Elbe Literature Days - LITE 2026

A lively contemporary novel set against a historical backdrop

Flora Perleberg, the peculiar old lady with an eccentric wardrobe, not only has her eccentric quirks and her pug Schmeling, but also a secret. Her younger neighbor, Alex, is fed up with her teenage kids, her mother, and the inheritance hunters who have their sights set on Flora’s mansion. Grit, Alex’s friend with the big mouth, needs a new place to live and a job after splitting up with her husband.

When Claire, a French student, also moves into a room at Flora’s place, this very unique shared apartment in the Elbe suburbs is complete. And it’s fighting on all fronts: for the villa, the truth, and composure. Little by little, Flora’s life story comes to light—a story in which the war and postwar years have left deep scars.

A clever and insightful novel that spans from wartime to the present day. It tells a story of female intuition and the unshakable power of love.

“My name is Flora Perleberg. I’m 86, if I haven’t miscalculated. And I’m still good at raising my quills or extending my claws.”

Here is the Baron

After studying languages across Europe, Karin Baron worked as a translator, editor, and copywriter until she wrote a wild story for her daughters’ Advent calendar. She hasn’t stopped writing stories since, most recently about Hamburg, her favorite city and the place she calls home. Her first novel for adults, *Villa Flora*, is also set on the Elbe.

With Dead Candles presented Lisa Lenardi An exciting Christmas mystery that combines the festive spirit of Advent with gripping investigative work. The fifth book in the “Baumann’s Cases in Hamburg” series leads Chief Inspector Klaus Baumann into a case that casts a shadow over the pre-Christmas season.

It all begins with ten mysterious Christmas packages that turn up at the homicide division. What at first appears to be a friendly gesture soon turns out to be a threatening message. At the same time, a serial killer is on the loose, presenting Baumann and his team with a constant stream of new challenges. The contemplative Advent season turns into a race against time. Lisa Lenardi skillfully blends the contrasts between the idyllic Christmas spirit and grim crime. Suspense, surprising twists, and the likable character of Klaus Baumann make the novel a captivating read for mystery fans. *Tote Kerzen* is an atmospheric Hamburg crime novel that keeps readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page.

Lisa Lenardi

Lisa Lenardi lives with her family in Reinbek in beautiful Schleswig-Holstein. After studying German language and literature and art, she taught at a secondary school for eight years. She then completed a degree in practice-oriented management, moved to Hamburg, and worked there in sales and management. For health reasons, she eventually turned to writing. In 2016, she launched her crime series featuring Berlin detective Klaus Baumann, who, with his unmistakable Berlin dialect, really stirs things up at the Hamburg Police Headquarters. “Tote Kerzen” is now the fifth case featuring this unconventional investigator.

Lilo is frustrated. The kids have left home, and her part-time employer, Erik Corvin, a former police officer from Hamburg, has been on tour with his rock band for nine months. As a result, there’s nothing for his eloquent and feisty housekeeper to take care of. Only once a week does she make a round at Corvin’s abandoned farm. And one day, a desperate young woman is standing at the door there, desperate to ask the investigator—who actually wants nothing more to do with crime—for help. Her aunt, from whom she inherited the farm, is said to have committed suicide. And she has legitimate doubts about that. Lilo brusquely sends her away, but then begins to ponder the matter. After all, she knows from past cases how Corvin conducts his investigations. She can do that, too. Or so she thinks. And so she begins her investigation—among neighbors, at Corvin’s favorite bar, at a funeral, at a dance school, and even in Hamburg’s red-light district. But she is painfully forced to realize that things aren’t as simple as she’d imagined, and the case—which initially seemed so manageable—takes on dimensions that completely overwhelm her. She’s up against real professionals, and the once-confident hunter has long since become the hunted. The situation becomes increasingly life-threatening, until one night…

Rolf Dieckmann

Rolf Dieckmann has been working as a journalist for many years, most of that time at *Stern*. For a while, he was also in charge of humor and satire there, and that’s evident in his stories. Quirky characters, equally quirky situations, and witty dialogues are the hallmarks of this series. For years, he has lived with his wife in an old farmhouse in a Rundling village in the Wendland region. He knows “his” Wendlanders well, and his second job as editor-in-chief of the magazine “LANDLUFT Das Wendland Magazin” ensures that he never runs out of stories.

A festival on a hot summer day. A dead body beneath a thin blanket of snow. And an unsettling question that will linger forever.
A hot summer day, thumping bass, sweat-drenched bodies. And a woman who’s just falling in love. But then she sees him. He pushes his way through the crowd, as menacing as the storm front looming on the horizon.
Elsewhere, a dead woman is found, naked, with only a thin layer of snow covering her body. It has settled on her skin like a shroud—and on a secret that is meant to remain hidden forever.
Two moments that couldn't be further apart, and yet are tragically linked …

Dark, gripping, and full of unpredictable twists—you’re sure to be hooked.
As a news editor and, most recently, a court reporter, author Chris Warnat knows the depths of the human soul and, in her thrillers *Fifteen Seconds* and *Four Minutes of Silence*, offers us a deep glimpse into them. In the second installment of the Wase Rahimi series, *Four Minutes of Silence*, she reveals the traumatic secret of one of her investigators.

"This thriller has everything it takes to keep readers hooked until the very last page." WDR2 on *Fifteen Seconds*

Chris Warnat

Chris Warnat was born in Oldenburg in 1986. She studied business administration with a focus on law and completed an internship in Cologne, where she subsequently worked as an editor and, most recently, as a court reporter in the news department. This experience inspired her to write. She now lives with her husband and two daughters between Cologne and Bonn. Since 2021, she has been hosting her podcast, Kreativdate, where she talks with people in the book world about their projects, the industry, and the writing process. Following her acclaimed thriller debut, *Fünfzehn Sekunden*, her second thriller, *Vier Minuten Stille*, is now being published.