Berlin Literature Festival: Who regulates what now?

It’s the old King Lear Syndrome. Does the ruler vacate his throne in good time? Who is he or she making room for? And how is what has been achieved secured, as planned for the future?

Nothing of the sort happened at the Berlin International Literature Festival (ILB). Ulrich Schreiber, the boss and founder, recently announced his resignation. It was about the working atmosphere and manners, ultimately about outdated, unclean structures, as is so often the case. There may have been pressure on writers from politics.

Climate problems again

The next ILB issue will be in September – very little time to find a successor. The main question is who will be active here, who will decide who fills this important position.

Some comments gave the impression that this was a matter for the Minister of State for Culture. Claudia Roth commented very briefly on the case. You have noted Schreiber’s departure “with great respect”. ILB employees had written to Roth about Schreiber’s behavior.

But it’s not necessarily the right address. The ILB took place for the first time in 2001. The sponsor was and is the Peter Weiss Foundation for Art and Politics, also founded by a writer, i.e. a private initiative. The festival is mainly financed by the Capital Cultural Fund, with 660,000 euros per year. It is based at the Berlin cultural administration.

More transparency needed

Ulrich Schreiber has rendered great service over the past two decades. The ILB grew steadily, was popular with the public, and brought first-class writers to the city. It has a permanent place in the Berlin festival calendar.

But in the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, the ILB was always just a “guest”. Schreiber did not want to be firmly involved in the organization of the festival, he would then no longer have been the sole ruler, more transparency would have been demanded. This is how you end up damaging your own work.

Is the ILB coming to the festival now? The new festival director Matthias Pees could seize the opportunity. The literature festival also fills his house, which is mostly empty. And the ILB deserves a clear perspective for the coming years.

To home page