Iran: Regime Change Now?
In light of the dramatic situation in Iran, we would like to invite you to a public discussion on Sunday, 18 January at the Neues Haus at the Berliner Ensemble. What is happening in Iran right now, and just how brutal has the repression become? What can Germany do? What must Europe do? What has been neglected so far? And most importantly, what concrete steps can be taken now—politically and through civil society? Taking part in the discussion are journalist and author Natalie Amiri; Johannes Volkmann, member of the Bundestag (CDU); Mina Khani, from the human rights organisation Hengaw; and Daniela Sepehri, author and board member of PEN Berlin; with moderator Shila Behjat. 18 january, 3 p.m., Berliner Ensemble, Neues Haus, Bertolt-Brecht-Platz 1. Link to ticket sales. MORE
Turkey: An evening with İlhan Çomak and Jan Wagner
How does one make it through 30 years in prison? When, at the age of 21, you become the victim of a judicial scandal that is ludicrous even by Turkish standards? In the case of İlhan Sami Çomak, the answer is literature, more precisely, poetry.
In the case of İlhan Sami Çomak, the answer also includes poetry that gives no indication of the circumstances in which it was written. Çomak has published ten volumes of poetry during his imprisonment – nine in Turkish and one in Kurdish – none of which deal with the subject of prison. It is only in his autobiographical short story »Don’t Step on the Ants« that he writes: »Being a poet means, above all, persistently striving to transcend the conditions to which one is subjected.«
The story of this judicial scandal has been documented by Can Dündar (here) and Deniz Yücel (there). But the fact that Çomak did not leave prison at the end of 2024 as a broken and embittered person has a lot to do with the power of literature.
İlhan Sami Çomak is a member of the Turkish and Kurdish PEN Centres, as well as an honorary member of the PEN Centres in Norway, Ireland and Wales. His poems have been translated into several languages and are now available in German for the first time in the volume »Take Me Away from This Silence«. The evening will be hosted by our member, the poet and Büchner Prize winner Jan Wagner.
Book premiere: »Take Me Away from This Silence: Poems«
By and with İlhan Sami Çomak
8 January, 6.30pm
Maxim Gorki Theatre, Studio Я (Hinter dem Gießhaus 2, 10117 Berlin)
In German and Turkish (with simultaneous translation).
Tickets and information available here.
Festival: »Who’s Gonna Clean This Up?«
Säälchen, Holzmarktstraße 25, 10243 Berlin
Saturday, 29 November 2025
Tickets available here: Reduced: €15 | Regular: €20 | Political price: €30. By choosing the political price you support the work of PEN Berlin.
The day will be hosted by Bascha Mika (journalist). Daniela Sepehri, Andrea Landfried and Jayrôme Robinet will present imprisoned authors.
1:00 p.m. | Opening address by Thea Dorn (writer, spokesperson of PEN Berlin)
1:30 p.m. | Power, Money, NGO | Panel discussion
With: Jan Fleischhauer (journalist), Timo Reinfrank (Amadeu Antonio Foundation), Ralf Fücks (Centre for Liberal Modernity), Ulrike Winkelmann (Editor-in-Chief, taz) and Holger Marcks (social scientist). Chair: Catherine Newmark (journalist)
Under the title “Power, Money, NGO”, journalist Jan Fleischhauer, Timo Reinfrank (Executive Director of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation), Ralf Fücks (Director of the Centre for Liberal Modernity), Ulrike Winkelmann (Editor-in-Chief of taz) and Holger Marcks (head of the research unit “Against Hate on the Net”) will discuss how much subsidy subversion can withstand.
2:45 p.m. | What’s Next, America? | Conversation
With: Thomas Meaney (journalist/Granta) and Nora Krug (author). Chair: Paul-Henri Campbell (poet). In English
Thomas Meaney, editor of the international literary magazine GRANTA, will talk with German-American author and illustrator Nora Krug about the current situation in the United States.
3:30 p.m. | Literature Today: Can We Throw It Away? | Panel discussion
With: Helge Malchow (publisher, KiWi), Manja Präkels (writer), Kristof Magnusson (writer) and Khuê Phạm (writer). Chair: Insa Wilke (literary critic)
On the panel “Literature Today: Can We Throw It Away?”, former KiWi publisher Helge Malchow and the writers Manja Präkels, Kristof Magnusson and Khuê Phạm will reflect on the current state of literature. Has it ruthlessly overestimated itself? Or is it gaining dissident power in the face of growing unfreedom?
4:45 p.m. | Transnational Repression: Where Power Finds You | Conversation
With: Basma Mostafa (journalist) and Noura Chalati (Reporters Without Borders). Chair: Jenny Friedrich-Freksa (Editor-in-Chief, Kulturaustausch). In English
Whether authors in exile are truly safe or whether power can find you anywhere is the question that Basma Mostafa from Reporters Without Borders will discuss with political scientist and intelligence expert Noura Chalati.
