Heimat/BaWü_Guests

Photo: Peter Rigaud

Thea Dorn, born in 1970 in Offenbach, has been Spokesperson of PEN Berlin since late 2024. She is a writer (»Die Hirnkönigin«), screenwriter (»Männertreu«), playwright and presenter (»Das Literarische Quartett«, ZDF), and a Grimme Award winner. Her most recent publication is: »Trost – Briefe an Max« (Penguin, 2021).

Photo: Gaby Gerster

Prof. Dr. Dr. Michel Friedman, born in 1956 in Paris, is a presenter, lawyer, philosopher, and publicist (»Fremd«). From 1992 to 1994 he served on the CDU Federal Executive Committee, and from 2001 to 2003 he was President of the European Jewish Congress. He teaches real estate and media law at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences. His most recent book is: »Mensch! Liebeserklärung eines verzweifelten Demokraten« (Berlin Verlag, 2025).

Photo: F.P. Kistner/arifoto

[Moderation] Stefan Siller, born in 1950 in Herford, worked for 35 years as an editor and presenter at SDR/SWR. He is best known for the talk show »Leute«. His latest book publication is: »Neugierig … auf Leute und die ganze Welt« (Klöpfer & Meyer, 2016).

Photo: Thorsten Wulff

Ijoma Mangold, born in 1971 in Heidelberg, is a journalist at Die Zeit and an author (»Der innere Stammtisch – Ein politisches Tagebuch«). He is the winner of the Jörg-Henle Prize for Literary Criticism and a board member of PEN Berlin. His most recent publication is his Bitcoin story: »Die orange Pille« (dtv, 2023).

Photo: Gallimard/Francesca Mantovani

Francesca Melandri, born in 1964 in Rome, is a screenwriter and novelist. Her Letter from the Future about the Covid pandemic, first published in The Guardian, has been translated into 32 languages. She received the Bruno Kreisky Prize for her overall journalistic work. Her most recent novel is: »Kalte Füße« (Wagenbach, 2024).

Photo: RNZ

[Moderation] Dr. Klaus Welzel, born in 1961 in Mannheim, holds a PhD in German Studies and Political Science and is a journalist. He has worked for the Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung (Heidelberg) for almost forty years, and has been editor-in-chief since 2011.

Photo: private

Annette Müller, born in 1963 in Münster, is an author and theatre educator. She co-founded the Junge Theaterakademie Offenburg and received the Deutscher Amateurtheaterpreis. Her most recent play is »Der Chor der Hinterbliebenen« (2024).

Photo: Wikipedia/Amrei-Marie

Feridun Zaimoglu, born in 1964 in Bolu (Turkey), is a writer (»Kanak Sprak«, »Abschaum«) and visual artist. He has received numerous awards, including the Berliner Literaturpreis. His most recent novel is »Sohn ohne Vater« (Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 2025).

Photo: Katja Madžar

[Moderation] Charlotte Schönberger, born in 1990 in Saarbrücken, works as a journalist and author at SWR Studio Freiburg. Previously, she reported from Der Spiegel’s Berlin bureau.

Photo: private

Doris Akrap, born in 1974 in Flörsheim (Hesse), is a journalist and head of section at taz 2. She was named Journalist of the Year in 2014 and 2017 and is a former board member of PEN Berlin. Her most recent publication is »Oh Dalmatien« (Folio, 2025).

Photo: Jann Wilken

Julia Ruhs, born in 1994 in Ludwigsburg, is a journalist (Bayerischer Rundfunk, Klar – Was Deutschland bewegt). Most recently, her bestselling book »Links-grüne Meinungsmacht – die Spaltung unseres Landes« (Langen Müller Verlag) was published.

Photo: Jacqueline Wach

[Moderation] Matthias Zeller, born in 1972 in Rheinfelden (Baden), is a radio and television journalist and the host of numerous public events. In Weil am Rhein, he co-founded the voters’ group Junges Forum and served as a city councillor from 1994 to 2001.

