This photo may not represent the actual event
This photo may not represent the actual event
Great Reading Festival at the Frankfurt Book Fair
Date & Time
Sun, Oct 4 – Sat, Oct 10
Group
Tags
Opening Hours
Organiser
Aktion Kultur&Bahn Frankfurt e.V.
About this event
Running alongside the Frankfurt Book Fair, Kultur & Bahn’s big reading festival brings around 30 authors to two venues in the old town – free of charge and with no registration. In 2026 the guest country is Czechia, so the programme pairs German-language fiction and crime writing with a strong selection of contemporary Czech voices. The charm is in the casual, local feel: you wander between Haus des Buches and Haus am Dom, sit in for forty-five minutes to hear a new book read and talked about by its author, then maybe stay for the next one. The line‑up spans literary novels, short stories and crime, plus a dedicated “Gastlandstunde” slot each afternoon that introduces two Czech writers with the help of an interpreter or a German reader. Sunday opens with an introduction to Czech literary history, featuring the director of the Moravian Library and novelist Bianca Bellová. Wednesday to Friday afternoons offer three or four consecutive sessions; Friday evening turns into a crime night with six thriller writers. Saturday brings some of the biggest names of the edition, such as Jan Weiler and Lisa Quentin. If you find the trade fair itself too specialist, this is a relaxed, down‑to‑earth way to discover new books and authors – perfect for a solo afternoon, a meet‑up with friends, or a low‑key date among fellow book lovers.
Schedule
Sun, Oct 4
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Introduction to the Guest Country: Czech Republic
A welcome and overview of Czech literary history, with Prof. Dr. Tomáš Kubíček and a reading by novelist Bianca Bellová.
Haus am Dom
Wed, Oct 7
01:00 PM - 01:45 PM
Tine Melzer: Lotto
A woman decides to take part in others' lives only as a voice after an accident – a witty chamber play.
Haus des Buches
02:00 PM - 02:45 PM
Wiebke Lorenz: Voll im falschen Film
Actress Nora Stern, sober for three years, wakes up in a mysterious party cellar with nothing to drink but alcohol.
Haus des Buches
03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Jan Wilm: Sachertorte und andere Fiktionen
18 short stories about loss, love, art and the saving power of fiction.
Haus des Buches
04:15 PM - 05:15 PM
Guest Country Hour: Anna Beáta Háblová & Jiří Kratochvil
Two Czech novels: a cashier who escapes into daydreams about art, and a spy story in which a fox is turned into a beautiful agent.
Haus des Buches
Thu, Oct 8
01:00 PM - 01:45 PM
Sasa Hanten: Talent zum Glück
A notary and the last scion of a showman family reconnect after years apart, asking how to live once you know who you really are.
Haus des Buches
02:00 PM - 02:45 PM
Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus: Gavdos
A journalist travels to a Greek island where a commune of Russian scientists believes they survived Chernobyl and are immortal.
Haus des Buches
03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Pupuze Berber (ed.): Außerplanmäßig – Zug-Eskapaden
An anthology of train journeys: literary escapes, love stories, horror trips and criminal energy, compiled by Literaturfrauen aus aller Welt e. V.
Haus des Buches
04:15 PM - 05:15 PM
Guest Country Hour: Emma Kausc & Klára Vlasáková
Emma searches for clues about her Czech roots and a missing partner, while a mysterious spherical object appears over a Czech small town.
Haus des Buches
Fri, Oct 9
01:00 PM - 01:45 PM
Christian Dittloff: Das Leichteste der Welt
Two formative summers, a first love, and a baby that sleeps during a solar eclipse – a coming‑of‑age story about growing up too fast.
Haus des Buches
02:00 PM - 02:45 PM
Guest from Latvia: Svens Kuzmins – Rigaer Freiheit
Riga, 2002: an art student moves into his great‑grandfather’s run‑down house as Latvia prepares to join the EU and NATO.
Haus des Buches
03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Sandra Hoffmann: Mogadischu
In 1977 a mother and son vanish on holiday; decades later the family’s wounds reopen when a young climate activist nephew appears.
Haus des Buches
04:15 PM - 05:15 PM
Guest Country Hour: Lucie Faulerová & Jiří Hájíček
A woman haunted by statistics around her sister’s death, and a music teacher who returns to her village only to face a suspicious investment offer.
Haus des Buches
06:00 PM - 08:30 PM
Kriminacht (Crime Night)
Six crime writers present their latest thrillers: René Anour (Die Gejagte), Thomas Durchschlag (Finsterland), Petra Hartlieb (Buberlpartie), Jürgen Heimbach (Straßenköter), Anna Schneider (Blut für Blut) and Margarete von Schwarzkopf (Die gestohlenen Worte).
Haus des Buches
Sat, Oct 10
01:00 PM - 01:45 PM
Lisa Quentin: Die Bernsteinfischerin
A palaeo‑amber researcher cares for her sick mother until a spectacular find pulls her to the Baltic Sea and into the orbit of an independent woman.
