories lurk. Two separate narrative threads come ever closer together – right up to the shattering finale. ‘She shapes her story in her trademark style – high-paced, with strong imagery and great sensitivity regarding the language of her characters,’ according to Swiss radio and television SRF. Clavadetscher rails against the failure of people to speak up, showing that silent condoning is the most sanctimonious form of crime because no resistance is offered. What she tells could be anybody’s story, in any country and at any time, as long as we don’t learn from the terror inflicted on others.

Martina Clavadetscher
Martina Clavadetscher © Anne Morgenstern

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Concert
raw music (Verlag Der gesunde Menschenversand 2025)
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Thursday 16.10. 16:30-17:00

Concert in English and German.

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Michael Fehr © Victor Hege

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Yoga mit Buch
Monica Vuerich

Daily 09:30-10:00

The daily yoga-with-book session led by Monica Vuerich offers the perfect opportunity to build up energy for the day in a playful manner. Days at the book fair can be long and intense, so how can we best prepare ourselves physically and mentally? By getting our feet ready for long distances, strengthening our spine for successful negotiations, and opening our heart for numerous encounters and stories. Always at hand during the morning warm-up sessions is our current favourite book.

Monica Vuerich
Monica Vuerich © Katja Sievers

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Short reading
Ma forêt (Les éditions Fugue 2025)
Antoinette Rychner

Friday 17.10. 10:30-11:00

Short reading in French with German translation.

Ma forêt is Antoinette Rychner’s third novel. It’s about events that unfold between two groups of hunter-gatherers in an imagined setting and an undefined era. The author plays with motives from anthropology and the evolutionary history of our species. With this novel, she aims to encourage reflection on social organisation around procreation and the sharing of parental tasks. Radical and poetic, feminist and raw, Ma forêt plunges us into an invented prehistoric world that turns out to be more ‘real’ and topical than ever.

Antoinette Rychner
Antoinette Rychner © Guillaume Perret

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Friday 17.10. 11:15-12:00

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Katja Brunner
Katja Brunner © Heta Multanen

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silent reading rave

Friday 17.10. 12:00-13:00

We are finally bringing peace and quiet to the boisterous book fair world. In Switzerland, the project silent reading rave has already boosted reading for years, now it’s making its first appearance in Germany. During a silent reading rave, we read our own book in silence, side by side with other readers. Coming and going is permitted at any time. Noise-cancelling headsets are available. Take some time out – doing nothing but reading!

In cooperation with silent reading rave.

Meeting point: OFF Stage Switzerland
Bring along: your own book

Further silent reading raves:
Wednesday 17.10. at 14:30
Saturday 18.10. at 15:30

Short reading
Frankfurter Seilschaften 2025 – Nachwuchsliteratur aus der Schweiz (literature by emerging authors from Switzerland)
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Friday 17.10. 13:00-13:30

Frankfurter Seilschaften is a programme that aims to familiarise emerging authors from the female, intersex, non-binary, trans, and agender community from Switzerland to book fair procedures and enable them to forge contacts with other literary practitioners. Through short readings from unpublished texts, the authors are given the opportunity to introduce themselves to the public and to representatives of the book industry. The Frankfurter Seilschaften programme was jointly set up by the Swiss authors’ association Autorinnen und Autoren der Schweiz A*dS and the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.

Vera Hohleiter
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(Pronouns: she/her)
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Joanna Yulia Kluge
Joanna Yulia Kluge © Nele Visschers

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Pronouns: (she/her)
Instagram

martian m. mächler
martian m. mächler © Jack Pryce

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(Pronouns: none)

Louisa Merten
Louisa Merten © Antal Thoma

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(Pronouns: she/her)
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Facebook

Giulietta Mottini
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(Pronouns: she/her)
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Karin Rey
Karin Rey © Ayse Yavas

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Pronouns: (she/her)
Instagram

Valeska Marina Stach
Valeska Marina Stach © Nicole Urbschat

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Pronouns: (she/her)
Instagram

Accent
Jenseits der Bubbles (Beyond the bubbles)
Gemeinschaft neu erzählen (New narratives of community) 
Martina Clavadetscher, Gilda Sahebi, Geneva Moser

Friday 17.10. 14:00-14:45

Event in German.