Photo: Hostrup Fotografie

Richard Arnold, born in 1959 in Schwäbisch Gmünd. He studied public administration and worked for the state of Baden-Württemberg, including as Head of the State Representation to the European Union. In 2009, he became Mayor (Oberbürgermeister) of Schwäbisch Gmünd for the CDU.

Photo: Ingrid Hertfelder

Dilek Güngör, born in 1972 in Schwäbisch Gmünd, is a novelist. She became widely known for her columns in Berliner Zeitung. Her novel »Vater und ich« was nominated for the Deutscher Buchpreis. Her most recent novel is »A wie Ada« (Verbrecher Verlag, 2024).

Photo: Stuttgarter Zeitung

[Moderation] Tim Schleider, born in 1961 in Bremen, has worked as a journalist since 1990 and was, for a time, press spokesperson for Hamburg’s Senator for Culture, Christina Weiss. Since 2000, he has been Senior Culture Editor at Stuttgarter Zeitung.

Photo: private

Reinhard Mangold, born in 1960 in Waldstätten near Schwäbisch Gmünd, has been President of the Württembergischer Schützenverband since 2020. Trained as a chemical laboratory technician, he works as a released works council representative at the Weleda plant in Schwäbisch Gmünd.

Photo: Max Liebenstein

Carolin Callies, born in 1980 in Mannheim, is a poet and moderator, and the initiator and curator of the Ladenburger Literaturtage. She has received numerous awards, including the Berliner Kunstpreis (Section Literature). Her most recent poetry collection is »teilchenzoo« (Schöffling, 2023).

Photo: private

[Moderation] Anna Koktsidou, born in 1962 in Greece, came to Stuttgart with her parents in 1970. She worked as a reporter and editor for SWR until 2025. For many years she served as SWR’s Commissioner for Diversity and Integration. She has received several awards, including the Willi-Bleicher-Preis.

Photo: Cordula Treml

Theresia Walser, born in 1967 in Friedrichshafen, is among Germany’s leading contemporary playwrights. Her plays have received numerous awards and have been translated into 20 languages. »Ein bisschen Ruhe vor dem Sturm« has been staged more than thirty times, and »Ich bin wie ihr, ich liebe Äpfel« almost forty times. She lives near Freiburg.

Photo: Marcus Höhn

Raimund Wilhelmi, born in 1949 in Bad Pyrmont (Lower Saxony), ran the family-owned Klinik Buchinger Wilhelmi in Überlingen on Lake Constance for forty years. He has been involved in local politics on a voluntary basis (FDP) and supports young artists. Book: »Das Glück des Fastens« (Hoffmann & Campe, 2020).

Photo: private

[Moderation] Dr. Johannes Bruggaier, born in 1977 in Athens, received his PhD with a thesis on productions of classical works. Since 2016, he has headed the culture desk of Südkurier in Konstanz and is responsible for the weekend magazine. He has received several awards, including the Axel-Springer-Preis.

Photo: Glasperlenspiel/Markus Haner

Daniel Grunenberg, born in 1988 in Stockach, is a musician and keyboard player. He is part of the successful electropop duo Glasperlenspiel (»Echt«, »Geiles Leben«), which he formed with his wife Carolin Niemczyk. Since 2011, Glasperlenspiel has released four studio albums, most recently »Licht & Schatten« (Polydor, 2018).

Photo: Olga Blackbird

Miku Sophie Kühmel, born in 1992 in Gotha, is a writer (»Kintsugi«) and a producer of radio pieces and podcasts. In 2024/25 she worked as an Atelierautorin at Deutsches Theater Berlin. She is the winner of the aspekte-Literaturpreis. Her most recent novel is »Hannah« (Fischer, 2025).

Photo: Donata Künßberg

[Moderation] Jann-Luca Künßberg, born in 1993 in Freiburg and raised in Berlin, is a journalist and author. He has worked, among others, for taz, the Harzkurier (Osterode) and Südkurier (Konstanz), and as a freelance writer also for Correctiv.

