LesArt – Franconian Literature Days Ansbach

30 Years of Literature in Ansbach

LesArt – Franconian Literature Days Ansbach is an established literary festival in the Middle Franconian city of Ansbach, the seat of the district of the same name. It has taken place annually in November since 1997; in 2026, it will celebrate its 30th edition. The series is organized by the City of Ansbach in cooperation with the Kulturforum Ansbach, with support from the Fränkische Landeszeitung and the Nürnberger Nachrichten.

Part of the Franconian Literature Days

LesArt has been part of a three-city network since 1999: Together with Schwabach and Lauf an der Pegnitz, the Franconian Literature Days form a regional literary network supported by the municipalities. This creates a dense program of high-caliber readings across Middle Franconia.

High-Quality Contemporary Literature

The focus is on high-quality contemporary literature: author discussions, readings, school readings for young audiences, and the promotion of new talents. The guest list of the past reads like a who's who of German-language literature – including Nobel Prize laureate in Literature Herta Müller, Saša Stanišić, the poet Jan Wagner, and bestseller author Alex Capus.

Venue Kunsthaus R3

The venue is the Kunsthaus R3 at Reitbahn 3 in the center of Ansbach. The detailed program for each edition will be published in early October. LesArt is funded by, among others, the Bavarian State Ministry for Science and the Arts and the Middle Franconia district.