The most effective means against authoritarianism and right-wing backlash are a committed civil society and actions showing solidarity. But where can such public commitment take form and how can communities and like-minded groups gain support and visibility beyond their own bubbles? Journalist Gilda Sahebi (Verbinden statt Spalten, S. Fischer 2025) and author Martina Clavadetscher (Die Schrecken der anderen, C.H. Beck 2025) jointly pursue such questions. It is a search for persuasive images and narratives of community and democracy that can deflate the narrative of separateness propagated by the hard right.

Martina Clavadetscher
Martina Clavadetscher © Anne Morgenstern

Martina Clavadetscher (born 1979) is an author and dramaturg. After studying German Literature, Linguistics and Philosophy, she worked at a wide range of German-language theatres. Her novel Die Erfindung des Ungehorsams won her the Swiss Book Prize in 2021. She lives in Switzerland.

Gilda Sahebi
Gilda Sahebi © Hannes Leitlein

Gilda Sahebi (born 1984) is a medical doctor and political scientist. She works as a freelance journalist focusing on racism, women’s rights, the Middle East and science. Her book Verbinden statt spalten. Eine Antwort auf die Politik der Polarisierung was published by S. Fischer Verlag in 2025.

Geneva Moser
Geneva Moser © private

Geneva Moser (born 1988) studied Creative Writing at the Swiss Literature Institute in Biel/Bienne. She is a philosopher and gender researcher and works as co-editor in chief for the magazine Neue Wege and as a freelance writer.

Short reading
ALITHEA (Die Brotsuppe 2025)
Fork Burke, Lydia Dimitrow

Friday 17.10. 15:00-15:30

Short reading in English with German translation.

Alithea, one of Zeus’ innumerable daughters, is the goddess of truth in Greek mythology. Prometheus formed her out of clay, but a mishap occurred before he could breathe life into her. Dolos, who is deceit personified, created a form very similar to that of Alithea – but did not have enough clay for her feet. Prometheus was astounded by the similarity of the two figures and breathed life into both of them. Genuine truth started walking, whereas the figure without feet was unable to move from the spot. Fork Burke, a poet from Biel/Bienne, writes in English. Lydia Dimitrow has translated the poems into German.

Fork Burke
Fork Burke © Selina Beutler

Fork Burke is an artist and poet born in Detroit (USA). She studied Literature and Creative Writing in New York and is intensely committed to Black history, ancient, pre-colonial Africa and Afrofuturism. She lives in Biel/Bienne.

Lydia Dimitrow
Lydia Dimitrow © Stefanie Heider

Lydia Dimitrow (born 1989) studied General and Comparative Literature, French Philology and Modern German Literature at Freie Universität Berlin and University of Lausanne. She translates from French and English, writes prose and scenic texts, moderates at events and is a member of the theatre group mikro-kit.

Short reading
so öppis wie d wahrheit (Verlag Der gesunde Menschenversand 2025)
Olga Lakritz

Friday 17.10. 16:00-16:30

Performative short reading in Swiss German with German translation.

A left-wing activist is killed. His friends and acquaintances suspect the police, demonstrations and riots follow. Caught in the middle of it all is the activist’s partner. so öppis wie d wahrheit is not just a moving take on police violence, left-wing groups and their lifestyle, and being different, but also focuses on the quest for a better society, the ambivalence of relationships and the difficulty of facing up to one’s own inadequacies. With this novel written in Swiss German dialect, Olga Lakritz successfully merges the private and political spheres and showcases her high narrative art.

Olga Lakritz
Olga Lakritz © Nele Visschers

Olga Lakritz grew up in Zurich and spent a significant part of her youth on spoken-word stages. In 2015 she became the U20 Swiss poetry slam champion. Her first novel, Das Ampfermädchen, was published by Geparden Verlag in 2023. She writes in Swiss German, German and English and lives in Biel/Bienne.

Networking apéro
Kleine Länder, grosse Visionen – Spekulative Literatur zwischen Fiktion, Gegenwart und Möglichkeit (small countries, great visions – speculative literature between fiction, present reality and possibilities)
Antoinette Rychner, Benjamin von Wyl, Emma Braslavsky

Friday 17.10. 17:00-19:30

Event in German.

What has speculative literature got to offer when it comes from small countries, minor languages and small literary markets? Authors working in the fields of science fiction, fantasy or dystopian visions of the future present their texts here. Visitors can look forward to a short reading by Antoinette Rychner (Ma forêt, Les éditions Fugue 2025) and texts from the anthology Angstvoll und leicht sehnsüchtig: Vier literarische Spekulationen über Luxemburg (Hydre Éditions) by Benjamin von Wyl and Emma Braslavsky. Music is interspersed between the readings as are, of course, snacks and drinks.

