Literary Autumn: Trouble over Alice Schwarzer's appearance

A week before the start of the Literary Autumn in Leipzig, 33 authors and artists have demanded the cancellation of an event with Alice Schwarzer. Schwarzer repeatedly attracts attention with "trans-hostile, racist and misogynistic statements and publications," they said in an open letter published by the artists on Tuesday. "Therefore, we call on the Literary Autumn not to give Alice Schwarzer a stage for her problematic statements and to remove the event from the program."

According to organizers, Schwarzer will present her autobiography "My Life" in the coming week at the Leipzig Public Library. Already in the run-up, some cooperation partners had withdrawn from the Literary Autumn because of the event. At the beginning of October, the organizers therefore announced that they were aware that with Schwarzer, a "controversial author, polarizing through provocative, sometimes even for us problematic statements," would receive a podium. Nevertheless, he said, there was no questioning the achievements of a publicist who had championed feminism worldwide for decades.