Haus des Buches
02:00 PM - 02:45 PM
Jan Weiler: Das Vogelhaus
A letter from his mother sends Leonard Beck back to the Lower Rhine, to a house full of painful memories and an old secret.
Haus des Buches
03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Jaroslav Rudiš: Wo die Toten sprechen
Three characters travel across Central European cemeteries in search of dead poets, talking plants and a plundered Berlin grave.
Haus des Buches
04:15 PM - 05:15 PM
Guest Country Hour: Miroslav Hlaučo & Marek Torčík
Miracles fade in a mountain village as technology advances, and a queer teenager fights bullying in a fragile, hopeful coming‑of‑age story.
Haus des Buches
Sun, Oct 4
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Introduction to the Guest Country: Czech Republic
A welcome and overview of Czech literary history, with Prof. Dr. Tomáš Kubíček and a reading by novelist Bianca Bellová.
Haus am Dom
Wed, Oct 7
01:00 PM - 01:45 PM
Tine Melzer: Lotto
A woman decides to take part in others' lives only as a voice after an accident – a witty chamber play.
Haus des Buches
02:00 PM - 02:45 PM
Wiebke Lorenz: Voll im falschen Film
Actress Nora Stern, sober for three years, wakes up in a mysterious party cellar with nothing to drink but alcohol.
Haus des Buches
03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Jan Wilm: Sachertorte und andere Fiktionen
18 short stories about loss, love, art and the saving power of fiction.
Haus des Buches
04:15 PM - 05:15 PM
Guest Country Hour: Anna Beáta Háblová & Jiří Kratochvil
Two Czech novels: a cashier who escapes into daydreams about art, and a spy story in which a fox is turned into a beautiful agent.
Haus des Buches
Thu, Oct 8
01:00 PM - 01:45 PM
Sasa Hanten: Talent zum Glück
A notary and the last scion of a showman family reconnect after years apart, asking how to live once you know who you really are.
Haus des Buches
02:00 PM - 02:45 PM
Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus: Gavdos
A journalist travels to a Greek island where a commune of Russian scientists believes they survived Chernobyl and are immortal.
Haus des Buches
03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Pupuze Berber (ed.): Außerplanmäßig – Zug-Eskapaden
An anthology of train journeys: literary escapes, love stories, horror trips and criminal energy, compiled by Literaturfrauen aus aller Welt e. V.
Haus des Buches
04:15 PM - 05:15 PM
Guest Country Hour: Emma Kausc & Klára Vlasáková
Emma searches for clues about her Czech roots and a missing partner, while a mysterious spherical object appears over a Czech small town.
Haus des Buches
Fri, Oct 9
01:00 PM - 01:45 PM
Christian Dittloff: Das Leichteste der Welt
Two formative summers, a first love, and a baby that sleeps during a solar eclipse – a coming‑of‑age story about growing up too fast.
Haus des Buches
02:00 PM - 02:45 PM
Guest from Latvia: Svens Kuzmins – Rigaer Freiheit
Riga, 2002: an art student moves into his great‑grandfather’s run‑down house as Latvia prepares to join the EU and NATO.
Haus des Buches
03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Sandra Hoffmann: Mogadischu
In 1977 a mother and son vanish on holiday; decades later the family’s wounds reopen when a young climate activist nephew appears.
Haus des Buches
04:15 PM - 05:15 PM
Guest Country Hour: Lucie Faulerová & Jiří Hájíček
A woman haunted by statistics around her sister’s death, and a music teacher who returns to her village only to face a suspicious investment offer.
Haus des Buches
06:00 PM - 08:30 PM
Kriminacht (Crime Night)
Six crime writers present their latest thrillers: René Anour (Die Gejagte), Thomas Durchschlag (Finsterland), Petra Hartlieb (Buberlpartie), Jürgen Heimbach (Straßenköter), Anna Schneider (Blut für Blut) and Margarete von Schwarzkopf (Die gestohlenen Worte).
Haus des Buches
Sat, Oct 10
01:00 PM - 01:45 PM
Lisa Quentin: Die Bernsteinfischerin
A palaeo‑amber researcher cares for her sick mother until a spectacular find pulls her to the Baltic Sea and into the orbit of an independent woman.
Haus des Buches
02:00 PM - 02:45 PM
Jan Weiler: Das Vogelhaus
A letter from his mother sends Leonard Beck back to the Lower Rhine, to a house full of painful memories and an old secret.
Haus des Buches
03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Jaroslav Rudiš: Wo die Toten sprechen
Three characters travel across Central European cemeteries in search of dead poets, talking plants and a plundered Berlin grave.
Haus des Buches
04:15 PM - 05:15 PM
Guest Country Hour: Miroslav Hlaučo & Marek Torčík
Miracles fade in a mountain village as technology advances, and a queer teenager fights bullying in a fragile, hopeful coming‑of‑age story.
Haus des Buches
Location
Map data from OpenStreetMap
