Open Books 2026: The Frankfurt Book Fair Reading Festival

Opening of OPEN BOOKS 2026 with the Blue Sofa

The festival opens with the winner of the German Book Prize 2026, Andrea Wulf on Georg Forster, Reiner Haseloff on East Germany, and Ingo Schulze's novel; moderated discussions on the legendary Blue Sofa.

Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

Shahrzad Eden Osterer / Richard C. Schneider: Escalation. The Middle East and the upheaval of the world order

The German-Iranian journalist and the Middle East correspondent analyse the escalating Israel–Iran confrontation and its impact on the global order.

Haus am Dom

Roger de Weck: The Splendour and Misery of the Conservatives

A plea for centre-right parties to stay in the moderate middle and resist the pull of right-wing authoritarianism.

Haus am Dom

Tamara Labas: A Gust of Mistakes and Time / Daniela Daub: Infinite Postcard

Two poets read from their collections: Labas' political and personal poems inspired by war and memory, Daub's quiet, everyday observations.

Heussenstamm. Raum für Kunst und Stadt

Yael Inokai: Oyster

A literary crime novel set in a legendary department store, told through the eyes of the 73-year-old cleaner Leonora Bloch.

Evangelische Akademie Frankfurt

Romana Sammern / Julia Saviello: Beauty. The Body as Artefact

A talk (in German) about how ancient to 18th-century texts shaped Western ideals of bodily beauty as a blend of nature and art.

Presse- und Informationsamt

Jáchym Topol: There Is No Hell

The Czech author's darkly comic novel about a journalist adrift on the day of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Evangelische Akademie Frankfurt

Hilmar Klute: Hermann Hesse or The Departure into Life

An elegant portrait of the writer's life and works, exploring why generations have found their own path through his books.

Historisches Museum Frankfurt

Stefan Roloff: Runaway

A semi-autobiographical novel about a young man breaking out of 1960s West Berlin into rock music, subculture and revolution.

Frankfurter Kunstverein

Tilman Spreckelsen: Almost Like a Fairy Tale. The Brothers Grimm and Their Time

A biography of the famous brothers, placing their scholarly work and political engagement within the turbulent 19th century.

Freies Deutsches Hochstift (Gartensaal)

Shida Bazyar: The Gaps

A literary mosaic about ninety years of German history in a fictional village that silences its past and becomes a refuge.

Evangelische Akademie Frankfurt

Julia Ebner: From Fitness to Fascism. The Dangers of Extreme Masculinity

The extremism researcher traces how violent masculinity is marketed online and harnessed by political extremists.

Haus am Dom

Margarete von Schwarzkopf: The Stolen Words

An atmospheric crime novel set in a spooky villa, where a skeleton leads to a crime rooted in the literary world.

Heussenstamm. Raum für Kunst und Stadt

Philipp Oehmke: Papenburg

A shimmering portrait of a fractured Western family seeking meaning, forgiveness, and moments of clear happiness.

Frankfurter Kunstverein

Sabrina Janesch: Territory

A historical novel about the 1893 overthrow of Hawaii's queen, told through the eyes of three women fighting for freedom.

Freies Deutsches Hochstift (Gartensaal)

Between the Lines I: Literature from Iran, Sudan and Syria/Palestine

Writers read from the texts of colleagues in war zones, reminding us of the power of literature amid conflict and oppression.

St. Katharinenkirche

Jan Eike Dunkhase: Brave New Cool World. How Refrigerators, Air Conditioning and Artificial Cold Changed Our Lives and the Climate

A cultural history of artificial cooling that reveals its blessings and its devastating feedback loop on the climate.

Haus am Dom

Iris Radisch: You Must Not Understand Life. Rilke's Days and Dreams

On the 100th anniversary of Rilke's death, a portrait of the restless poet who transformed experience into timeless verse.

Historisches Museum Frankfurt

Karel Čapek: War with the Newts

Two critics present Čapek's 1936 satirical classic about intelligent giant salamanders that turn against humanity – a warning still fresh today.

Evangelische Akademie Frankfurt

Hermes Baby (ed.): One More Question. 13 Rarely Good Reportages from 5 Rarely Good Years

An anthology of literary reportage that uses precise observation and narrative form to open new perspectives on reality.

