When does the event take place?

The event takes place on Thursday, November 19, 2026, from 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM.

Where does the reading take place?

The venue is Auszeit at Karolinenstraße 30, 95028 Hof.

Which authors are performing?

The program features Wolfgang Franßen, Turid Müller, and Benjamin Schmidt. The evening is complemented by a talk with Roland Spranger and Thomas Kastura.

What music will be played during the evening?

Reinhold Bauer accompanies the program with handpan music from his solo program Bleeech.

What is the admission fee?

Admission follows the principle of Pay what you think it’s worth.

Who is the event suitable for?

The event is aimed at adults and everyone who appreciates crime, black humor, literary discussions, and unusual reading formats.

The Dark Side Reads in Hof 2026

Name: The Dark Side: This Will Not End Well
Start: 2026-11-19T20:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-11-19T23:00:00+01:00
Location: Zur Auszeit

Dark Stories, Black Humor, and Literary Abysses in Hof

On Thursday, November 19, 2026, the reading festival The Dark Side will open in the Hof Auszeit with a literary night program full of crime, black humor, musical tension, and societal friction. Under the motto This Will Not End Well, authors, music, and conversation will come together in an intimate reading atmosphere.

Between Dementia, Memory, and Deadly Trust

Wolfgang Franßen will read from Someone Should Tell Him He’s Dead, an ironically dark crime novel set in Southern France, in the best Tarantino tradition. At the center is a demented hitman who fights for survival in a world of fragile memory and deadly distrust. Franßen combines literary tension with years of theatrical experience and his eye for forgotten books.

The Shadows of History by the Sea

Turid Müller presents Under the Beach. Her Baltic Sea crime novel leads to the Lübeck Bay and follows the traces of the Cap Arcona, a ship whose sinking has been deeply inscribed in the historical memory. The psychological perspective of the author connects crime narratives with questions of trauma, repression, and social responsibility.

Love, Present, and Bitter Humor

Benjamin Schmidt reads from This Will Not End Well, a uncompromising love story with black humor and a sharp view of the present. The Leipzig newspaper highlighted 38 witty phrases for getting drunk, darkly humorous sex scenes, and a bitter polemic about readings. Linguistic art, provocation, and narrative directness promise an evening without boredom.

Handpan Sounds Between the Stories

Reinhold Bauer musically accompanies the program. Known as the frontman and musical director of the Regensburg Samba-Bateria Sarará, he strikes quieter tones with his solo program Bleeech. His handpan compositions create a pulsating, harmonious sound space and give the dark texts a sensual second layer.

Literature in Conversation

In the talk, Roland Spranger and Thomas Kastura will meet. Spranger received the Friedrich-Glauser Prize in 2013 for his thriller War Zones and was on the crime best list with Deeply Sharp. Kastura is the author of numerous crime novels, a radio author, and a recipient of the Friedrich-Glauser Prize. Their conversation connects genre knowledge, literary experience, and the cultural discourse on crime novels, tension, and social reality.

The event starts at 8:00 PM and is expected to end around 11:00 PM. The admission follows the principle: Pay what you think it’s worth. This makes the reading an open cultural evening for everyone who appreciates literary quality, dark themes, and direct author encounters.

Conclusion: A Literary Experience for Dark Evenings

The Dark Side: This Will Not End Well brings together crime, darkly humorous literature, music, and conversation into a multifaceted reading festival show. Anyone wanting to experience how language creates tension, shakes memories, and makes social contradictions visible will find an extraordinary literary evening in the Auszeit. Mark the date now and experience Hof live as a stage for dark literature.