Die Winterschwimmerin

From book to audio book - reading and discussion with author Marion Poschmann and narrator Marit Beyer
Moderation: Jurate Braginaite
Set design: Malte Prokopowitsch

Thekla is traveling in icy waters. As she plunges into the breathtakingly clear water and deals with the violence of the cold, she finds a sense of freedom and autonomy. Then she encounters an escaped tiger.

The multi-award-winning author Marion Poschmann tells of the excitement and happiness of an extraordinary experience. The artful linguistic expression blends contemporary milieu study and wondrous legend. A verse legend that makes you want to go ice swimming.

The book was selected for the 'SWR Bestenliste' and received numerous positive press reviews. The audiobook was also selected for the 'hr2-Hörbuchbestenliste' and has been nominated for the 'Deutscher Hörbuchpreis 2026' in the 'Best Performer' category. The book is published by Suhrkamp, the audiobook by Diwan Hörbuchverlag.

Biographies
Marion Poschmann is a poet and author. She has received numerous prestigious awards for her poetry and prose, including the 2021 Bremen Literature Prize for her poetry collection Nimbus and the WORTMELDUNGEN Literature Prize in the same year. Most recently, she received the Joseph Breitbach Prize for her complete works in 2023. She is a member of the P.E.N. Center Germany. Marion Poschmann's first novel 'Baden bei Gewitter' was published in 2002 and her poetry collection 'Verschlossene Kammern' was published in the same year. This was followed by many other poetry and prose publications.
The verse legend 'Die Winterschwimmerin' was published by Suhrkamp Verlag in 2025 and was selected for the SWR Bestenliste.

Marit Beyer speaks for radio and television for ARTE, 3sat, WDR and SWR, among others. With her recorded audio books, she has been voted onto the hr2 audio book best list several times and nominated for the German Audio Book Award in the "Best Performer" category. She can also be heard in readings and stage productions and has been invited to the Literaturhaus Stuttgart, the
International Literature Festival lit.COLOGNE, the Maison Heinrich Heine Paris, the Laeiszhalle Hamburg, the Kölner Philharmonie and the Wiener Konzerthaus. She has been teaching at the Institute for Speech Arts and Communication Pedagogy since 2015.

Jūratė Braginaitė creates features, radio plays and site-based audio works. She was awarded the ARD Radio Play Prize 2023 for her work "Vogel Igel Stachelschwein - ein Spiel in Weimar Nord". When she is not busy with radio art, she works as a speaker and voice and speech coach. She has been teaching media speaking at the Institute for Speech Arts and Communication Pedagogy since 2025.

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Festival of Speech: Rhetoric - Speech Education - Science
Speaking is more than words: sound, attitude, encounter and art.

Over two intensive days, our festival is dedicated to the diversity of speaking - from the personal voice to the social impact of language. In workshops and talks with experts from the fields of practice, science and art, we invite you to discover new perspectives and engage in exchange. On both evenings of the festival, you can expect top-class spoken word art: at the "Dead or Alive" poetry slam, living slam poets will compete against dead poets, represented by the students of spoken word art. After the reading of "Die Winterschwimmerin", author Marion Poschmann and audiobook narrator Marit Beyer will talk about how written and spoken words can be turned into a work of art that has made it onto the longlist for the German Audiobook Prize 2026!

The festival is aimed at anyone who is interested in language, voice and expression - whether professionally, artistically or out of personal curiosity. No prior knowledge is required.

Come along, listen, join in and discover the different facets of voice!