Aaron, Anna
b. 1985 in Basel.
Swiss singer / songwriter.
Festival performance (in the context of the Poetry of Pop series): 2017
Abdulkadir, Amina
b. 1985 in Mogadiscio, Somalia.
Swiss spoken word artist.
www.abdulkadir.ch
Festival performance (in the context of the Words on stage series): 2017
Achleitner, Friedrich
b. 1930 in Schalchen,
d. 2019 in Wien.
Austrian writer, sound poet, member of the legendary Wiener Gruppe (Vienna group).
Wikipedia: Friedrich Achleitner
Festival performance (with Gerhard Rühm): 2013
Bärfuss, Lukas
b. 1971 in Thun.
Swiss dramatist, novelist, essayist. Georg Büchner Prize winner.
Festival performance (with Terézia Mora): 2019
Banville, John
b. 1945 in Wexford.
Irish writer ("The Sea").
Booker prize winner.
Festival performance: 2018
Barnes, Julian
b. 1946 in Leicester, UK.
English writer
Booker prize winner.
Festival performance: 2019
Basler, Patti
b. 1976 in Zeihen.
Swiss spoken word artist.
Prizewinner of the Salzburger Stier.
Festival performance (in the context of the Words on stage series): 2018
Bockhorst, Helene
b. 1987 in Hamburg-Harburg.
German spoken word artist.
Festival performance (in the context of the Words on stage series): 2019
Capron, Isabelle
b. in Levallois Perret.
French writer.
Literary installations developed for the festival:
Génération (2013),
Little Pharmacy of Love (2014),
Horoscope of Hypermonsters (2015).
Related publication: "Efferveszenz. Im Herzen der zeitgenössischen Mythologie". Kommode Verlag, 2016.
Chen, Simon
b. 1972 in Freiburg.
Swiss spoken word artist.
Festival performance (in the context of the Words on stage series): 2019
Christ, Lisa
b. 1991 in Olten.
Swiss spoken word artist.
Festival performance (in the context of the Words on stage series): 2018
Coetzee, John M.
b. 1940 in Cape Town, lives in Adelaide, Australia.
South-African writer.
Nobel Laureate in Literature,
Booker prize winner (twice),
Festival performance: 2017
Cleese, John
b. 1939 in Weston-super-Mare.
English comedian, actor, screenwriter and member of the legendary comedy group "Monty Python".
Festival performance: 2015
Cole, Teju
b. 1975 in Kalamazoo, USA, grew up in Nigeria.
Nigerian-American writer, photographer and art historian.
Festival performances: 2014, 2018
De Moor, Margriet
b. 1941 in Noordwijk.
Dutch bestselling author.
Festival performance: 2016
Distelmeyer, Jochen
b. 1967 in Bielefeld.
German Musician, songwriter and author. He became known as singer and guitarist of the band Blumfeld.
Festival performance (in the context of the Words on stage series): 2017
Díaz, Junot
b. 1968 in Santo Domingo.
US-American-Dominican writer.
Pulitzer Prize winner.
Festival performance: 2017
Elmiger, Dorothee
b. 1985 in Wetzikon.
Swiss writer.
Festival performance (with Olga Grjasnowa): 2013
Emcke, Caroline
b. 1967 in Mülheim an der Ruhr.
German publicist and philosopher,
winner of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade.
Festival performance (with Teju Cole): 2018
Feldman, Deborah
b. 1986 in New York.
US-American bestselling author ("Unorthodox").
Festival performance: 2019
Fehr, Michael
b. 1982 in Bern.
Swiss writer and musician.
Festival performance (in the context of the Dilettanten und Genies series): 2015
Felder, Martin
b. 1974 in Rheinfelden.
Swiss writer.
Festival performance (Scenic reading): 2013
Gay, Roxane
b. 1974 in Omaha, Nebraska.
US-American feminist and bestselling author ("Bad Feminist", "Hunger")
Festival performance: 2019
von Graffenried, Ariane
b. 1978 in Bern.
Swiss spoken word artist.
Festival performance (in the context of the Poetry of Pop series): 2017
Genazino, Wilhelm
b. 1943 in Mannheim,
d. 2018 in Frankfurt.
German writer.
Georg Büchner Prize Winner.
Festival performance: 2013
Grjasnowa, Olga
b. 1984 in Baku, Azerbaijan,
grew up in the Caucasus,
German writer.
Festival performance: 2013
Guo, Xiaolu
b. 1973 in Pinyin Guō Xiǎolǔ, China.
Chinese film director and author.
Festival performance: 2015
Gundar-Goshen, Ayelet
b. 1982 in Tel Aviv.
Israeli writer.
Wikipedia: Ayelet Gundar-Goshen
Festival performance: 2016
Hanekamp, Tino
b. 1979 in Wippra, lives in Mexico.
German music journalist and writer
("So was von da").
Festival performance: 2014
Holofernes, Judith
b. 1976 in West-Berlin.
German Musician, songwriter and author. She became known as singer and guitarist of the band "Wir sind Helden".
Festival performance: 2016
Interrobang
Swiss spoken word artists.
Valerio Moser and Manuel Diener aka Interrobang are two-time Swiss champions and two-time German speaking champions in the Team Poetry Slam.
Festival performance: 2019
Jerofejew, Viktor
b. 1947 in Moscow.