In cooperation with Kultur | lx - Arts Council Luxembourg.

Emma Braslavsky
Emma Braslavsky © Noam Braslavsky

Emma Braslavsky (born 1971) lives and works as a freelance writer and curator in Berlin. Her debut novel Aus dem Sinn was awarded the Uwe Johnson Prize in 2007. Her story Ich bin dein Mensch was turned into an eponymous film by Maria Schrader, which won four German film prizes in 2022 and was picked as the German entry for the Oscars.

Benjamin von Wyl
Benjamin von Wyl © Eleni Kougionis

Benjamin von Wyl (born 1990) studied German Language & Literature and History at the University of Basel. After earning his Bachelor’s degree, he was employed as managing editor of Vice Switzerland and subsequently as dramaturg at Theater Neumarkt in Zurich. Since 2016 he has been working as a free-lance journalist. His novel Hyäne won him a Swiss Literature Award in 2021.

Antoinette Rychner
Antoinette Rychner © Guillaume Perret

Antoinette Rychner (born 1979) is a Swiss author and dramaturg. She worked at various theatres in the French-speaking part of Switzerland before harnessing her passions in becoming a playwright. In 2016, she received the Swiss Literature Award for her first novel Le prix. She currently lives in the Franches-Montagnes region (Swiss Jura).

Yoga with book
Monica Vuerich

Daily 09:30-10:00

The daily yoga-with-book session led by Monica Vuerich offers the perfect opportunity to build up energy for the day in a playful manner. Days at the book fair can be long and intense, so how can we best prepare ourselves physically and mentally? By getting our feet ready for long distances, strengthening our spine for successful negotiations, and opening our heart for numerous encounters and stories. Always at hand during the morning warm-up sessions is our current favourite book.

Monica Vuerich
Monica Vuerich © Katja Sievers

Monica Vuerich was born in Italy and has lived in Frankfurt since 1996. She has been teaching yoga there in her Amaya Soul studio for ten years.

Accent
Übersetzen als Widerstand (Translating as resistance)
Über die Sichtbarmachung marginalisierter Stimmen (On getting marginalised voices heard)
Annette Hug, Sandra Hetzl, Lydia Dimitrow

Saturday 18.10. 10:30-11:15

Event in German.

Literary translation is more than just translating. It is also an act of conveying, creating visibility and opening up new perspectives. How then do current crises influence the profession? And how can translating also be a form of political resistance? Sandra Hetzl, who has translated numerous texts by authors witing in Arabic – including Palestinian ones – and Annette Hug, a translator of Philippine literature, join Lydia Dimitrow in discussing the possibilities of literary translation to make marginalised voices heard and different perspectives acknowledged.

Annette Hug
Annette Hug © Florian Bachmann

Annette Hug (born 1970) studied History and Women & Development Studies in Zurich and Manila. Formerly a lecturer and trade union secretary, she now works as a freelance writer and a translator from Tagalog (Filipino). In 2017, she received the Swiss Literature Award for her novel Wilhelm Tell in Manila.

Sandra Hetzl
Sandra Hetzl © private

Sandra Hetzl (born 1980) translates, writes and curates literary events. She has translated various story and poetry collections, non-fiction books and over 25 plays from Arabic. She is also the founder of the teneleven.org, an agency collective, and the literature festival Downtown Spandau Medina.

Lydia Dimitrow
Lydia Dimitrow © Stefanie Heider

Lydia Dimitrow (born 1989) studied General and Comparative Literature, French Philology and Modern German Literature at Freie Universität Berlin and University of Lausanne. She translates from French and English, writes prose and scenic texts, moderates at events and is a member of the theatre group mikro-kit.

Short reading
Fleischeslust (Edition Moderne 2025)
Martin Oesch

Saturday 18.10. 11:30-12:00

Short reading in German.


A butcher named Erwin is plagued by blood-filled nightmares. For decades, he and his wife Margrit have run their own butcher’s shop in the centre of town. He is proud of his business, but also disillusioned, since being a butcher is no longer what it once was. His relationship to Margrit, too, has worn thin after years of routine. Erwin starts pondering his situation and the state of the modern meat industry. Martin Oesch’s graphic novel is a deeply humane story about consumption and the ambivalences in our globalised world.

