Bremen liest! — Bremen Literary Night

An Entire City Reads

When bookstores and libraries in Bremen remain open until the evening on the first weekend of September, it's Bremen liest! — the long Bremen Literary Night. At around 20 venues in nine districts and in Bremerhaven, Bremen-based authors read from their works. Traditionally, it opens in the Wall-Saal of the Central Library, from where the audience disperses into the neighborhoods: Mitte, Viertel, Findorff, Schwachhausen, Neustadt, Walle, and others. In 2026, the literary night will take place for the ninth time on September 4th.

A Regional Book and Reading Festival

Bremen liest! sees itself as a regional book and reading festival with a clear focus on the Bremen scene: Every September, there is an opportunity to immerse yourself in Bremen's book and literary landscape and to meet the city's writers in person. From its first edition in the late 2010s, it has become a fixed date in the cultural calendar, making the diversity of regional literature visible in a single evening.

From Crime to Poetry

The program is deliberately diverse: from short stories and poems to crime stories, everything is included, often accompanied by live music. Children's programs at various bookstores and cultural venues also make the night an experience for young readers. The focus is on the encounter between authors, booksellers, and the audience — spaces for new connections, as the organizers put it.

City of Literature with Hanseatic Book Pride

Bremen sees itself as a vibrant city of literature, and Bremen liest! makes this claim tangible in the state of Bremen. The literary night celebrates the diverse literary scene of the Hanseatic city and its traditional culture of owner-managed bookstores. Admission to all events is free; the readings are financed, among other things, by funding from the Senator for Culture.