Festival motto: 100 Words for Literature
Literary voices that open up new perspectives on the world
From 3 to 6 November 2026, Croatia will host authors from Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, with Hungary as the guest country. Organised by the publishing house Leykam International, in collaboration with the publishing house OceanMore, the festival features encounters with contemporary literature that explores personal and family histories, social inequalities, the relationship between man and nature, and the boundaries of human experience. From 3 to 5 November, Zagreb will become a meeting place for writers, readers, and all those who love to discover new stories and perspectives. The festival programme continues in Rijeka on 6 November, where Susanne Gregor and Usama Al Shahmani will be featured.
PROGRAMME HELD AT KIC:
Wednesday, 4 November 2026
▪5 pm / Anna Ospelt: Early Planting (Frühe Pflanzung)
In conversation with the author: Marija Ott Franolić
▪6 pm / Raphaela Edelbauer: The Incommensurables (Die Inkommensurablen)
In conversation with the author: Nataša Medved (Oceanmore)
▪7 pm / Stefan Zweig: The Star Hours of Humanity (Sternstunden der Menschheit)
A discussion on Stefan Zweig and the book: Manfred Müller and Andy Jelčić
Simultaneous interpretation into Croatian and German at all KIC events: Ines Meštrović
Thursday, 5 November 2026
▪4.30 pm / Leon Engler: Botany of Madness (Botanik des Wahnsinns)
Conversation with the author: Nataša Medved (Oceanmore)
▪5.30 pm / Usama Al Shahmani: In Foreign Lands Trees Speak Arabic (In der Fremde sprechen die Bäume arabisch)
Conversation with the author: Vedrana Gnjidić
▪6.30 pm / Round table with festival participants (Runder Tisch der Festivalteilnehmer/innen)
Theme: Diversity Makes Us Unique (Vielfalt in der deutschsprachigen Gegenwartsliteratur)
Moderation: Manfred Müller (Austrian Society for Literature, Vienna)
Simultaneous interpretation into Croatian and German at all events at the KIC: Ines Meštrović
The full programme can be viewed HERE.
Books, Stories and New Perspectives
Anna Ospelt – Early Planting
In the book Early Planting, Anna Ospelt intertwines the themes of motherhood and parenthood with a careful observation of nature, creating a space for reflection on the connection between human life and the world that surrounds us.
Raphaela Edelbauer – The Incommensurable
Three young people find themselves in Vienna, just thirty-six hours before the outbreak of the First World War. Raphaela Edelbauer virtuously narrates the final days of the old Europe, at a moment when the world is irrevocably changing.
Leon Engler – Botany of Madness
In his debut, Leon Engler takes as his premise that members of his family are “gifted with madness” and lucidly connects his family history with the history of psychiatry.
Usama Al Shahmani – In Foreign Lands Trees Speak Arabic
In a multi-layered novel, Usama Al Shahmani connects personal experience of exile with a newfound relationship with nature, telling a story of belonging, loss, and the possibility of finding a new home.