Martin Oesch
Martin Oesch © Martin Oesch

Martin Oesch (born 1992) is a freelance comics artist, a butcher and a musician. He is co-founder of La Boulotte, an organic butcher’s shop. For Fleischeslust, he was awarded the 2023 comics grant of German-Swiss cities and was nominated for the comics book prize of the Berthold Leibinger foundation in 2025. He lives in Berne.

Reading & discussion
Das Meer der Aswang (Unionsverlag 2025)
Allan N. Derain, Annette Hug, Lenny Kaye Bugayong

Saturday 18.10. 12:30-13:15

Discussion in English, reading in Tagalog with German translation.

The signs are there for all to see: Luklak is turning into a mythological being – an aswang. She is fascinated by the powers of her new body, while her father is desperately seeking a remedy. With the Philippines as this year’s Guest of Honour, we here delve into the world of Philippine mythology. In his novel Das Meer der Aswang, Allan N. Derain combines legends and ethereal beings with his country’s colonial past. The talk, moderated by Lenny Kaye Bugayong and including Annette Hug, a translator and expert on Philippine literature, revolves around spirits, gender, resistance and witch-hunts.

In cooperation with studiyo filipino.

Allan N. Derain
Allan N. Derain © private

Allan N. Derain is an author and teaches creative writing, art history and Philippine literature at the Ateneo de Manila University. He is also Director of the Ateneo Institute of Literary Arts and Practices. Several of his books have won the Philippine National Book Award. He lives in Manila.

Annette Hug
Annette Hug © Florian Bachmann

Annette Hug (born 1970) studied History and Women & Development Studies in Zurich and Manila. Formerly a lecturer and trade union secretary, she now works as a freelance writer and a translator from Tagalog (Filipino). In 2017, she received the Swiss Literature Award for her novel Wilhelm Tell in Manila.

Lenny Kaye Bugayong
Lenny Kaye Bugayong © Werner Ebneter

Lenny Kaye Bugayong is a linguist, court interpreter and publisher of various types of work in the Philippines. She works as a lecturer at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences and is also actively engaged in the studiyo filipino association. She lives with her son in the vicinity of Zurich.

Short reading
Kurzlesungen Nominierte Schweizer Buchpreis 2025 (Short readings by nominees for the Swiss Book Prize 2025)
Nelio Biedermann, Dorothee Elmiger and Meral Kureyshi
Live illustration by Martin Oesch

Saturday 18.10. 14:00-14:30

Who will follow in the footsteps of Zora del Buono, Christian Haller and Kim de l’Horizon? The Swiss Booksellers and Publishers Association (SBVV) and the association LiteraturBasel are awarding the Swiss Book Prize for the 17th time. The nominees for the Swiss Book Prize will give short readings to provide an insight into their works. Illustrator Martin Oesch will be drawing live.

Nelio Biedermann
Nelio Biedermann © Ruben Hollinger

Nelio Biedermann, Lázár (Rowohlt Berlin Verlag)

Nelio Biedermann (born 2003) studies German Language and Literature and Film Studies in Zurich. His father's family comes from Hungarian nobility, and his grandparents fled to Switzerland in the 1950s. Lázár will be published in more than twenty countries.

Dorothee Elmiger
Dorothee Elmiger © Georg Gatsas

Dorothee Elmiger, Die Holländerinnen (Hanser Verlag)

Dorothee Elmiger (born 1985) studied History, Philosophy and Creative Writing. She has published novels, essays, montages and texts on art. Her most recent publication is Out of the Sugar Factory (2020), which won a nomination for both the Swiss and the German Book Prize. She lives in New York.

Meral Kureyshi
Meral Kureyshi © Matthias Guenter

Meral Kureyshi, Im Meer waren wir nie (Limmat Verlag)

Meral Kureyshi (born 1983) came to Switzerland with her family in 1992 and lives in Bern. She studied Literature and German, founded the Lyrikatelier poetry workshop and works as a freelance author. Her first novel, Elefanten im Garten, was nominated for the Swiss Book Prize, has won several awards and has been translated into many languages.

Martin Oesch
Martin Oesch © Martin Oesch

Martin Oesch (born 1992) is a freelance comics artist, a butcher and a musician. He is co-founder of La Boulotte, an organic butcher’s shop. For Fleischeslust, he was awarded the 2023 comics grant of German-Swiss cities and was nominated for the comics book prize of the Berthold Leibinger foundation in 2025. He lives in Berne.