Presse- und Informationsamt

Manja Präkels: Radio Static in the Star Park

The author reads from stories of people who became literary figures, accompanied by her alter ego Mimi Schulz.

Frankfurter Kunstverein

Şeyda Kurt: Time of Monsters

The debut novel about a young woman navigating a broken neighbourhood amid an online prophecy of apocalypse.

Evangelische Akademie Frankfurt

Michel Decar: No. 1 / Feridun Zaimoglu: Poem Noir

Two powerful voices: Decar's experimental fusion of genres and Zaimoglu's dark poetic vignettes on love, violence and foreignness.

Heussenstamm. Raum für Kunst und Stadt

Literature in the Römer I

An evening with eight authors including Shida Bazyar, Sabrina Janesch, Angelika Klüssendorf, Lutz Seiler and others, reading from their latest novels.

Römerhallen

Ingo Schulze: The Water in August

The author reads from his novella about a writer returning to a summer landscape, where past love and present fears intertwine.

Freies Deutsches Hochstift (Gartensaal)

Isabella M. Weber with Ricarda Lang: Anti-Fascist Economic Policy

The economist argues that a policy centred on dignity and everyday needs is the best defence against the growth of the far right.

Haus am Dom

Andrea Wulf: The Traveller. Georg Forster and the Discovery of Humanity

The award-winning author tells the story of the young naturalist who sailed with Cook, championed equality and fought against imperialism and slavery.

Historisches Museum Frankfurt

Wilhelm Opatz: Frankfurt Architecture Guide 2010–2019

The seventh volume of the Frankfurt series presents the reconstruction of the New Old Town and a decade of building and design.

Presse- und Informationsamt

Prague Evening: Petr Borkovec, Tereza Semotamová, Dirk Hülstrunk

A literary evening with three writers from Frankfurt's partner city Prague, featuring poetry, prose and a sound poet.

Evangelische Akademie Frankfurt

Bernhard Kegel: Rescue Through Fast Evolution / Annette Kehnel: The Phoenix Effect

Two non-fiction talks: Kegel on how species evolve rapidly under pressure, Kehnel on historical examples of societies overcoming crises.

Haus am Dom

How Free Is Culture? / Saba-Nur Cheema, Meron Mendel, Ruth Hoffmann

A debate on the pressure on cultural freedom, the strategies of the New Right, and how to sustain spaces of open, pluralistic debate.

St. Katharinenkirche

Jan Weiler: The Birdhouse

A novel about a man who returns to his childhood home by the Lower Rhine, unearthing family secrets and an old love.

Römerhallen

Elke Heidenreich: Oh, a Fanfare. Declarations of Love to Writers

The passionate reader shares her most important literary encounters: Benn, Beauvoir, Dylan Thomas, Ruth Klüger, and Tomi Ungerer.

Volksbühne im Großen Hirschgraben

Julia Malik: I Want You Alive

A literary novel about a destructive relationship, tracing the spiral of seduction, isolation, and violence.

Freies Deutsches Hochstift (Gartensaal)

Karosh Taha: Gulistan

A novel about a Kurdish woman searching for her husband in Saddam Hussein's Iraq, a world where language itself is a crime.

Frankfurter Kunstverein

Jens Balzer: Redemption

An essay on the return of religious thinking in politics and the search for genuine community in a digital, atomised world.

Haus am Dom

Kai Michel: At the Heart of Power. Germany's Dark Beginnings: An Archaeological Search

Archaeology uncovers the real face of the Ottonian era, from the grave of Queen Editha to castles and genetic genealogy.

Historisches Museum Frankfurt

Franziska Gänsler: Orca

A novel about a young woman whose quiet supermarket life is upended when her childhood friend is arrested and old activist secrets return.

Evangelische Akademie Frankfurt

Riccarda Gleichauf: Prospects of a Receptionist / Laura Kind: Shallows

Two Frankfurt debut novels: one about an overqualified receptionist in a precarious world, the other about a woman learning to stand up for herself.

