Cornelia Funke
Can imagination change the world?
Cornelia Funke, born in 1958 in Dorsten, is one of the most successful and influential authors of children’s and young adult literature worldwide. With her many award-winning books, including the Inkheart trilogy and Dragon Rider, she has shaped generations of readers and revitalized fantasy as a literary form.
In her stories, she creates worlds in which imagination and reality intertwine. Her characters embark on adventurous journeys that explore questions of courage, responsibility, and solidarity. In doing so, she shows that telling fantastical stories goes far beyond escapism: it opens up spaces for thought and feeling and enables new perspectives on the present.
In conversation with Nicola Steiner, the focus is on the power of imagination – and on the question: can fantasy change the world?
✨Note for parents: Children and young people are very welcome. However, please note that the discussion is not specifically designed for a young audience; rather, it is intended for adults — for the “children within us.” 😊
German
Organized by the bookstore Orell Füssli
If the weather is bad or uncertain, the event will be held indoors in the White Hall of the Volkshaus Zürich (Stauffacherstrasse 60, 8004 Zurich).
Enjoy sandwiches, snacks and drinks at the festival bar. Open from 4 pm.
Treat yourself to a fine dinner after the event at Kaufleuten Restaurant, open from 6pm.
The moderator will select a number of audience questions to discuss with Cornelia Funke → Here you can send your questions.
Each festival event comes with its own curated music playlist, inspired by the books, themes, and the unique atmosphere of the Old Botanical Garden.
Listen to this evening’s playlist → here.
Order overview
Tickets
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For tickets that are only reserved but not yet paid for, you can cancel the tickets up to 30 days before the event via the user account on the homepage. After this deadline your tickets are valid and will be charged in case of no-show.
In the next step you will be forwarded to the secure Payrexx payment page. By activating the payment process resp. clicking the button "Reserve" you agree to the General Terms and Conditions.
In the next step you will be forwarded to the secure Payrexx payment page. By activating the payment process you agree to the General Terms and Conditions.
In the next step you will be forwarded to the secure Payrexx payment page. By activating the payment process you agree to the General Terms and Conditions.
Mediathek
Liv Strömquist
Why are we never enough for ourselves?
Maria Alyokhina and Milo Rau
What can art do?
Cornelia Funke
Can imagination change the world?
Sibylle Berg
Will tomorrow be any better?
David Szalay
How much does our body control us?
Georgi Gospodinov
What does loss do to us?
Claire Keegan
Why do we fail each other?
Words on Stage
The Big Spoken Word Finale with Bänz Friedli, Uta Köbernick, Jean-Philippe Kindler, Valerio Moser, Die Eltern + Pablo Vögtli
Words on Stage
The Big Spoken Word Finale with Schön&Gut, Kilian Ziegler, Reena Krishnaraja, Laurin Buser, Gina Walter
Emilia Roig, Nora Bossong, Nicola Steiner
What Does Love Mean Today?
Anne Enright
How Much Does Our Family Background Shape Us?
Paul Lynch
How Can We Survive All This?
Omri Boehm, Jonas Lüscher, Barbara Bleisch
What Does the Future Hold for Democracy?
Francis Fukuyama
Is the Age of Freedom Over?
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Is True Happiness Ever Attainable?
Helen Macdonald
What does nature mean to us - and what do we mean to it?
Saša Stanišić
What would you do differently today?
Miriam Meckel, Léa Steinacker, Barbara Bleisch
How is artificial intelligence changing our world?
Connie Palmen
What is the secret of successful women?
Words on Stage
Best of Spoken Word feat. Uta Köbernick, Manuel Stahlberger, Kilian Ziegler, 9 Volt Nelly
Words on Stage
Best of Spoken Word feat. Lisa Christ, Olivia El Sayed, Stefanie Grob, Etrit Hasler, Simon Chen
Words on Stage
Best of Spoken Word feat. Gülsha Adilji, Ágota Dimén, Guy Krneta, Tanja Kummer, Rebekka Lindauer, Christoph Simon
Nina Kunz
Dancing on the edge
KT Gorique
Dancing on the edge
John Cleese
And now for something completely different …
Danitsa
Stand up and move on - with the Swiss Hiphop/Soul queen and Swiss Music Award Winner
Words on Stage
The grand Spoken word finale, feat. Reeto von Gunten, Jule Weber (D), Christoph Simon, Fine Degen, Marco Gurtner
Wolf Haas
Well, something's happened again - terrific fun with tons of 'garbage' and a knee in tub 4.
Ece Temelkuran
Together for a better world - from the Turkish star author
David Grossman
Love in Times of War – with the Israeli Booker Prize winner.
Robert Seethaler
The great longing for a change
Geetanjali Shree
Being a woman, Freedom and Self-Determination in a Patriarchal World
David Mitchell
Can we change the world in turbulent times, or does the world change us?
Bernardine Evaristo
Is there a right life in the wrong one?
Words on Stage
The big spoken word finale with Ulrike Haidacher, Cenk Korkmaz, Julia Steiner, Marco Gurtner, Tommy Vercetti & Dezmond Dez and Pablo Vögtli
Hua Hsu
How can we stay true to ourselves?
Words on Stage
The big spoken word finale with Olivia El Sayed, Dominik Muheim, Leila Ladari, Michael Elsener and Häberli Oggier.