5:30 p.m. | Is There a Right to Hate? | Keynote inputs and audience discussion
With: Wolfgang Kubicki (lawyer and former Member of the Bundestag), Renate Künast (former Member of the Bundestag and Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection) and the audience.
The limits of permissible speech are being drawn ever more narrowly. The idea that freedom of expression also includes the freedom to say stupid or repulsive things seems hardly bearable anymore. Whether, however, there is a “right to hate” is the question that Wolfgang Kubicki and Renate Künast will address in their keynote inputs, as they also explore the topic from a legal perspective.
7:15 p.m. | Georgia: And What If the Turn Fails? | Conversation
With: Nino Haratischwili (author). Chair: Doris Akrap (journalist/taz)
Author Nino Haratischwili will talk with journalist Doris Akrap about the current situation in Georgia and the question: “What if the turn fails?”
8:00 p.m. | Keynote address by Sofi Oksanen (writer)
This year’s keynote speaker is Finnish-Estonian writer Sofi Oksanen. Journalist Ijoma Mangold will introduce Oksanen’s work.
To round things off, Katharina Franck — an event not only as a solo artist, but soon also back on tour with her band Rainbirds — will play a short concert.
In cooperation with:
Book table:
Nice one: PEN Berlin at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2025
PEN Berlin is barely four years old – and is already presenting its fourth program at the Frankfurt Book Fair. As in 2022–2024, we once again have the honor this year of opening the main stage of the Frankfurt Book Fair with a panel discussion. Under the title »Literature Today: Can We Do Without It?«, writers Felicitas Hoppe, Marko Martin, Mithu Sanyal, and publisher Helge Malchow will join PEN Berlin spokesperson Thea Dorn on Wednesday morning to discuss the current state of literature.
We warmly invite you to this panel on the Centre Stage (Hall 4.1), as well as to the eight additional events taking place at the PEN Berlin booth (3.1 H34). Among those appearing there are Prix Goncourt winner Kamel Daoud, sociologist Harald Welzer, psychologist Stephan Grünewald, and PEN Berlin founding members Christian Berkel and Michel Friedman.
Buy your ticket here | Use the discount code penberlinfbm25 to purchase a trade visitor day ticket for €40 instead of €91.
Here’s an overview of our 2025 program | Frankfurt Book Fair event portal
Wednesday, 15 Octobre
11:00 – 12:00 a.m. Opening of the Center Stage (Hall 4.1): Literature Today – Can We Do Without It?
Has literature hopelessly overestimated itself? Or, in the face of growing unfreedom, is it gaining new dissident power? Felicitas Hoppe, Helge Malchow, Marko Martin, and Mithu Sanyal – Moderated by Thea Dorn.
2:00 – 3:00 p.m.: When the Truth Goes to Hell
The Filipino author Patricia Evangelista explains how the suppression, murder, and persecution of government critics were framed by Duterte’s government as part of the fight against drug crime. Patricia Evangelista and her publisher and translator Zoë Beck in conversation with Ulrich Gutmair. (in English)
5:00 – 6:00 p.m.: #freeboualemsansal
The Peace Prize laureate and French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal has been imprisoned in Algeria for almost a year, sentenced to five years for expressing an opinion. Prix Goncourt winner Kamel Daoud reports on freedom of expression in Algeria and the situation of his friend Boualem Sansal. In conversation with literary critic Iris Radisch. (in French with German translation)
Thursday, 16 October
11:00 – 12:00 a.m.: Kyiv, 1919 – Kyiv, 2025
The Ukrainian writer Andrey Kurkov talks with PEN Berlin spokesperson Deniz Yücel about his country’s turbulent history and three years of war.
3:00 – 4:00 p.m.: I’m Having a Crisis
Stephan Grünewald and Saba-Nur Cheema discuss the inflationary use of the term »crisis« and what to make of our current feeling of crisis, in conversation with Ijoma Mangold.
Friday, 17 October
11:00 – 12:00 a.m.: Homeland: House of Feelings?
Heimat is among the most complex concepts in recent German history. What does it mean today? Hannah Lühmann and Harald Welzer discuss this with Bascha Mika.
12:15 – 1:15 p.m.: Democratic Awakening – and No One’s Watching
The recent protests and democratic uprising in Serbia have been quickly overlooked amid the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and the rise of global authoritarianism. Marko Vidojković (Serbia) in conversation with Paul-Henri Campbell. (in English)
Saturday, 18 October
10:30 – 11:30 a.m.: Sputnik & Sunny Beach
What are the narratives that shape our lives? How do our families and our continent form us? In their new books, Katerina Poladjan and Christian Berkel tell stories of self-discovery across Europe – both fictional and autobiographical. Moderated by Lucy Fricke.
3:00 – 4:00 p.m.: It Doesn’t Get More German Than This
One refuses to leave Germany to right wing parties; the other delivers a desperate yet defiant plea for democracy in our country. Michel Abdollahi and Michel Friedman in discussion with Cornelius Pollmer.