Short reading
Das Wetter zu Hause (Atlantis Verlag 2025)
Anna Schmid

Saturday 18.10. 15:00-15:30

Short reading in German.

There’s a storm raging in the home of Red and Pink. It’s daddy. He is loud and howls like the wind. Daddy is changeable like the weather. Sometimes he’s mild like a soft breeze, sometimes the doors bang and the windows freeze over. But when the storm has passed, the sun comes out. Daddy laughs, dances with mummy and cooks for the whole family. Red wants to protect Pink, her younger sister. But once, when the storm just doesn’t end, the two sisters leave in search of a safe place.

Anna Schmid
Anna Schmid © Caroline Marti

Anna Schmid is an illustrator and a writer. After an apprenticeship as a decoration designer, she studied Illustration at the University of Lucerne. Her writings and drawings often focus on the topics of womanhood and the human body. Das Wetter zu Hause is her first picture book.

Workshop
Zeichne deinen eigenen sicheren Ort (Draw your own safe place)
Anna Schmid

Saturday 18.10. 15:30-16:15

Workshop in German.

Paint or draw your own safe place. In this workshop, we develop a short story together that leads us to a safe place of our own. A fast technique in which each dot and each stroke become a work of art is used as a means of reducing inhibitions. In a playful manner, we search for new motives and work by way of association and immediacy.

Anna Schmid
Anna Schmid © Caroline Marti

Anna Schmid is an illustrator and a writer. After an apprenticeship as a decoration designer, she studied Illustration at the University of Lucerne. Her writings and drawings often focus on the topics of womanhood and the human body. Das Wetter zu Hause is her first picture book.

silent reading rave

Saturday 18.10. 15:30-16:30

We are finally bringing peace and quiet to the boisterous book fair world. In Switzerland, the project silent reading rave has already boosted reading for years, now it’s making its first appearance in Germany. During a silent reading rave, we read our own book in silence, side by side with other readers. Coming and going is permitted at any time. Noise-cancelling headsets are available. Take some time out – doing nothing but reading!

In cooperation with silent reading rave.

Meeting point: OFF Stage Switzerland
Bring along: your own book

Further silent reading raves:
Wednesday 15.10. 14:30
Friday 17.10. 12:00

Yoga with book
Monica Vuerich

Daily 09:30-10:00

The daily yoga-with-book session led by Monica Vuerich offers the perfect opportunity to build up energy for the day in a playful manner. Days at the book fair can be long and intense, so how can we best prepare ourselves physically and mentally? By getting our feet ready for long distances, strengthening our spine for successful negotiations, and opening our heart for numerous encounters and stories. Always at hand during the morning warm-up sessions is our current favourite book.

Monica Vuerich
Monica Vuerich © Katja Sievers

Monica Vuerich was born in Italy and has lived in Frankfurt since 1996. She has been teaching yoga there in her Amaya Soul studio for ten years.

Short reading
Auf ganz dünnem Eis (S. Fischer 2025)
Peter Stamm

Sunday 19.10. 10:30-11:00

Short reading in German.

In his latest collection of stories, Peter Stamm outlines the life of his characters in a subtle and approachable way. They are seeking new beginnings, need to live with compromise, and face the crises of our times. After suffering an accident in his home country, a Swiss skiing instructor starts teaching at an indoor ski venue in Western Germany. A female actor loses herself in the figures she portrays. And an abandoned town gets covered in snow and ice. Peter Stamm demonstrates how richly layered stories can be artfully told in just a few pages. And he proves that a single short story can sometimes linger in the reader’s mind for longer than an entire novel.

Peter Stamm
Peter Stamm © Jule Kuehn

Peter Stamm (born 1963) studied English Language & Literature, Psychology and Psychopathology for several terms before entering the working world, performing a variety of jobs in different places including Paris and New York. He has worked as an author and a freelance journalist since 1990. His novel The Sweet Indifference of the World won the Swiss Book Prize in 2018.

Accent
Körperpolitiken (Body policies)
Antifeminismus auf dem Vormarsch (Antifeminism on the rise)
Katja Brunner, Hugo [fka Evan] Tepest, Geneva Moser

Sunday 19.10. 11:30-12:15

Event in German.

