A number of the world’s most renowned and best-selling authors come together to read from the season’s most anticipated pieces of literature at the Harbour Front Literature Festival every year. Since 2008, more than 200.000 visitors have come annually to the 30 plus different locations around the Port of Hamburg to enjoy the best of literature.

Literature in the Port of Hamburg

Over the years, the city of Hamburg has become the domain of many writers, including Arno Schmidt, Lenz, Giordano and Heinrich. The ideal backdrop for a literature festival, the Harbour Front Literature Festival attracts national and international authors each season, whose readings draw in visitors from across the country and further.

Consisting of several readings and talks, the many individual events that make up the festival take place across several weeks. The full and varied programme this season includes 82 literary events in 31 locations, a number of which are focused on children’s and youth literature.

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Which writers are featured at the Harbour Front Literature Festival 2026?

International authors present at the Harbour Front Literature Festival 2026 include:

• Han Kang
• Olaf Scholz
• Madeline Cash
• Ildikó von Kürthy
• Daniel Schreiber
• Caroline Wahl
• Devid Striesow
• Markus Becker
• Bodo Wartke
• Jan Weiler
• Adèle Yon
• Saša Stanišić
• Kristine Bilkau
• Cornelia Funke
• Banu Mushtaq
• Lily King
• Ralph Caspers
• Ewald Arenz
• Philipp Oehmke
• Irvine Welsh
• Thorsten Nagelschmidt
• Jürgen Nerger
• Freche Möwe
• Amanda Gayle

Get your tickets to the Harbour Front Literature Festival

Do you have your sights already set on a reading you want to attend? Or are you interested in checking out the full programme of authors speaking? For all the details and to book your tickets now, visit the official Hamburg visitor information website.