Reading and discussion. Music: Katharina Franck. Moderation: Friederike Frach

"You can't get around storytelling. The mistake lies elsewhere: thinking storytelling is storytelling. Can't it also be storytelling, shouldn't it?"

With her second novel, Judith Zander has presented a kaleidoscope of self-discovery and memory. Written in the "you" form, she traces her main character layer by layer. It's about a girl who prefers to be Johnny instead of Joana, childhood in the GDR, youth in transition, the search for identity - including gender identity. The author worked on this novel for years, and the 500-page work was partly written in Wiepersdorf.

In August, Judith Zander was awarded the prestigious Fontane Prize for Literature for JOHNNY OHNELAND. The jury spoke of an "open-cast mine of memories" and laudator Dennis Scheck said that the author is able to break out of "category boxes". This is also reflected in her work to date: in addition to highly acclaimed translations of poems, Judith Zander has made a name for herself as a poet, and a new volume of poems has been announced for early 2022.

The search for the word, the sound in language, connects Judith Zander with the singer, songwriter and author Katharina Franck. Known as the founder of the band RAINBIRDS, she has released numerous albums to date and implements new ideas in radio plays, blogs and spoken songs. Alone with the guitar on stage, she develops a special pull in the interpretation of her songs. Her lyrics and the music in turn play a role - as part of the soundtrack in the storytelling - in the novel JOHNNY OHNELAND. What remains of encounters, when does memory become a blueprint? These are questions that also occupy Judith Zander.

An event of the Kulturstiftung Schloss Wiepersdorf in cooperation with the Brandenburg Literature Council.

Supported by funds from the Ministry of Science, Research and Culture in the State of Brandenburg.