VorLaut
New literary voices at Literaturhaus Basel
The VorLaut reading series gives up-and-coming authors a stage as part of the programme of Literaturhaus Basel. Analogous to the opening act at a concert, new writers perform their texts before established authors.
In (pop) music, opening acts have long been part of the programme: talented young musicians perform before the concert of a well-known group. In this way, they are introduced to a wider audience, gain performance experience and benefit from contact with the experienced group.
In the reading series VorLaut, aspiring writers are given the opportunity to present their texts to the public and gain reading experience, have a chance to network and gain insight into the literary world.
The format already existed in a similar form at the Literaturhaus from 2012 to 2016. Sarah Elena Müller, Adam Schwarz, Norwin Tharayil, Anaïs Steiner, René Frauchiger, Laura Wohnlich, and many more have already performed at VorLaut.
From autumn 2023, VorLaut will enter its second round in cooperation with the Friends of the Literature Festival BuchBasel and Literaturhaus and with fresh ideas.
Call for entries
For the VorLaut reading series, we are looking for texts with a length of 10-12 minutes to be read before the "main act". The genre (prose, poetry, drama, essay) and format (classical, staged, performative, collective reading) are completely open. There are no thematic restrictions. The performers receive a fee for their reading. Any travel expenses incurred will be reimbursed.
Writers from the Basel area can apply. The reading series will start in late autumn 2023.
The call for applications is open until 31 August 2023 (23:59).
The application procedure is anonymous. Send us your text and your contact details including a short biography in two separate files and include a keyword in the filename. In the text file, you can briefly note how you plan to present it. In this way, we would like to make the application process transparent and inclusive.
We especially encourage people with disabilities, LGBTQIA persons, women, BIPoC as well as people with a migration background to apply.
The jury consists of members of the Friends of BuchBasel and Literaturhaus.
Info an application: info@literaturhaus-basel.ch