Russian writer and pugnacious intellectual.
Festival performance (with Michail Schischkin): 2015
Jozia
b. 1993 in Daveyton.
South-African singer/songwriter.
Festival performance (in the context of the Poetry of Pop series): 2015, 2017
Jurczok 1001
b. 1974 in Wädenswil.
Swiss spoken word artist; he is vocal artist, human beatbox and singer in one.
Festival performance (in the context of the Words on stage series): 2017
Kämpf, Matto
b. 1970 in Thun.
Swiss spoken word artist, theatremaker, filmmaker.
Festival performance (in the context of the Words on stage series): 2019
Kaiser, Renato
b. 1985 in Goldach.
Swiss spoken word artist.
Prizewinner of the Salzburger Stier.
Festival performance (in the context of the Poetry of Pop series): 2018
Kar, Güzin
b. 1967 in İskenderun, Turkey.
Swiss Film director, screenwriter and columnist.
Festival performance: 2014
Knackeboul
b. 1982 in Langenthal.
Swiss Beatboxer, rapper and moderator.
Festival performance (in the context of the Words on stage series): 2018
König, Ralf
b. 1960 in Soest, Westfalen.
Germany's most successful comic author.
Festival performance: 2016
Lory, Annette
b. 1968 in the Bernese Oberland.
Swiss writer.
Audio plays developed for the festival:
Die Suche nach den Zauberpflanzen (2013),
Schmetterlinge (2014),
Lügenspiel (2015)
McCarten, Anthony
b. 1961 in New Plymouth.
New Zealand writer, playwright, screenwriter and film producer.
Festival performance: 2017
Meister, Gerhard
b. 1967 in the Emmental valley.
Swiss spoken word artist.
Prizewinner of the Salzburger Stier.
Festival performance (Musical reading with Anna Trauffer): 2013
Mitchell, David
b. 1969 in Southport, England.
British writer
("Cloud Atlas").
www.davidmitchellbooks.com
Festival performance: 2016
Moore, Ben
b. 1966 in the UK.
British author and professor of astrophysics.
Festival performance: 2014
Mora, Terézia
b. 1971 in Sopron.
Hungarian writer.
Winner of the German Book Prize and the Georg Büchner Prize.
Festival performance (with Lukas Bärfuss): 2018
Nielsen, Jens
b. 1966 in Aarau
(though he preferred to be born somewhere else in 1970)
Swiss spoken word artist, actor and playwright.
Festival performance (in the context of the Words on stage series): 2018
Owuor, Yvonne Adhiambo
b. 1968 in Nairobi.
Kenyan writer.
Wikipedia: Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor
Festival performance: 2017
Polt, Gerhard
b. 1942 in Munich.
German comedian, writer, television and film actor.
Festival performance: 2014
Regener, Sven
b. 1961 in Bremen.
German musician, songwriter and bestselling author ("Berlin Blues"). He became known as singer and lyricist of the band Element of Crime.
Festival performance: 2015
Rühm, Gerhard
b. 1930 in Vienna.
Austrian sound poet, composer, visual artist, member of the legendary Wiener Gruppe (Vienna Group).
Festival performance (with Friedrich Achleitner): 2013
Schalansky, Judith
b. 1980 in Greifswald.
German writer
Festival performance: 2019
Schischkin, Michail
b. 1961 in Moscow.
Russian writer.
Winner of the three most important literary awards of Russia.
Wikipedia: Mikhail Shishkin (writer)
Festival performance (with Viktor Jerofejew): 2015
Schweikert, Ruth
b. 1965 in Lörrach.
Swiss writer.
Wikipedia: Ruth Schweikert
Festival performance (Book launch): 2015
Setz, Clemens J.
b. 1982 in Graz.
Austrian writer.
Festival performance: 2018
Sinha, Shumona
b. 1973 in Calcutta, lives in Paris.
Indian writer
("Kill the Poor!").
Festival performance: 2016
Sloterdijk, Peter
b. 1947 in Karlsruhe.
Publicist, cultural scientist and Germany's most famous contemporary philosopher.
Festival performance: 2016
Solnit, Rebecca
b, 1961 in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
US-American writer, feminist and essayist ("Men Explain Things to Me").
Festival performance: 2018
Spilker, Frank
b. 1966 in Herford.
German musician, songwriter and author. He became known as singer and guitarist of the band Die Sterne.
Festival performance in the context of the Poetry of Pop series, 2017
Stauffer, Michael
b. 1972 in Winterthur.
Swiss spoken word artist.
Festival performance: 2014
Stoll, Lara
b. 1987 in Schaffhausen.
Swiss spoken word artist.
Multiple Swiss and European champion in Poetry Slam.
Winner of the German Cabaret Prize.
Festival performance (in the context of the Words on stage series): 2019
Streeruwitz, Marlene
b. 1950 in Baden bei Wien.
Austrian writer and director.
Festival performance: 2014
Welsh, Irvine
b. 1958 in Leith, Edinburgh.
British writer
("Trainspotting").
Festival performance: 2018
Willemsen, Roger
b. 1955 in Bonn,
d. 2016 in Wentorf bei Hamburg.
Writer, publicist, moderator, producer and Germany's most popular intellectual.
Festival performance: 2013
Zink, Nell
b. 1964 in California.
US-American writer.
Festival performance: 2016