Female, intersex, non-binary, trans, and agender peoples’ bodies have become a target of the right-wing backlash. The discrimination of queer and trans people is on the rise, the US Supreme Court has repealed the right of abortion, equality before the law no longer applies for trans women in the UK, and in Switzerland the number of cases of domestic and/or sexualised violence against women has never been higher. Antifeminist and macho-male rhetorics are a key feature of authoritarian policies. Swiss author Katja Brunner and German author Hugo [fka Evan] Tepest discuss why the female and queer body has become a central area of negotiation in fascist-like political movements, what creative forms of resistance are required and how, despite everything, it is possible to retain a positive outlook.

Katja Brunner
Katja Brunner © Heta Multanen

Katja Brunner (born 1991) is an author and a performer. She studied Creative Writing at the Swiss Literature Institute in Biel/Bienne and Scenic Writing at the Berlin University of the Arts. With her powerful and eloquent theatre texts, she is currently one of Switzerland’s most successful playwrights.

Hugo [Evan] Tepest
Hugo [Evan] Tepest © Lee Everett Thieler Piper

Hugo [fka Evan] Tepest lives as an author in Berlin. His essay Sind Penisse real? was published by Piper Verlag in August 2025. His first novel, Schreib den Namen deiner Mutter, came out in 2024, following a volume of essays published in 2023 under the title Power Bottom. He also does performances on topics of queer and trans history and teaches creative writing.

Geneva Moser
Geneva Moser © private

Geneva Moser (born 1988) studied Creative Writing at the Swiss Literature Institute in Biel/Bienne. She is a philosopher and gender researcher and works as co-editor in chief for the magazine Neue Wege and as a freelance writer.

Short reading
Fleurs intestinales (Éditions Sarbacane 2025)
Vamille

Sunday 19.10. 13:00-13:30

Short reading in French with German translation.

Like all other children, Camille was born with a flower in her tummy, a flower that ought to turn into a garden to protect her. But when the little girl becomes a woman, the flower wilts. Camille falls seriously ill and the illness is soon diagnosed as Crohn’s disease. Manifesting in unpredictable ways, it impairs all the little nothings that give everyday life its flavour, like eating, drinking, going out … But the big projects and dreams are also called into question: Can Camille continue to draw, to travel, to love? Camille will have to find a way to accept and even make friends with Crohn so that it no longer has the power to define her life.

Vamille
Vamille © Vanessa Cojocaru

Vamille (born 1991), whose real name is Camille Vallotton, studied Visual Communication at HEAD-Genève university. Today she works as a graphic artist and lives in Fribourg (Switzerland). Although her total output to date comprises just four books, she has already won several awards, including the 2016 Töpffer prize for young comics artists in Geneva.

Workshop
Carnet intestinal: mini-herbier de l’intérieur
Vamille

Sunday 19.10. 13:30-14:15

Short reading in French with German translation.

What if our tummy were a garden? Participants at this workshop are invited to draw three to five imaginary plants, like in Vamille’s book Fleurs intestinales. The drawings can reflect digestion, moods or secret nourishment. Lines, shapes and words combine to create a small herb garden that is both intuitive and symbolic. In brief moments of introspection, the body becomes a landscape cultivated by the imagination.

Vamille
Vamille © Vanessa Cojocaru

Vamille (born 1991), whose real name is Camille Vallotton, studied Visual Communication at HEAD-Genève university. Today she works as a graphic artist and lives in Fribourg (Switzerland). Although her total output to date comprises just four books, she has already won several awards, including the 2016 Töpffer prize for young comics artists in Geneva.

Literary tarot
Katja Brunner

Friday 17.10. 11:15-12:00
Sunday 19.10. 13:30-14:15

Care to get a literary glimpse of the future? Writer Katja Brunner provides just that in our new tarot format. Literary tarot blurs the boundaries between literature and divination. In a brief personal session, Katja Brunner does not simply lay traditional tarot cards, but offers literary oracle texts that she wrote specifically for this format. What does fate have in store? What pieces of wisdom or stories do the cards contain? Katja Brunner opens the door to the mysterious world of literary soothsaying.

Katja Brunner
Katja Brunner © Heta Multanen

Katja Brunner (born 1991) is an author and a performer. She studied Creative Writing at the Swiss Literature Institute in Biel/Bienne and Scenic Writing at the Berlin University of the Arts. With her powerful and eloquent theatre texts, she is currently one of Switzerland’s most successful playwrights.