lit.RUHR Celebrates Tenth Edition with 69 Events Across the Ruhr
The lit.RUHR literature festival will commemorate its tenth anniversary from October 7 to 11, 2026, hosting 69 events across Essen, Bochum, Gelsenkirchen, and Oberhausen. The festival kicks off with the gala "Jubel und Radau, Literatur und Rambazamba – 10 Jahre lit.RUHR!" on October 5 at 19:30 at Lichtburg Essen, featuring readings by Katharina Thalbach and Sabin Tambrea, along with special guest Fritz Eckenga. On October 7 at 19:30, Manuel Bittorf (Betterov) will unveil his debut novel "Goldener Retriever" at Salzlager/UNESCO-Welterbe Zollverein. Alex Schulman will present "Jetzt beginnt das Leben" on October 8 at 19:30 at KAUE Gelsenkirchen. Carolin Emcke's discussion on "Was zählt ein Mensch?" takes place on October 9 at 19:30 at Ebertbad Oberhausen. Additionally, Ingeborg Bachmann's centennial will be celebrated on October 7 at KAUE Gelsenkirchen.
Key facts
- lit.RUHR 2026 runs from 7 to 11 October and is the festival's tenth edition
- 69 events are staged in Essen, Bochum, Gelsenkirchen and Oberhausen
- The opening gala takes place on 5 October at 19:30 at Lichtburg Essen with Katharina Thalbach, Sabin Tambrea, Fritz Eckenga, Betterov and Katty Salié
- Betterov, alias Manuel Bittorf, presents his debut novel "Goldener Retriever" on 7 October at 19:30 at Salzlager/UNESCO-Welterbe Zollverein
- Alex Schulman makes his lit.RUHR debut with "Jetzt beginnt das Leben" on 8 October at 19:30 at KAUE Gelsenkirchen, read by Fabian Busch and moderated by Shelly Kupferberg
- Carolin Emcke appears for the first time on 9 October at 19:30 at Ebertbad Oberhausen, speaking with Lena Gorelik
- Ingeborg Bachmann's 100th birthday is honoured on 7 October at 19:30 at KAUE Gelsenkirchen with Andrea Stoll, Elke Schlinsog and Anna Schudt
- Further guests include Judith Hermann, Tupoka Ogette, Edgar Selge, Sven Regener, Saša Stanišić and Christoph Kramer
Entities
Artists
- Katharina Thalbach
- Sabin Tambrea
- Fritz Eckenga
- Betterov
- Manuel Bittorf
- Katty Salié
- Alex Schulman
- Fabian Busch
- Shelly Kupferberg
- Carolin Emcke
- Lena Gorelik
- Ingeborg Bachmann
- Andrea Stoll
- Elke Schlinsog
- Anna Schudt
- Judith Hermann
- Tupoka Ogette
- Edgar Selge
- Sven Regener
- Saša Stanišić
- Christoph Kramer
- Carsten Schrader
- Tayari Jones
- Matthias Jordan
- Franziska Gänsler
- Martin Suter
- Michael Krüger
Institutions
- lit.RUHR
- Lichtburg Essen
- UNESCO-Welterbe Zollverein
- KAUE Gelsenkirchen
- Ebertbad Oberhausen
- Harbour Front Literaturfestival
- kulturnews.de
Locations
- Essen
- Germany
- Bochum
- Gelsenkirchen
- Oberhausen
- Ruhrgebiet
- Westberlin
- Grunewald
- München
- Schweden
- Israel
- Palästina
- Bee'ri
- Jenin
- Tel Aviv
- Ramallah
- Österreich
- Hamburg