Photo: Friedrich Bungert

Kai Diekmann, born in 1964 in Ravensburg, is a journalist, advisor, and entrepreneur. From 1998 to 2000 he was editor-in-chief of Welt am Sonntag, from 2001 to 2015 editor-in-chief of Bild, and until 2017 editor-at-large of the Bild group. He co-founded the PR agency Storymachine. Book: »Ich war BILD – Ein Leben zwischen Schlagzeilen, Staatsaffären und Skandalen« (DVA, 2023).

Photo: Gabi Hirit

Dana Grigorcea, born in 1979 in Bucharest and based in Zurich, is a novelist. Her works have been translated into several languages and have received numerous awards, including the Schweizer Literaturpreis. She holds Romania’s Order of Cultural Merit in the rank of Knight, and was a board member of PEN Berlin from 2022 to 2024. Her most recent novel is: »Das Gewicht eines Vogels beim Fliegen« (Penguin, 2024).

Photo: Pia Dernick

[Moderation] Marie Eisenmann, born in 1999 in Konstanz, is co-host of the podcast »Mauerecho – Der Nachwendekindertalk« by the taz Panterstiftung. She was responsible for the video documentary of the PEN Berlin series »Das wird man ja wohl noch sagen dürfen« in eastern Germany in 2024, and is also responsible for the video documentation of the Heimat series.

Photo: Thomas Rathay

Ernst-Wilhelm Gohl, born in 1963 in Stuttgart, is a theologian and pastor, and has been Landesbischof of the Evangelische Landeskirche in Württemberg since 2022. He is Deputy Chair of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Christlicher Kirchen in Deutschland. He has received the Reinhold-Maier-Preis for his contributions to the liberal public sphere.

Photo: Tonatiuh Ambrosetti

Dana von Suffrin, born in 1985 in Munich, is a novelist (»Otto«). She has received numerous awards, including the Chamisso-Preis. Most recently, she published the novel »Noch mal von vorne« (Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 2024) and, as an editor, »Wir schon wieder – 16 jüdische Erzählungen« (Rowohlt, 2024).

Photo: Rainer Nicolaysen

[Moderation] Jan Feddersen, born in 1957 in Hamburg, is a journalist at taz, curator of taz.lab, and an author (»Wunder gibt es immer wieder – Das große Buch zum Eurovision Song Contest«). His most recent publication is: »Meine Sonnenallee − Notizen aus Neukölln« (Wallstein, Göttingen 2024).

Photo: Marc Huth

Michel Abdollahi, born in 1981 in Tehran, grew up in Hamburg. He is a poetry slammer, journalist, presenter, painter, and author. He hosted the programme Der deutsche Michel and received the Deutscher Fernsehpreis for the documentary film »Im Nazidorf«. His most recent publication is: »Es ist unser Land −Wir dürfen Deutschland nicht den Rechten überlassen« (Hoffmann & Campe, 2025).

Photo: Harry Weber

Imran Ayata, born in 1969 in Ulm, is a DJ (»Songs of Gastarbeiter«), writer (»Mein Name ist Revolution«), and campaigner. He co-founded the network »Kanak Attak« and was an editor of the magazine Die Beute. Since 2013, he has been Managing Partner of the Berlin-based campaign agency Ballhaus West.

Photo: Schwäbischer Verlag

[Moderation] Meşale Tolu, born in 1984 in Ulm, is a journalist and translator. She worked for Turkish media and has been working for Schwäbische Zeitung since 2019. Book: »Mein Sohn bleibt bei mir! Als politische Geisel in türkischer Haft – und warum es noch nicht zu Ende ist« (Rowohlt, 2019).

Photo: private

Katharina Agüera, born in 1978 in Augsburg, is spokesperson for the globally operating mechanical engineering company Voith, headquartered in Heidenheim. Previously, she worked, among others, for Siemens Energy and Airbus.

Photo: Max Zerrahn

Patrick Findeis, born in 1975 in Heidenheim, is a writer (»Kein schöner Land«). In 2008 he won the 3sat Prize at the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize. His most recent novel is »Paradies und Römer« (Liebeskind, 2022).

