ULF – The Independent Reading Series Festival

Ever since the first independent reading series were established in 2015, they have supplemented the programmes of municipal literary institutions which are targeted at educated, somewhat older, middle class audiences or the more entertainment-based spoken-word events that generate interest in contemporary literature among young people. For the first time in Nürnberg, around 80 reading-series organisers from the independent literature scene in the German-speaking countries have teamed up to organise a festival which demonstrated how an ambitious, multilingual literary programme could utilise presentation forms that surmount educational and cultural barriers. A central aim was to showcase new event formats and concepts for presenting literature in all its diversity. A key strategy toward achieving this was to reduce the distance between the authors and their audience. In addition to the main venue at Z-Bau – Haus für Gegenwartskultur, festival events took place throughout the city of Nuremberg. The project featured an extensive accompanying programme which has introduced audiences to the possibilities and desiderata of literary presentation.

Artistic directors: Clara Kopfermann, Tristan Marquardt, Chris Möller, Tillmann Severin, Lara Sielmann, Frederik Skorzinski, Ayna Steigerwald

Artists: Donat Blum, Kenah Cusanit, Cornelia Hülmbauer, Elnathan John, Dagmara Kraus, Rafael Mantovani, Gianna Molinari, Ronya Othmann, Kinga Tóth, Philipp Winkler and others