literature
Book prize winner Tonio Schachinger reads in the shared basement
The Austrian author Tonio Schachinger received the German Book Prize 2023 for his novel “Echtzeitalter”. Now he is reading in a shared basement in Erlangen. photo
© Arne Dedert/dpa
Book prize winner Tonio Schachinger visits a shared apartment in Erlangen – for a reading in the basement. You can also experience other young writers up close in living rooms and kitchens at the “Book:ed” festival.
Shared basement instead of a hall with a large audience: the newly crowned book prize winner Tonio Schachinger ends up in a rather unusual place. In the basement of a shared apartment in Erlangen he will read from his excellent novel “Echtzeitalter” – a real stroke of luck for the “Book:ed” literature festival. “He was invited long before the book award ceremony,” says organizer Philip Krömer. It was not at all foreseeable that the Austrian author would receive the prestigious prize.
Just 30 people fit in the shared basement, says Krömer. The tickets for the reading on Saturday are already sold out. The team briefly considered moving the event so that more people could listen to the 31-year-old Schachinger. But then they decided against it in order to stay true to the concept of the festival. “Book:ed” brings young authors into living rooms, party rooms and shared kitchens, where they read from their new publications in a private atmosphere.
Four double and two individual readings are on the program from Friday to Saturday. Also there is the writer Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus, whose debut novel “Birobidzhan” was on the longlist for the German Book Prize 2023. Schachinger received the award on October 16th at the Frankfurt Book Fair. This is considered one of the most important in the industry.