Heussenstamm. Raum für Kunst und Stadt

Aleš Šteger: Fire

A Slovenian novel about a woman who joins the partisans and witnesses the rise and fire of communist revolution.

Evangelische Akademie Frankfurt

Marlen Hobrack: Pride and Doubt. A Defence of Motherhood / Sabine Diabaté: Alone in Motherhood

Two talks: Hobrack challenges the narrative of motherhood as deficit, Diabaté explains the structural roots of maternal loneliness.

Haus am Dom

Fritz Seemann: We Are in a Mousetrap. A Journalist at the Prager Tagblatt and His Failed Escape

The correspondence of a journalist trying to flee Czechoslovakia after the 1938 Munich Agreement, providing an inside view of the pre-war years.

Presse- und Informationsamt

Nele Neuhaus: Everything Turnes to Ashes

The bestselling crime writer reads from her new novel about a series of brutal murders linked to a dead tech billionaire.

Volksbühne im Großen Hirschgraben

Jan Wilm: Sachertorte and Other Fictions

Frankfurt-based author Jan Wilm reads from his short stories that mix the whimsical with the melancholic.

Heussenstamm. Raum für Kunst und Stadt

Valérie Göttel: Feldbergstraße 42. History of a 'Ghetto House' in Frankfurt

The story of a Frankfurt Westend apartment building from 1888 to 1988, told through the lives of its Jewish residents and Nazi persecution.

Presse- und Informationsamt

Otoniya Juliane Okot Bitek: The Only Star in the Sky

A polyphonic novel about six Ugandan women who survived captivity by the Lord's Resistance Army and are rebuilding their lives.

Evangelische Akademie Frankfurt

Dana Vowinckel: Anton and Alma

A love story between a Jewish student and a non-Jewish woman from Berlin's outskirts, tested by the events of 7 Oct 2023 and the Gaza war.

Frankfurter Kunstverein

Christiane Hoffmann: The Dreams We Had. My Friend, Russia, Ukraine and I

A personal reckoning with the lost hopes of the late 1980s, written after a friend's suicide in the week Russia invaded Ukraine.

Haus am Dom

Kristina Lunz / Düzen Tekkal: Who Allowed You to Hate Women So Much?

Two activists launch a manifesto with ten demands against male violence, aiming to turn outrage into political change.

Haus am Dom

Between the Lines II: Literature from Palestine, Venezuela and Iran

A second reading of texts from conflict zones, with Marica Bodrožić, Şeyda Kurt, and Ingo Schulze.

St. Katharinenkirche

Charlie Scheidt / Kat Rohrer: Inheritance. Love, Loss, and the Legacy of the Holocaust

A bilingual event about tracing a Frankfurt Jewish family's fate through letters and documents hidden for decades.

Historisches Museum Frankfurt

Michael Kumpfmüller: Bad Children

A three-generation novel about a seemingly perfect German family, uncovering the suppressed conflicts of the war generation.

Freies Deutsches Hochstift (Gartensaal)

Isabelle Maroger: Lebensborn / Ute Wegmann: We from Schemmergasse

Two graphic novels: one about a family discovering its Lebensborn past, the other giving voice to children in August Sander's photographs.

Evangelische Akademie Frankfurt

Saba-Nur Cheema / Meron Mendel: The Outrage Trap. How We Learn to Argue Again

Two public intellectuals argue for a culture of debate that tolerates conflict and takes people seriously, instead of retreating into indignation.

Volksbühne im Großen Hirschgraben

Helga Schubert: The Week After. A Book of Hours of Hope

In crystal-clear prose, the 86-year-old writer captures the first week after her husband's death – between sadness and release.

Freies Deutsches Hochstift (Gartensaal)

Haneen Al-Sayegh: The Happiness Between the Lion's Teeth

A warm, humorous Lebanese novel about a couple who, after 45 years, rediscover conversation via Facebook messages.

Evangelische Akademie Frankfurt

Boris Schumatsky: The Seine Flows into the Black Sea

A Russian-Jewish writer in Berlin grapples with the war in Ukraine, antisemitism, and stories of his family's past connected to Paul Celan.

