The Blue Sofa

Assaf Gavron, Shelly Kupferberg and Dana Vowinckel

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  Dana Vowinckel – Person mit langen braunen Haaren und Kette steht draußen vor unscharfem Hintergrund. Text im Bild: © Max Zerrahn / Suhrkamp Verlag.

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  Assaf Gavron – Männlich gelesene Person mit kurzem Haar, grauer Jacke und blauem Hemd vor unscharfem Hintergrund. Text: © Julian Hartmuth Penguin Random House.

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  Shelly Kupferberg – Person mit lockigem Haar lächelt sanft, stützt Kinn auf Hand mit Schmuckring auf. Text: © Heike Steinweg / Diogenes Verlag.

Once again this year, the Blue Sofa—Bertelsmann’s literary forum—is making a guest appearance at the Berlin Jewish Cultural Days, featuring one male author and two female authors who will present their latest books.

At the Neue Synagoge, three voices of contemporary Jewish literature will come together. Their stories take us from Jerusalem to Berlin to New York, from memories of the Shoah to the present day following October 7. They tell of loss and love, of origins and new beginnings—and of how literature creates spaces where diverse experiences come to light.

Assaf Gavron explores the story of four friends growing up near Jerusalem in the 1980s: with music, pop culture, first love, and the dream of freedom. But the country’s conflicts catch up with them. When one of the friends dies during a military operation, the carefree nature of their youth comes to an end. The result is a portrait of an Israeli generation caught between new beginnings, loss, and a longing for normality.

Shelly Kupferberg takes us to Berlin during the Nazi era. The story centers on two women: Liane Berkowitz, who joins the resistance, and Martha E., who observes, remains silent, and preserves what she sees. Decades later, it becomes clear that even the seemingly silent witness has become part of history.

Dana Vowinckel tells the story of a love set against the backdrop of an increasingly polarized world. Anton is Jewish; Alma is not. What begins as an encounter between two people becomes, after October 7, a story about belonging, vulnerability, and the question of what connects people when the world around them is drifting apart.

Next date:

• Date Tuesday, 17/November/2026 18:00
• Venue Neue Synagoge Berlin
• Address Oranienburger Straße 28-30, 10117 Berlin-Mitte