Photo: Friedrich Bungert

[Moderation] Carolin Gasteiger, born in 1981 in Trostberg (Bavaria), is a journalist. Since 2016, she has worked for the Süddeutsche Zeitung’s Feuilleton; previously she held positions at Bayerischer Rundfunk and ARD.

Photo: SWR

Dr. Nabil Atassi, born in 1981 in Lüdenscheid (North Rhine-Westphalia), is a physician, editor, and presenter at SWR 1. Since 2021, he has hosted Leute. He has received the Deutscher Radiopreis. Before moving into radio, he worked for almost 15 years as a doctor, most recently as Managing Senior Physician of Urology at Klinikum Sindelfingen-Böblingen.

Photo: Anja Weber

Peter Unfried, born in 1963 in Schwäbisch Gmünd, is a journalist. He is chief reporter at taz and editor-in-chief of taz.Futurzwei, and a recipient of the Theodor-Wolff-Preis. His most recent publication is: »Autorität ist, wenn die Kinder durchgreifen – Wahre Geschichten aus der Familienhölle« (Ludwig, 2012).

Photo: private

[Moderation] Christine Hofmann, born in 1974 in Münster, is a theatre, film and television scholar, journalist, and team lead at the Hohenloher Tagblatt (Crailsheim), part of Südwest Presse.

Photo: Dawin Meckel

Prof. Dr. Heinz Bude, born in 1954 in Wuppertal. Until 2023, he was a professor at the University of Kassel. In 2016, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie honoured him for his lifetime achievement. He served as a government advisor during the Covid-19 pandemic. Most recently: »Abschied von den Boomern« (Hanser, 2024).

Photo: Max Zerrahn

Hannah Lühmann, born in 1987 in West Berlin, is a journalist and author. From 2014 to 2025, she worked as a Feuilleton editor at Welt, most recently as deputy head of the Feuilleton. Her second novel, »Heimat« (hanserblau, 2025), was published recently.

Photo: Britt Schilling

[Moderation] Dr. Bettina Schulte, born in 1956 in Siegen (North Rhine-Westphalia), worked from 1998 to 2022 as a culture editor at Badische Zeitung. Since then, she has been working as a freelance writer and moderator. She has been—and continues to be—a member of numerous juries.

Photo: Gerald von Foris

Simone Buchholz, born in 1972 in Hanau, is a novelist. She has received numerous awards for her »Chastity-Riley« series, including the Deutscher Krimipreis. From 2022 to 2024 she served on the board of PEN Berlin. She lives in Hamburg, writes the column »Getränkemarkt« for SZ Magazin, and scripts radio plays for ARD Radio-Tatort. Her most recent novel is »Nach uns der Himmel« (Suhrkamp, 2024).

Photo: private

Steffen Mayer, born in 1979 in Nürtingen, completed training for the senior police service at the Hochschule für Polizei Baden-Württemberg. Today, he serves as deputy for the head of a command group at the Landeskriminalamt Baden-Württemberg, Department of Cybercrime and Digital Traces, and is the state chair of the Bund Deutscher Kriminalbeamter.

Photo: Joachim E. Roettgers

[Moderation] Anne Hunger, born in 1980 in Böblingen, is a journalist. She worked as a freelance author for the agency Zeitenspiegel and now serves as editor-in-chief of the non-profit, donation-funded Stuttgart newspaper Kontext:Wochenzeitung, whose editorial team she has been part of almost since its founding.

Photo: Bernhardt Link/Farbtonwerk

Jens Bisky, born in 1966 in Leipzig, is an author. He was an editor at Süddeutsche Zeitung and has been part of the editorial leadership of Mittelweg 36 and Soziopolis—journals of the Hamburg Institute for Social Research—since 2021. His book »Die Entscheidung − Deutschland 1929 bis 1934« (Rowohlt Berlin, 2024) was nominated for the Leipzig Book Fair Prize.

