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Meissen Literary Festival
Meissen is a wonderful town, mostly famous for its porcelain manufacture which started out in 1710 at the somewhat brutal instigation of Augustus the Strong (Elector of Saxony and King of Poland). The city also has a marvellous literary festival. Four years ago, I did a reading there. The sun was shining just as brilliantly down on the late medieval buildings which are lined up in perfect historical harmony all the way up to the cathedral hill. Quaint and wonderful. The town looks a bit like the best effort of a mad modeller to whom you would like to give the advice not to overdo it because real towns just aren’t that pretty. You’d be wrong, though. Our reading was set at the Meissner Obscurum. This is a medieval dungeon-like vaulted cellar and the venue for quite some events. Two vaults invite the horror-fans to stay and enjoy. The larger…
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Dungeons and Readings
Last year, the Meissen Literature Festival had to be cancelled due to flooding. East Germany and parts of Eastern Bavaria were submerged in rather too much water in places where water was not at all welcome. This year the festival will (hopefully!) be held again. And I’ll be reading there again. I last read in Meissen four years ago, but I remember how pretty and nice everything was. I am sure it still is. This time it is even more thrilling, because this time, Feder & Schwert Publishing has been granted a special event, the “Fantasy Night of Feder & Schwert”: Oliver Plaschka, Oliver Hoffmann, Oliver Graute and I read from our novels. – And even though my name is not Oliver, I shall be there. The Fantasy Night will be held on Friday, 06 June 2014. The entire festival runs from Thursday to Monday. I am particularly thrilled with…
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News
Last weekend I was invited to read in Ilmenau at the local Technical University. Phantopia organised this. They are a quite wonderful club that invites authors regularly and spoils them rotten. It was my second reading there. And again it was thoroughly enjoyable. I went home happy, fed and with some lovely gifts and I hope to be able to read there again someday. Simply wonderful hosts! Fresh out of the – well, not press but pixel machine – is the e-book “Exotische Welten” (Exotic Worlds) published by O’Connellpress. It’s a wonderful collection of very different stories that fit this topic, from SF to fantasy. My story takes the reader into late 19th century London and from there into a world that is a poem in every sense of the word. Here you can order the e-book directly . It is, of course, in German. And in June we expect…
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… and the winner is … me …
And what was it like? It was great. Exhausting, but quite overwhelming. Last week, I went to Leipzig Book Fair. I only tend to go to big fairs, when I have something to do there. Just strolling from booth to booth would be a little too tedious for me. But this year, I really could not complain. Four readings. A Meet & Greet with literary bloggers at the Heyne (Random House) stand. An interview with a nice blogger couple. And several visits to my agent, who this time had his own booth. The big news, however, is: I won the SERAPH – Best Book 2014 ! Together with Oliver Plaschka , who was also was nominated, I sat in the audience and waited for the decision. I really did not believe I would win the award. Accordingly, I was pretty speechless when “Schwingen aus Stein” (Wings of Stone) was announced…
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And here is a small preview of my endeavours planned for the Leipzig Book Fair: I shall have my first reading on Thursday, March 13, at 12:30 a.m. reading from “Schwingen aus Stein” (Wings of Stone) Fantasy Reading Island , Hall 2, Stand H309/K309 Also, on the same day there will be the SEARPH award ceremony with a (surprise) reading by the two winners. Since I made it to the shortlist, I will of course be there, sitting around nervously. You may keep your fingers crossed. SERAPH Awards Ceremony 2014 13 March 2014 | 17:00 – 18:00 h Awards for the best fantasy novels and novel newcomer of the year and awarding the SERAPH Location : Reading island Fantasy hall 2, booth H309/K309 SERAPH Award winner reading at Stadtwerke Leipzig 13 March 2014 | 20:00 Location: Stadtwerke, Energie- und Umweltzentrum , Katharinenstraße 17 , 04109 , Leipzig ( center )…
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Steampunk reading in Frankfurt
Yesterday, there was a Steampunk reading on at the FAB (Frankfurt Art Bar http://www.frankfurtartbar.de ) in Frankfurt. The event was great fun. The following authors read from their Steampunk ( or 19th century gothic novel) books: – Oliver Plaschka: Der Kristallpalast (The Crystal Palace) – Judith & Christian Vogt: Die zerbrochene Puppe (The broken doll) – And I: Schwingen aus Stein (Wings of Stone) The FAB is a wonderful culture and music pub in Frankfurt and Janice, the landlady, had kindly let us loose among her clientele. There were many steampunk friends, some in Steampunk costume. The Feder&Schwert Publishing had sent a donation of books for us to hand to the winners of the costuming competition and these beautiful Steampunk novels now all have found a good steampunky home. We enjoyed the evening immensely and so, I think, did the audience. A similar event featuring the same authors is scheduled…