08.07.2025
Location & Time: Literarisches Colloquium Berlin, Am Sandwerder 5, 14109 Berlin, 19:30 Uhr

Resilience, Protection & Soul

Don’t miss this summer evening at Wannsee with the current Picador Guest Professor: acclaimed U.S. author Phillip B. Williams. Under the open sky, engage in a thought-provoking conversation about »OURS«, Phillip’s debut novel. Natasha A. Kelly will host the evening, guiding the discussion through time, history, and the art of building a new world. This event is part of ›Paradigmenwechsel‹, her series that delves into tipping points in both the past and present, exploring the opportunities that emerge from adopting new ways of thinking.

Set in the 1830s, »OURS« unfolds in a fictional Southern U.S. city, a place shielded by magic that becomes a sanctuary for the formerly enslaved – a refuge built on resilience, hope, and the power of community. Through a radical reimagining of the past, OURS gives voice to the present, telling an intimate yet profound story about what it truly means to be human. The conversation will explore the delicate balance between protection and reinvention—how one can honor the history of their ancestors while reshaping their narratives to reveal their true resilience.

More information:
https://lcb.de/programm/phillip-b-williams-ours/

Phillip B. Williams is a Chicago, IL native and currently on tour with his new novel, OURS, published by Penguin/Viking in 2024. He is the author of two collections of poetry: Thief in the Interior, which was the winner of the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and a Lambda Literary Award, and Mutiny, which was a finalist for the PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry Collection and the winner of a 2022 American Book Award. Williams is also the recipient of a Whiting Award and fellowships from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University and the National Endowment for the Arts. He teaches at NYU Creative Writing MFA and Randolph College low-res MFA.