Middle Ground: Nepal Literature Festival, Literatures from the Himalayas, 2 & 3 October 2026

Press release, 16.9.2026

Middle Ground: Nepal Literature Festival

Literatures from the Himalayas

Readings, Discussions, Workshops, Keynote Lecture, Performances, DJ Set, Open Mic Night

2 & 3 October 2026

On 2 and 3 October 2026, Middle Ground turns to literatures from the Himalayas. In collaboration with the Nepal Literature Festival, Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) has developed a programme that brings international writers and artists to Berlin. Readings, performances, workshops, a keynote lecture, conversations, and an open mic night focus on a region that as a landscape of transit, has for centuries been shaped by migration and movement across borders. Particular attention is given to oral traditions, in which telling and passing on stories through voice, ritual, song, and repetition becomes a collective practice.

Inspired by Chinua Achebe’s understanding of the ‘middle ground’ as a space of doubt and imagination, the project Middle Ground annually invites literature festivals from around the world to Berlin to rethink how stories are made, shared, and carried forward.

In 2026, Middle Ground partners with the Nepal Literature Festival to approach literary practice through the lens of altitude. Here, altitude goes beyond physical positioning and can be understood as a metaphor of perspective. Nepal has long been contoured by the movement and passage of traders, pilgrims, migrants, refugees, and exiles, who over centuries have negotiated borders, weather conditions, and power asymmetries. Ongoing political and religious tensions, alongside more recent anti-government protests, have further contributed to this complex landscape.

With:

Gopilal Acharya, Aadhi Avrina, Rajeev Balasubramanyam, Ajit Baral, Farah Bashir, Alaka Chudal, Uzma Falak, Merel Maan Galama, Nischal Khadka, Jason Kunwar, Tsering Yangzom Lama, Mukahang Limbu, Nayan Raj Pandey, Manjushree Thapa, Tsering Wangmo Dhompa, and others

For interview requests and accreditations, please contact presse@hkw.de.

More information: hkw.de/en/MiddleGround

Programme

Free entry

Middle Ground: Nepal Literature Festival

Literatures from the Himalayas

Readings, Discussions, Workshops, Keynote Lecture, Performances, DJ Set, Open Mic Night

2 & 3 October 2026

Fr., 2.10.
18:00–18:15

Between Home and Elsewhere

Uzma Falak and Mukahang Limbu

Poetry Performances