Musiksommer: Isabella Straub und Anna Weidenholzer

Reading from "Nullzone" and "Here Drives My Potato Heart"

On this evening, Isabella Straub and Anna Weidenholzer will read from their works, which have been celebrated by the press for their witty, humorous, and poetic narratives.

Reading, Autumn Reading 2026

Isabella Straub: Recitation
Anna Weidenholzer: Recitation

Admission: € 26.00
Tickets available at the Vitalwelt Tourist Information office in Bad Schallerbach 07249/420710, tickets@musiksommerbadschallerbach.at  or available through Ö-Ticket.
http://www.musiksommerbadschallerbach.at/  

Isabella Straub
Born in Vienna, studied German literature and philosophy. Many years as a journalist, then copywriter. Author since 2013. Lecturer in creative writing. Hobby (is that still the right term?): contemporary art.
Her novels "Südbalkon", "Das Fest des Windrads", and "Wer hier schlief" were published by Blumenbar/Aufbau Berlin. "Nullzone" was published in 2025 by Elster & Salis Wien.
Awards and honors: Walter Serner Prize, Debut Prize of the Erfurt Autumn Reading, German Short Story Prize, FM4 Wortlaut, residency scholarship at Mare Arts House of the Roger Willemsen Foundation in Wentorf, Erfurt and Hamburg city writer. Shortlists: Alfred Döblin Prize, Wortmeldungen Literature Award, Franz Tumler Prize, Wartholz Literature Prize, Bremen Literature Prize, MDR Literature Prize … Several annual scholarships from the German Literature Fund, LiterarMechana, the Province of Carinthia, and the Austrian Federal Ministry for Arts/Culture.

Nullzone
Everything is turned upside down in the 22 stories of the Kratzer. The crooked high-rise with social housing in a Vienna urban development area is to be replaced by a futuristic luxury real estate project – an encounter of completely different life designs. A novel that revolves around the question: How do we want to live together in the future?

Anna Weidenholzer
Anna Weidenholzer, born in 1984 in Linz, lives in Vienna. Her first novel, "Der Winter tut den Fischen gut", was nominated for the Leipzig Book Fair Prize. In 2013, she received the Reinhard Priessnitz Prize. Her novel "Weshalb die Herren Seesterne tragen" was nominated for the German Book Prize in 2016. In 2017, she received the Outstanding Artist Award for Literature from the Republic of Austria.

Here Drives My Potato Heart
Like in a panoramic picture, like on the planned detailed replica of the town center, they are lined up: the neighbor wearing an apron, the flatlander who asks for room number six every October 21, Isabelle who skins the rabbit, Cervicek, Marianne, Mr. Adam, and all the lonely ones who have somehow inserted themselves into the landscape with their bright multifunction jackets. They stand there in winter, when the bears rest, in spring, when winter is overlaid, in summer with very little clothing, and in autumn when the sun stands low, like figures in a pictorial puzzle: isolated, seemingly unconnected, like suns of their own world – yet united in the greater whole.
With masterfully placed strokes, Anna Weidenholzer depicts an illustrious society that is beginning to unravel the certainties of everyday life and is starting to settle into the small absurd moments full of wit and poetry.
 
“Isabella Straub's novel has a lot of wit and spirit. More and more, we feel caught in our attempts to understand the world, the laughter catches in our throat – and that's a good thing.” — Ö1
“Poetic miniatures and wonderfully convoluted impressions stand alongside observations that unfold into stories. Anna Weidenholzer's prose is a joyful plea for the expansiveness in the landscapes of literature.” — Jury statement Book of the Month, Ö1

General Info
* The box office opens 90 minutes before the start of the event.
* Entry starts about 45 minutes before the beginning.
* NEW: Reserved seating booking via oeticket


Ticket Sales

Please note that reserved tickets must be paid for!

oeticket: www.oeticket.com  
Outlets: Newsstands, ticket offices, tourist information centers, Media Markts, etc.
Bookings through the Musiksommer website will be processed with oeticket: www.musiksommerbadschallerbach.at 

Vitalwelt
tickets@musiksommerbadschallerbach.at  
Promenade 2, 4701 Bad Schallerbach
+43 7249 420 710
Opening Hours
Monday - Friday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
(excluding public holidays)

Discounts
Half-Price Pass
Especially for regular audiences from the region, valid year-round. For only € 35.00, you can purchase your personal Half-Price Pass for 2025, which is valid for many events! Excluded are events with agency involvement as well as concerts that would otherwise not be economically viable.

OÖN Card
15% discount

OÖ Senior Citizens Union and OÖ Pensioners Association
€ 2.00 discount at many events.

Vitalwelt Guest Card
50% discount in advance sales only with personal registration in the Vitalwelt office.

Ö1 Club
10% discount

Other
50% discount for children, youth, students, and people with disabilities.

For students of the Oö. Landesmusikschulwerks under 18 years, the standard price of € 5.00 applies when mentioning the music school and teacher.