Frankfurter Kunstverein

Isabella Caldart: The City They Wrote. Women Authors in New York City

A Frankfurt journalist leads a literary tour through New York from Dorothy Parker to Kathy Acker.

Heussenstamm. Raum für Kunst und Stadt

101 Places of Jewish Life in Frankfurt

Book premiere: a guide that makes visible over a thousand years of Jewish history and culture in Frankfurt, from the Middle Ages to today.

Presse- und Informationsamt

OPEN BOOKS CRIME: Oliver Bottini, Eva Rossmann, Josi Wismar, Chris Warnat

An evening of crime fiction with four authors, from a Frankfurt police novel about Cum-Ex to a true-crime podcast thriller.

Evangelische Akademie Frankfurt

Literature in the Römer II

An evening with eight more authors, including Hendrik Bolz, Michael Kumpfmüller, Şeyda Kurt, and Ulrich Peltzer.

Römerhallen

Justus Bender: Germany 2033. A Scenario / Olaf Sundermeyer: Blue Land. Living with the AfD

Two books on the far right: a chilling near-future scenario of how the AfD dismantles democracy, and a reporter's account of regions where the party dominates.

Haus am Dom

Andreas Kossert: Elsa's World / Philipp Ther: The Treasure

Two family histories: one tracing a German grandmother in Łódź through war and expulsion, the other following a buried family treasure in Bohemia.

Historisches Museum Frankfurt

Andrei Pivovarov: Inside Russia. How I Became an Enemy of the State

The Russian politician and activist recounts his arrest, three years in prison, and the daily fight for democracy and human rights.

Haus am Dom

Between the Lines: Words and Bullets. Ukrainian War Poetry

Young soldier-poets from the Ukrainian front read their poetry about faith, love, anger, and the fragility of 'peace'.

St. Katharinenkirche

Sabine Bohlmann: This Is Mrs. Honig (ages 4+)

A magical reading about a nanny who tucks bad words into drawers and makes chalk dragons come alive.

Struwwelpeter Museum

Lotte Schweizer: Milla Gorilla (ages 4+)

A funny picture-book reading about a little gorilla girl who discovers magic, a tiger neighbour, and a dad stuck in a waterslide.

Struwwelpeter Museum

Heike Nieder: My World Is a Poem (ages 6+)

Poems inspired by children from 17 countries, with a mini poetry workshop.

Struwwelpeter Museum

Rose Apple: A Singing Tree (ages 4+)

A cheerful picture-book about a tree that wants to sing, with a mini stamp workshop.

Struwwelpeter Museum

David Blum: Into the Piggy Bank? Oh No! (ages 4+)

A fresh-minted euro coin travels from hand to hand, through a coffee machine and even a dog's stomach.

Struwwelpeter Museum

Ole Könnecke: The Last Magic Spell (ages 5+)

Dulcinea and her talking duck have to hide a magic book from a pair of witch sisters in this fast-paced adventure.

Struwwelpeter Museum

Sarah Welk: Courage Marbles (ages 5+)

A story about two friends making 'courage marbles' to face the first day of school.

Struwwelpeter Museum

Magdalena Rutová: The Octopus Diary (ages 7+)

A curious octopus collects human waste on the ocean floor, then builds the city's tallest skyscraper – with a mini upcycling workshop.

Struwwelpeter Museum

Martin Suter: One and All

A psychological novel about a woman searching for her vanished boyfriend, blurring the lines between appearance and reality.

Volksbühne im Großen Hirschgraben

Ulrich Peltzer: The Lost Sleep

A novel about the revolutionary mathematician Évariste Galois, told through the eyes of a screenwriter in a sleepless night.

Freies Deutsches Hochstift (Gartensaal)

Ruth-Maria Thomas: The Second Greatest Love

A novel about a woman in her early 30s who leaves everything behind for a new life and a wealthy boyfriend – until certainties crumble.

Evangelische Akademie Frankfurt

Max Czollek: Son of Doubt

A poetic, witty debut novel about a restless traveller fleeing a world that cannot escape its own violence.

Frankfurter Kunstverein

Ulf Erdmann Ziegler: Man Without a Child

A novel about a sudden, passionate friendship between a man without children and a 17-year-old girl who longs for a father.

