Older news from 2015 to 2024. For current news, see the home page.
2024
M. T. Vasudevan Nair has died
The Malayalam novelist and film director M. T. Vasudevan Nair passed away on 25 December 2024 at the age of 91. He was one of Kerala's most important writers. BBC obituary.
Ingrid von Heiseler has died
The author and translator Ingrid von Heiseler, known for Lost in Goa among others, passed away on 16 September 2024. Obituary on afghanic.de.
Draupadi Verlag — German Publisher Prize 2024
At the 76th Frankfurt Book Fair (16 October 2024), Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth awarded Draupadi Verlag the German Publisher Prize (Deutscher Verlagspreis). Draupadi Verlag is the most important German-language publisher of literature from South Asia and a long-standing partner of Literaturforum Indien. More at deutscher-verlagspreis.de.
European Modern Hindi Workshop 2024 — Uppsala
The European Modern Hindi Workshop was held at Uppsala University from 5 to 13 August 2024. A report by Heinz Werner Wessler is available.
Reading Tour: Alka Saraogi — June/July 2024
Hindi author Alka Saraogi read from her novel Entwurzelt (translated from Hindi by Almuth Degener, Draupadi Verlag 2024) in Heidelberg, Mainz and Göttingen. More details.
Annual Conference 2024: "Ecology as a Theme in South Asian Literature?"
Jose Punnamparambil, founding member of Literaturforum Indien, looks back on five decades of journalistic work in Germany. His text Ein Abschiedsstrauss is available online.
2023
In Memoriam: Cecilie Sircar
Cecilie Sircar, long-standing member of our association, passed away on 3 October 2023. She was dedicated to women's education in Calcutta and co-founded the "Lake Gardens Women and Children Development Center" with her husband. She was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit (Bundesverdienstkreuz). An obituary appeared in the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger.
Heinz Werner Wessler receives Father Kamil Bulke Award
Prof. Dr. Heinz Werner Wessler was presented with the Father Kamil Bulke Award for the promotion of the Hindi language on 14 September 2023 in Bhopal. An interview: YouTube
Salman Rushdie — Peace Prize of the German Book Trade 2023
Salman Rushdie received the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade on 22 October 2023 at the Paulskirche in Frankfurt. An article by Heinz Werner Wessler appeared on suedasien.org.
Annual Conference 2023: "Between Tradition and Modernity"
12–14 May 2023, Evangelische Akademie Villigst. Theme: The dissolution of established family structures in South Asia as reflected in literature. The conference programme. Read the conference report here.
12th World Hindi Conference — Fiji, February 2023
Prof. Heinz Werner Wessler participated in the 12th World Hindi Conference (15–17 February 2023 in Fiji). A report appeared in the journal SÜDASIEN and can be read here.
2022
Geetanjali Shree wins the International Booker Prize 2022
Author Geetanjali Shree, long supported by Literaturforum Indien, won the International Booker Prize 2022 for her novel Ret Samādhi (English: The Tomb of Sand) — the first work originally written in an Indian language to win this prize. Published in German: Unsere Stadt in jenem Jahr (Draupadi Verlag), Weißer Hibiskus and Im leeren Raum (Lotos Werkstatt). More: thebookerprizes.com
Annual Conference 2022: "75 Years of Independence and Partition"
20–22 May 2022, Evangelische Akademie Villigst. Theme: 75 Years of Indian Independence and Partition as reflected in literature. The conference programme. Conference report.
Hermann-Kesten-Preis 2022 — Meena Kandasamy
The German PEN Centre awarded the Hermann-Kesten-Preis 2022 to Tamil author Meena Kandasamy (born 1984, Chennai). Award ceremony on 15 November 2022 at the Staatstheater Darmstadt.
2nd International Translation Workshop Hindi-German/German-Hindi
From 10–16 October 2022, a workshop on literary translation took place at Dehradun University/India within the framework of the TOLEDO ViceVersa programme. Read a brief report.
Memorial Event for Prof. Indu Prakash Pandey
On 4 November 2022, a memorial Zoom meeting (3–5 pm, in English) was held for long-standing member Dr. Indu Prakash Pandey, who passed away the previous year. The invitation is available here.
2021
In Memoriam: Alokeranjan Dasgupta
Online memorial event on 19 November 2021, 4:00 pm, with Hans Harder, Christian Weiß, Jose Punnamparambil and Dr. Ursula Bickelmann. Alokeranjan Dasgupta (1932–2020) was one of the most important Bengali poets and professor emeritus at the University of Heidelberg. The invitation to the Zoom meeting.
Annual Conference 2021: "Comedy – Irony – Satire"
Online event on 29 May 2021. Theme: Humour and social critique in the literatures of South Asia. Read the conference report here.
Vishwa Hindi Diwas 2021
Webinar on 15 January 2021, 2:00–5:00 pm: Remembering Phanishwarnath Renu in his Birth Centenary Year. Organised by the Universities of Göttingen and Uppsala, Tagore Centre, German Embassy, and Literaturforum Indien. Programme.
Arundhati Roy: Reading and Conversation
Zoom event at the University of Frankfurt on 22 January 2021, 10:00 am–12:00 pm: The Syntax of Everyday Injustice. Event details.
Translation Workshop Hindi-German/German-Hindi
On 3, 4 and 6 March 2021, an online translation workshop took place — in preparation for a meeting planned in Dehra Dun in October. Report.
"15 Years of Literaturforum Indien e.V.: An Interim Assessment"
An article in SÜDASIEN, issue 3/2021, illuminating the history and activities of the association. The article is available here.
