Najem Wali was awarded the Villa Concordia Fellowship of the Free State of Bavaria in 2018/19: villa-concordia.de/artist. His new book, Ein Ort namens Kumait (A Place Called Kumait), a love story set in Iraq before the American invasion, will be published in February 2026:

secession-verlag.com/buecher.

The novel will be read by actress Mariam Abbas, who lives in Germany. Literary critic Carsten Otte from SWR has agreed to moderate the event.

If the weather is good, the event will take place in the garden of the Künstlerhaus. Enter the main entrance on Concordiastraße, admission is free; everyone is welcome!