Founded in 2006, Literaturforum Indien e.V. is dedicated to bringing contemporary literature from India and other South Asian countries to the attention of German-speaking audiences.
Literature from India in English has already gained worldwide recognition. Far less known, however, is the literature written in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali, Urdu, Marathi and other South Asian languages — a body of work that looks back on an equally significant tradition.
Literaturforum Indien e.V. seeks to contribute to a fuller picture of South Asian literatures and to promote the dissemination of ambitious works — especially by contemporary authors — that convey an authentic picture of the lived reality and cultural diversity of the Indian subcontinent.
To this end, we engage the public through readings and seminars. We support smaller publishers with grants towards the translation and printing costs of German editions of literary works from South Asia. See Funded Books.
Short articles on the life and work of notable authors from the Indian subcontinent — often supplemented by reading excerpts in German translation — are available on the Authors page.
News
2026
A conference to mark the 20th anniversary of Literaturforum Indien
Friday, 5 June 2026, 3:00 – 7:00 pm
Aula am Waldweg, University of Göttingen, Waldweg 26, 37073 Göttingen
Further details in the programme (PDF).
The brochure as a PDF file.
ViceVersa: German-Hindi Translation Workshop
Led by Namita Khare and Heinz Werner Wessler. Within the framework of the Toledo Programme ViceVersa. Application deadline: 30 April 2026.
International Mother Language Day — 21 February 2026
An article by Heinz Werner Wessler on the languages of South Asia, published on suedasien.org.
Saturday, 7 February 2026, 10:00–12:00 (CET)
Zoom · Meeting ID: 615 7877 9307
The programme is available here.
2025
Annual Conference 2025: "When Love Is Political" completed
9–11 May 2025, Evangelische Akademie Villigst (Schwerte). Theme: Between romantic feelings and social constraints: the spectrum of love in South Asian literature. During the conference, Syed Kashif Raza read from his novel Vier Derwische und eine Schildkröte (Four Dervishes and a Turtle). The conference programme. Read the conference report here.
Reading Tour: Syed Kashif Raza — May 2025 completed
Pakistani author Syed Kashif Raza read from Vier Derwische und eine Schildkröte at various venues in Germany. Further details on the Readings page.
International Booker Prize 2025: Banu Mushtaq and Deepa Bhasthi
The International Booker Prize 2025 was awarded to author Banu Mushtaq and her translator Deepa Bhasthi for the short story collection Heart Lamp from the Kannada — the first time a work originally written in a South Asian language has won this prize. Further information at thebookerprizes.com.
Conference "Birsa Munda and Decolonizing Janjatiya Studies"
7–8 August 2025, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Prof. Heinz Werner Wessler participated with a paper in Hindi. Organised by the Centre for Indian Languages (CIL) at JNU.
Geetanjali Shree — DAAD Berlin Artists Programme
Hindi author Geetanjali Shree, author of five novels and numerous short stories, was selected for the DAAD Berlin Artists Programme. Her author portrait on our website.
17 January 2025, 2:00–5:00 pm (Vishwa Hindi Diwas). Organisers: Universities of Göttingen and Uppsala, Tagore Centre, German Embassy New Delhi, Literaturforum Indien.
Zoom · Meeting ID: 643 2369 0802
The poster as PDF.
Prof. Dr. Dieter Riemenschneider has died
The distinguished Anglicist and editor of the anthology Shiva tanzt. Das Indien-Lesebuch (Unionsverlag) passed away on 6 October 2024. A collection of his essays is available online here.
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.
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.
The European Modern Hindi Workshop was held at Uppsala University from 5 to 13 August 2024. A report by Heinz Werner Wessler is available.
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?" completed
24–26 May 2024, Evangelische Akademie Villigst (Schwerte). The conference programme. The conference report.
Online Conference: Diaspora in Marathi Literature completed
28 April 2024, 2:00–5:00 pm (in English). Programme and registration.
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
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.
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" completed
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
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" completed
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 completed
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 completed
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
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" completed
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 completed
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 completed
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 completed
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 completed
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 completed
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)
- 21 November 2019, 7 pm: Literaturhaus Darmstadt, Kasinostr. 3, 64283 Darmstadt
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 completed
The recipient of the Coburg Rückert Prize 2019 toured Germany with readings in May. Further details on the Readings page.
24–26 May 2019, Evangelische Akademie Villigst, 58239 Schwerte. Programme.
2018
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.
25–27 May 2018, Evangelische Akademie Villigst. Theme: Focal points of social and religious conflict. Programme.
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 completed
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 completed
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 completed
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.
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.
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.
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" completed
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 completed
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.