Information on „sprachsalz“ (Language salt)

i 4. International Literature festival in Hall in Tyrol, Austria, i

from 15-17 September 2006.

„This is the fourth time that “Sprachsalz” takes place. Already it has made a name for itself among authors and lovers of literature throughout Europe. More than 3000 visitors gathered last year to listen to the voices of twenty well-known or newly-discovered authors.

“Sprachsalz” is an international festival geared mostly towards German-speaking readers and audiences. Therefore our website (www.sprachsalz.com) is in German, but we would like to try and translate for you the most important points so that you can form an impression of our Festival. Sorry, that we cannot do more than that, but our budget ist too limited translating all.

What is there to know about “Sprachsalz”?

In total twenty authors are invited to “Sprachsalz” for an entire weekend to give several readings from their published books.
All readings are free of charge: Our idea was to make literature accessible to all. As the past two years have shown, many of the people who attend our Festival listen to readings for their first time in their lives.
Some of the authors are invited to bring along a young author of their choice who might not be as well known as they themselves. We call these “godfathers of literature”. Their younger colleagues are invited to give one reading where they will be introduced by their “godfathers”.
All readings take place in the Park Hotel, where the authors are staying. The atmosphere of our Festival is almost family-like. Hall in Tyrol is a small town of 13 000 inhabitants steeped in medieval traditions and surrounded by mountains. Two sspecial readings find place outside the hotel.
Most of the readings will be in German (with actors reading the German translation). But some of the readings will also be in the original language, this year one each by Leslie Kaplan (French), Ira Cohen (English), Colum McCann (English) and Ales Steger (Slovenian).
The events of the Festival will be covered by numerous journalists for a variety of media.
Saturday night is our special literature night in the big hall of the “Kurhaus” – just next to the hotel –, with a festive dinner during which a number of authors will be reading short pieces. We have reserved seats for all of our authors, and you will receive vouchers to eat and drink there. Please make sure to go to dinner between 7 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. (i. e. before the readings) as later on only desserts will be served. All other meal times are for you to decide.
Festival painter: Our guest this year will be the Austrian painter Erich Sperger. He will be painting portraits of the authors during the Festival. Please feel free to visit him in the Festival Office (and allow him to make a portrait of yourself?).
Festival Office: You will find our Festival Office just next to the Parkhotel’s reception desk. We will endeavour to assist with all your queries: travel, questions about the Festival, any problems you might have.
SAGe: Last year Sprachsalz established a fund for “authors in need”, SAGe. As Sprachsalz does not charge admission fees, we ask the audience for voluntary donations (you will find little boxes all over the place). The money thus collected will be used for authors who encounter financial problems. We established this Fund because we know that some authors find it difficult to survive financially. Feel free to donate some coins yourselves …

authors of the first 3 years were:
Friedrich Achleitner. Christoph W. Bauer. Peter Bichsel. Diane Broeckhoven. Andrej Blatnik. Ira Cohen. Becqë Cufaj. Dietmar Eder. Katharina Faber. Gerhard Falkner. Antonio Fian. Zoran Feriç. Wilhelm Genazino. Brigitte Giraud. Janusz Glowacki. Natasza Goerke. Sabine Gruber. Arnon Grünberg. Takashi Hiraide. Edgar Hilsenrath. Franz Hodjak. Alois Hotschnig. Gert Jonke. Ismail Kadare. Leslie Kaplan. Dzevad Karahasan. Ioanna Karystiani. Claire Keegan. Gerhard Kofler. Peter Kurzeck. Jacques Lederer. Pedro Lenz. Andres Lutz & Frank Heierli. Alberto Manguel. Norbert Mayer. Colum Mc Cann. Klaus Merz. Paul Nizon. Herta Müller. Jürgen Nendza. Kenzaburô Ôe. José F.A.Oliver. Steffen Popp. Ilma Rakusa. Harry Redl. Annie Saumont. Robert Schindel. Ferdinand Schmatz. Aleš Šteger. Yoko Tawada. Tatjana Tolstaja. Marek van der Jagt. Florian Vetsch. Elisabeth Wandeler-Deck. Peter Weber. Josef Winkler. Kathy Zarnegin. Péter Zilahy.



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