Explore Queer Literature in Berlin!

Literarisches Colloquium Berlin features an exciting programme of many diverse events, including queer ones. The international vibe is inspiring because many of the guests come from other countries. In addition, the location itself is inspiring and intriguing. Literarisches Colloquium Berlin is housed in a wonderful old building directly on the shores of the Wannsee lake.

Literarisches Colloquium Berlin
Am Sandwerder 5, 14109 Berlin-Wannsee
S Berlin-Wannsee
Website of Literarischen Colloquium Berlin

Buchhandlung Anakoluth is not only an important neighbourhood bookshop in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg, but the owner also happens to be most knowledgeable about women's and lesbian issues. She can therefore provide good advice to women and to anyone else who wants to dig a little deeper - and of course to those who might be wandering around Prenzlauer Berg on the hunt for interesting reading.

Buchhandlung Anakoluth
Schönhauser Allee 124, 10437 Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg
S + U Schönhauser Allee
Website of Buchhandlung Anakoluth

The bookshop She said is a new, queer literary venue that has managed to attract a number of young people. This has certainly been helped by the fact that the youthful team excels at working with new media. For example, She said organises live IRL events, as well as digital ones, for example on their YouTube channel. It was here that they featured an interview with the well-known author, Carmen Maria Machado.

Buchhandlung She said
Kottbusser Damm 79, 10967 Berlin-Neukölln
U Schönleinstraße
Website of Buchhandlung She said

The smart, gay staff of the Geistesblüten at the quirky Walter-Benjamin-Platz are well-known and renowned, above all, for their outstanding events organisation. Many of the readings that we might still be considering hosting at Eisenherz are usually already listed on their programming schedule.

Geistesblüten
Walter-Benjamin-Platz 2, 10629 Berlin-Charlottenburg
S Savignyplatz
Website of Buchhandlung Geistesblüten

Spinnboden is a really important queer literature centre. The staff collects lesbian literature and keeps it accessible to the public. In addition, Spinnboden is an archive and can be used for research purposes. The library can be visited by everyone during opening hours. The staff is very knowledgeable about a wide range of topics. Spinnboden is therefore an ideal place to go for those who want to delve deeper into lesbian-related subject matter.

Spinnboden
Anklamer Straße 38, 10115 Berlin-Mitte
U Bernauer Straße
Website of Spinnboden

The Schwules Museum is definitely important for anyone who wants to get to grips with queer history. Despite the name, ‘Gay Museum’, the museum is not only focused solely on gay history, but also on wider LGBTI* perspectives. It is also a real unique selling point for Berlin because there are very few museums of this kind in the world. The Schwules Museum has a huge archive and regularly organises numerous and diverse theme-based exhibitions.

Schwules Museum
Lützowstraße 73, 10785 Berlin-Tiergarten
U Nollendorfplatz
Website of Schwules Museum

The Lebensort Vielfalt is a space organised by the Berliner Schwulenberatung (Berlin Gay Counselling Service) where many queer retirees live. In addition, events are regularly organised there and the Bibliothek Andersrum housed there is a library containing numerous fiction and non-fiction works.

Bibliothek Andersrum im Lebensort Vielfalt
Niebuhrstraße 59-60, 10629 Berlin-Charlottenburg
U Wilmersdorfer Straße
Website of Bibliothek Andersrum

Libraries and archives which focus on trans* and inter* issues are thin on the ground. TrlQ-Bibliothek - previously known as the Trans*Inter*Archiv - fills this gap to perfection. TrIQ e.V. comprises a number of different associations. Only recently, TrIQ relocated to a new location in Friedrichshain. Once the Corona pandemic has subsided, they are planning to host events there.

TrIQ-Bibliothek
Gürtelstraße 35, 10247 Berlin-Friedrichshain
S + U Frankfurter Allee
Website of TrIQ e.V.

The team from the Sonntags-Club organises a huge range of events. Among others, there is 'Frauen*-Freitag' for all Women* and 'Dienstags-Club' for trans persons and friends. The exact programme can be found on the website. Especially for East Berlin, the Sunday Club is also an important place from a historical point of view. There is also a bar where you can meet up with friends. Of course, if you like, you can just bring a book and read it here.

Sonntags-Club
Greifenhagener Straße 28, 10437 Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg
S + U Schönhauser Alle
Website of Sonntags-Club

Our bookshop, Eisenherz, specialises in queer literature. We stock not only novels, poetry collections, non-fiction, and reference books, but also magazines, fanzines, and DVDs. The large selection of children's books for rainbow families has been recently established. Eisenherz is Germany's oldest queer bookstore.

Eisenherz
Motzstraße 23, 10777 Berlin-Schöneberg
U Nollendorfplatz
Website of Eisenherz

Franz Brandmeier and Nancy Schmolt discuss (in German) queer literature in the Place2be.Berlin podcast. Listen in!

And this is how you get there: The Queer City Pass gives you a ticket for public transport - and on top of that a great discount with lots of partner companies!

Subscribe to Place2be.Berlin's Instagram channel for the latest info and impressions from Berlin!

The Place2be.Berlin city map shows you interesting queer locations all over Berlin.

You can find a complete overview of all events for every single da on the event pages of SIEGESSÄULE, Berlin's famous queer city magazine.