A city made for books
From Arno Schmidt and Wolfgang Borchert to Siegfried Lenz, Ralph Giordano, Heinrich, Rowohlt and Klopstock, Hamburg has long been home to major voices in German letters. The Harbour Front Literaturfestival builds on this tradition, bringing national and international authors to the city each year for readings from new and much-anticipated releases. Children鈥檚 and young-adult events are a regular feature, ensuring the programme truly spans generations.
Readings by the water 鈥� and across the city
What began as a festival rooted in Hamburg鈥檚 harbour has evolved into a city-wide celebration. Readings and conversations take place on and around the waterfront 鈥� historically including iconic sites such as the Elbphilharmonie and the museum ship Cap San Diego 鈥� while theatres, concert halls, churches, contemporary venues and even harbour barges host events across the wider city. In recent editions, the programme has comprised around sixty events, with a renewed emphasis on discovery, debate and the power of language. A re-imagined festival centre, new formats and cross-overs with other art forms 鈥� especially music and the visual arts 鈥� complement literary debuts, major new publications, discussions, podcasts and special creations.
Voices, themes and a spirit of openness
The festival highlights a broad spectrum of literature: popular fiction sits alongside the avant-garde, experiment and discourse-driven formats. Its guiding idea is that literature helps us make sense of a complex present 鈥� a place of reflection, memory, consolation, resistance and freedom, and a bridge across time, origins and languages. Over the years, Harbour Front has welcomed leading international authors and shone a spotlight on specific literary traditions, while consistently fostering young voices through a strengthened focus on new writing and youth literature.
A track record of stellar guests
Past festivals have featured readings by writers such as Salman Rushdie, John le Carr茅, Ken Follett, Jo Nesb酶, Deon Meyer, Martin Suter, Nicolas Mathieu, R.O. Kwon, Rob Hart, Anthony McCarten, Robert Harris, Jussi Adler-Olsen and Isabel Allende. Special thematic spotlights 鈥� including a focus on Turkish literature in previous years 鈥� have underlined the festival鈥檚 conviction that the freedom of the arts fosters mutual understanding.
Dates
20 September - 19 October 2025
For additional information, please visit the (in German).