Heussenstamm. Raum für Kunst und Stadt

Marcus Bensmann / Can Dündar: Warning to Germany. We Have Seen How Democracies Die

Two journalists exchange letters about defending democracy and argue for banning the AfD – event in English.

Haus am Dom

Angelika Klüssendorf: Solace

A novel about love, estrangement, and the longing for belonging, following three characters through a year of war and crisis.

Römerhallen

Junko Takase: Really Good Food

A Japanese office novel about a man who loves instant ramen and secretly reads literature, caught between conformity and freedom.

Evangelische Akademie Frankfurt

Quentin Gärtner: Germany Totally Lost. How My Generation Will Save This Country

A former national student spokesperson takes aim at political indecision, social stagnation, and the narrative that Gen Z is lazy.

Presse- und Informationsamt

Simon Engel: What I Would Always Fight For. On Freedom and How We Defend It

A soldier's reflection on why he wears the uniform, not for love of war but to protect freedom and democracy.

Haus am Dom

Constantin Schreiber with Alice Schwarzer: The Power of Islam

A discussion on how Islam's growing global presence is changing German society and shaping debates.

Historisches Museum Frankfurt

Charlotte Link: Cold Days

The new Kate Linville thriller: a young woman is abducted and a ruthless killer is on the loose in Scarborough.

Volksbühne im Großen Hirschgraben

Manik Sarkar: Ox Head

A tragicomic novel about an idealistic village butcher who fights a losing battle against a supermarket and a changing world.

Evangelische Akademie Frankfurt

Franziska Franz: Cold Case Poets' Quarter

A Frankfurt crime novel: a former policeman finds women's ID cards in an old villa, all belonging to women who vanished without trace.

Heussenstamm. Raum für Kunst und Stadt

Melanie Raabe: Daisy – And All Your Secrets Will Be Mine

A thriller about a lawyer who by night hunts those who escaped justice, leaving a daisy as her mark – until she becomes the hunted.

Evangelische Akademie Frankfurt

Kai Ambos: Reason of State after Gaza

An international law expert examines whether Germany's unconditional support for Israel's war in Gaza conflicts with international law.

Haus am Dom

Gerald Braunberger: Torch of Democracy. The History of the Frankfurter Zeitung

The history of the renowned newspaper as a defender of democracy and its struggle under National Socialism.

Presse- und Informationsamt

Cornelia Funke: Emma Doesn't Believe in Fairies (ages 7+)

A new series opener: Emma shrinks to mouse size and discovers a hidden fairy world in the overgrown park next door.

Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

Alexander Steffensmeier: Lieselotte Lies in Wait (ages 4+)

Celebrating 20 years of the beloved cow Lieselotte, who loves nothing more than scaring the postman.

Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

Jörg Mühle: Really Quite Brave! (ages 7+)

A first children's comic about three animal friends who explore what courage really means in a dozen stories.

Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

Ulrich Hub / Jörg Mühle: Birthday in the Vacuum Cleaner (ages 8+)

A blind hen and a lame duck get sucked into a vacuum cleaner on a birthday, leading to absurd adventures and a friendship test.

Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

Marcus Pfister: The Rainbow Fish (ages 4+)

The author reads the classic picture book, and puppeteers bring the original Augsburg Puppet Theatre figures to life.

Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

Rüdiger Bertram: Nina's Monster. Looking for a Home (ages 8+)

Nina has to find families for five not-so-inconspicuous monsters before their angry owners catch up – with a library-bus chase.

Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

Stefanie Taschinski: The Courage Collector (ages 10+)

A historical novel based on a true story: 12-year-old Emmi finds her great-great-grandmother's diary about resisting the Nazi regime.

Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

Iva Procházková: Jojo, Eleven and a Quarter (ages 10+)

A Czech novel about growing up: between basketball, theatre rehearsals, a first crush, and a dying grandmother.

Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

Ursula Poznanski: Canvas. Cryptos, Volume 2 (ages 14+)

A near-future thriller set in a world where VR-designer Jana creates alternative realities while resistance stirs on an overheated Earth.

Deutsche Nationalbibliothek