Worlds Apart: German author Julia Franck visits Leeds to discuss her new novel
- Date: Friday 6 February 2026, 12:00 – 13:30
- Location: Baines Wing SR (1.16)
- Cost: Free
Author Julia Franck, together with her English publisher, Monique Charlesworth, will be in Leeds on the 6th of February to give a reading from and talk about her new novel, Worlds Apart.
All are welcome to this in-person event, in English, supported by the International Writers at Leeds series.
About Worlds Apart:
Two Germanies and two different lives are depicted in this powerful Bildungsroman of family, escape and first love, by award-winning Julia Franck.
Born in East Berlin, Julia is eight when her actress mother uproots her family of four girls, by different fathers, heading West in search of a better life. Their eventual landing in the remote countryside of Schleswig-Holstein solves no problems for this fractured household. Desperate to escape a childhood of rural poverty, neglect and shame, the lonely child becomes addicted to writing. Aged 13, she leaves her family. At school in West Berlin, she finally encounters love. In this novel based on her youthful diaries and early life, Julia Franck shows why and how a great writer found her voice.
The English version has been translated by Imogen Taylor (Moth Books, 2026).
‘Radically personal ... a stirring book in prose that captivates and engages’ (Berliner Zeitung)
‘This book (in which the characters have the same names as in real life) is truthful by duty and beautiful by choice’ (Die Zeit)
‘Worlds Apart is a fascinating piece of prose and a rousing story of self-empowerment’ (Brigitte magazine)
‘This family history hinges like a swinging door on key dates in twentieth-century German dictatorship.' TAZ
About Julia Franck:
Born in Communist East Berlin in 1970, Julia Franck is an author and essayist who has published novels and short stories. The daughter of an actress and granddaughter of a sculptor, her powerful novels of family and motherhood draw on her own life across divided Germany as they delve into the nation’s tumultuous past. Two of her novels have been filmed. The recipient of numerous awards, she lives in Berlin.