2020
Sugathakumari has died
The South Indian poet and environmental activist Sugathakumari passed away on 23 December 2020 at the age of 86. She was instrumental in saving the Silent Valley in Kerala. Her poetry collection Was habt ihr meiner Welt angetan? (selected and translated by Annakutty V.K. Findeis, Draupadi Verlag 2020) is available in German.
Annual Conference 2020 postponed to 2021
The annual conference originally planned for 5–7 June 2020 (Comedy – Irony – Satire) was postponed due to the pandemic to 28–30 May 2021.
Rajinder Singh Bedi: "The Quarantine"
Written more than 80 years ago but highly topical: Die Quarantäne, a short story by Rajinder Singh Bedi, translated from Urdu by Heinz Werner Wessler.
New Generations — Independent Indian Film Festival
Indian independent films nationwide online from 6 to 8 November 2020. More information at newgenerations.de.
2019
Staged Reading: "A Man of the Middle Way" by Manuka Wijesinghe
With Jayantha Gomes, Percussion.
9 November 2019, 6 pm: Library of Indology, Gutenberg Institute, University of Mainz, Colonel Kleinmann-Weg 2, 55128 Mainz (Building SB II, ground floor, free entry)
Awarded in memory of the Orientalist and poet Friedrich Rückert, the city of Coburg grants this literary prize every three years to authors from cultural regions whose languages Rückert translated from. This year the prize went to India: winner is Hindi author Sara Rai. The award ceremony took place on 16 May 2019.
Reading Tour: Sara Rai — May 2019
The recipient of the Coburg Rückert Prize 2019 toured Germany with readings in May. Further details on the Readings page.
Annual Conference 2019: "Women in South Asia between Tradition and Emancipation"
24–26 May 2019, Evangelische Akademie Villigst, 58239 Schwerte. Programme.
2018
Honours for members of Literaturforum Indien
Dr. Ines Fornell was awarded the Vishva Hindi Samman (World Hindi Prize) at the 11th World Hindi Conference in Mauritius for her research, teaching and work as a literary translator.
Annual Conference 2018: "Megacities in South Asia"
25–27 May 2018, Evangelische Akademie Villigst. Theme: Focal points of social and religious conflict. Programme.
In Memoriam: Dr. Nirmalendu Sarkar (1938–2018)
Dr. Nirmalendu Sarkar, co-founder and long-standing honorary chairman of Literaturforum Indien e.V., has passed away. Read the obituary here.
Reading Tour: Rahman Abbas — May/June 2018
The renowned Urdu writer Rahman Abbas, author of the Bombay novel Die Stadt, das Meer, die Liebe, toured Germany from 25 May to 13 June 2018 with readings and a talk alongside translator Almuth Degener.
Days of Indian Literature at Literaturhaus Zürich
24–25 February 2018. Readings and discussions with Rahman Abbas, Urvashi Butalia, Ruby Hembron, Meena Kandasamy, Namita Khare, Pankaj Mishra, Urmila Pawar, Sharad Sharma, Preti Taneja, Christian Weiss and Heinz Werner Wessler.
2017
Reading Tour: Arundhati Roy — September 2017
Arundhati Roy presented her new novel The Ministry of Utmost Happiness on a reading tour through Germany and Switzerland from 6 to 19 September 2017.
Goethe Medal 2017 for Urvashi Butalia
The Goethe Medal was awarded in Weimar on 28 August 2017 to three recipients, including Indian publisher Urvashi Butalia, known for her essay collection The Other Side of Silence on the traumatic events of the 1947 Partition of the subcontinent.
Annual Conference 2017: "Modern Theatre in India"
12–14 May 2017, Evangelische Akademie Villigst. Speakers from German and Indian universities presented the diverse facets of the Indian theatre scene. Programme.
2016
Mahasweta Devi has died
The great Bengali writer Mahasweta Devi passed away in Calcutta on 28 July 2016 at the age of 90. She was known for her numerous novels and short stories about the most marginalised people in society. Obituary.
Anniversary Anthology: "Wie queren wir Flüsse?"
Wie queren wir Flüsse? Geschichten und Gedichte vom indischen Subkontinent (How Do We Cross Rivers? Stories and Poems from the Indian Subcontinent), ed. Ines Fornell and Reinhold Schein, Draupadi Verlag 2016. The anthology was published to mark the tenth anniversary of Literaturforum Indien e.V. and includes texts from 12 source languages.
Annual Conference 2016: "Adivasi Literature"
27–29 May 2016, Evangelische Akademie Villigst. The conference was dedicated to the indigenous peoples of India, whose literary output in written form has grown significantly in recent decades. Guests included Ruby Hembron (founder of Adivaani publishers) and poet Jacinta Kerketta. Programme.
"Poets translating Poets"
An initiative by the Goethe Institutes in South Asia: German-language poets met colleagues from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and translated each other's works. The results were presented in several German cities in summer 2016. More …
2015
Controversy over the Indian literary academy
Triggered by the unsolved murder of Sahitya Akademi award winner M. M. Kalburgi, a large number of prominent writers returned their literary prizes in protest at the academy's silence. An interview with Hindi author Uday Prakash, whose return of his prize in September 2015 sparked the wave of returns, illuminates some aspects of the debate.
Reading Tour: Geetanjali Shree — November 2015
Literaturforum Indien was a co-organiser of a reading tour by Geetanjali Shree. Her works available in German include the novels Mai and Unsere Stadt in jenem Jahr as well as the short story collection Weißer Hibiskus.
