Event as part of the 31st Schwerin Literature Festival
IN THE LIGHT OF A NEW DAY – Reading with Jarka Kubsova
A writer in search of herself. Deep in the enchanted Bohemian Forest, the fates of two courageous women intertwine.
When Elli Hajek retreats to a secluded house to write, she recalls a character her Czech grandmother once told her about: Viktorka, the young woman who, after a traumatic event, was declared insane and henceforth lived alone in the Bohemian Forest. When Elli learns that Viktorka really existed, she travels to the country she herself fled as a child. Elli wants to find out more—but deep in the forest, amid glowing ferns and a rushing river, another task awaits her: Before she learns the truth about Viktorka, Elli must confront her own repressed history.
A grand, luminous story about justice and the past, women’s historiography, and the courage to face the truth.
Jarka Kubsova was born in 1977 in the former Czechoslovakia; she has lived in Germany since 1987. She has worked as a journalist, ghostwriter, and co-author of several successful nonfiction books. Her debut novel, *Bergland*, was published in 2021, followed in 2023 by the novel *Marschlande*, which was nominated for the “Favorite Book of Independent Bookstores” award and adapted for the stage. Jarka Kubsova lives in Hamburg.
Moderator: Maria-Christina Piwowarski, editor and literary educator
Saturday,
, October 17, 2026
7:30 p.m.
Kulturforum Schleswig-Holstein-Haus, Puschkinstraße 12
Admission
Box office: €14.00 / Advance sales: €12.00 (plus ticket fee)
Click here for TICKETS
Organizer
, Cultural Office of the State Capital Schwerin