Photo: Gudrun de Maddalena

Boris Palmer, born in 1972 in Waiblingen, has been Mayor (Oberbürgermeister) of Tübingen since 2007. From 1996 to 2023, he was a member of Bündnis 90/Die Grünen. In the 2022 local election, he won 52.4% of the vote as an independent candidate. His most recent book is: »Erst die Fakten, dann die Moral − Warum Politik mit der Wirklichkeit beginnen muss« (Siedler, 2019).

Photo: Johannes Rieger

[Moderation] Linn Penelope Rieger, born in 1992 in Ilmenau (Thuringia), is an author. She was managing director at the Deutsches Literaturinstitut, is co-editor of the literary magazine Edit, and serves voluntarily on the board of PEN Berlin. Her most recent publication is »Zerbrochenes Feuer« (Matthes & Seitz, 2025).

Photo: Tomas Gärtner

Alexander Estis, born in 1986 into a Jewish family in Moscow, is a writer and journalist. He works, among others, for Zeit, SZ, FAZ, and DLF Kultur. Most recently, his tenth book— the essay collection »Schergenstaat Russland« (NZZ Libro, 2025)—was published. He has received multiple awards, including the Kurt-Tucholsky-Preis for literary journalism.

Photo: Sibylle Baier

Prof. Dr. Rahel Jaeggi, born in 1966 in Bern, teaches Practical Philosophy at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. She also leads the Center for Humanities and Social Change in Berlin. She is considered a key representative of contemporary Critical Theory. Her most recent publication is »Fortschritt und Regression« (Suhrkamp, 2023).

Photo: private

[Moderation] Kai Laufen, born in 1968 in Bochum, is a radio and television journalist. He has worked as a reporter at SWR since 1999 and lives with his family in Karlsruhe. He is also the author of radio features.

Photo: Sophie Wanninger

Jovana Reisinger, born in 1989 in Munich, is a writer (»Spitzenreiterinnen«, »Still halten«), filmmaker, and visual artist. She makes short films that are shown internationally at festivals and in museums. She writes the menstruation column »Bleeding Love« for Vogue and a singles column for FAZ. Her most recent publication is the essay »Pleasure« (Ullstein, 2024).

Photo: Ben Knabe

Georg Restle, born in 1965 in Esslingen, is a lawyer, journalist, and television presenter. From 2010 to 2012, he was an ARD correspondent in Moscow, and since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine he has reported regularly from Lviv and Kyiv. He heads and hosts the ARD political magazine Monitor. Together with his editorial team, he received the Grimme Award.

Photo: Ines Rudel

[Moderation] Johannes Fischer, born in 1960 in Kollig (Eifel), is editor-in-chief of Eßlinger Zeitung. He worked for 30 years as a journalist in eastern Germany and received the »Preis für Zivilcourage gegen Rechtsradikalismus, Antisemitismus und Rassismus«. In addition, he has published several short crime stories as well as the Bodo Ramelow biography »…und manchmal platzt der Kragen« (Überland, 2021).

Photo: Sophia Roßberg

Özge Inan, born in 1997 in Berlin, became known during her law studies through political short texts on Twitter. She now works as a journalist, among others, for Freitag, Zeit Online, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and Spiegel Online. In 2023, her debut novel »Natürlich kann man hier nicht leben« was published by Piper.

Photo: Friedrich Bungert

Eva Menasse, born in 1970 in Vienna, is a writer (»Vienna«, »Dunkelblum«) and former journalist (profil, FAZ). She served as spokesperson of PEN Berlin from 2022 to 2024 and is a recipient of the Böll Prize and the Börne Prize. Her most recent publication is the essay »Alles und nichts sagen – Vom Zustand der Debatte in der Digitalmoderne« (Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 2023).

Photo: Yuliya Romanenko

[Moderation] Eva-Maria Manz, born in 1984 in Göppingen, is a journalist. After working as a freelance journalist in Stuttgart and Los Angeles, she now leads the topic team »Family, Living Together and Education« at Stuttgarter Zeitung.