We have regular discussions among ourselves as readers, especially when one of us comes across a literary event that we might be interested in, and such information is freely shared in our Book club WhatsApp group. It is kind of like being in the know when it comes to such events despite not having access to these organizer's newsletters or being online on social media where a lot of the marketing occurs and we love it.
Recently one of us shared a particular upcoming Literature Festival that is scheduled to take place in Hamburg in early fall of this year. This Literature festival isn’t new to us since we attended one of the events that it had organized last year that featured a celebrated Nigerian American author. And their lineup for this year is equally interesting and includes internationally acclaimed authors, debut authors, children’s books authors, well known & system-critical journalists, political analysts, theatre & on-screen actors & most surprisingly, a politician (but that’s a Pandoras box that I might open at another juncture).
Of course, we were all excited to see some of the authors that we know & whose writing we love & discussions were happening in the chat on who wants to join who at which event. And here comes my qualm with such events; the pricing! On average, a single reading or book discussion will cost around €25 per person. In a country where the average gross earnings per hour sits at approximately €28.80 for a full-time employee, this clearly makes such an event inaccessible for a large percentage of the working-class group, especially here in Hamburg. Even with us as avid readers and people who factor books and literature into our budgets, it is almost impossible to be able to attend more than one reading during the course of the entire festival. That would mean coughing up at least €50 per event for the ticket and for the book, since most of the invited authors are on promotional tours for their new books.
The working class especially here and now in Germany is multi-ethnic, it is black and brown and white, it comes in many faiths and none, it is native born and immigrant, it is LGBTQ+, it is disabled, it is female, it is trans, it is old and it is young. It is finally seeing itself and its stories being told in books & and in the media, it is seeing one of its own writing about their life experiences but unfortunately, it is becoming less and less possible for it to sit in the audience where such books are being read and discussed. It is not possible for its questions to be asked and its voices to be heard in such rooms.
And not being part of these spaces by making accessibility a priority changes a lot; these spaces start to feel more transactional & less communal. Not to mention the psychological impact that such rising prices may have accumulatively over time for those who feel excluded, they start to feel like these spaces are not designed with them in mind, which might also have a negative impact on their interaction with the books. And this doesn’t happen all at once, it’s something that grows gradually; hesitating when you see a newsletter informing you of an upcoming event or scrolling fast past any book tour announcements in your area because in your mind, you have already decided that the tickets will be too expensive.
I have had the privilege to attend several book readings & discussions that were part of Literature festivals in different cities in Germany and to be honest, the most I have paid for the tickets has been €15 and this I know very well because I have always factored in the travelling cost too, due to having a limit of what I am willing to spend per event. And some of these events have even been free of charge. I am in no way advocating that anyone involved in creating these events be expected to work for free, most definitely not the authors nor the panel guests. Literature festivals pay the people who organize the venues, they pay the printers who print the brochures, they pay for the lecture halls and transportation, they pay the people who run the administration and the publicity, they pay for the electricity and sound system used, they pay for the drinks and dinners... everyone deserves to be paid properly; that is not up for debate. But the financial burden cannot fall entirely on audiences if the only viable model to make such events possible is one where tickets are priced beyond reach for a big portion of the people, then it me ans that something structural is clearly broken.
Books & literary events have always been some of the few spaces where differences can coexist in the same room. New readers and long-time fans finding community with one another, people who do not always feel seen elsewhere see themselves and each other. If such spaces become decreasingly inaccessible and tickets become a financial filter, who gets erased?
What I feel is that such inaccessibility raises barriers for some of us who fall into this class. And identifying such barriers is simply the first step that will remind those in charge to change their ways and allow the flourishing of a literary ecosystem that better reflects the current world. It’s time that the industry recognizes that working class people in all their diversity have something to say and need to be in these spaces.
Whatever happened to Solidarity pricing, an economic model that adjusts prices based on a buyer's financial means. This shifts value away from endless profit toward community well-being and economical sustainability. By using sliding scales, pay-what-you-can tiers, and redistributive cross-subsidization, businesses (a category that most of these organizers fall under) are then able to balance accessibility with financial resilience, ensuring ethical labor and communal care. Keeping ticket prices at a level ordinary working people can afford is not about undervaluing authors; it is about remaining accessible.
And anyway, I highly doubt that authors want to sit in rooms with an audience that feels hollow & gentrified! Just as we love seeing representation on the podium, the same should be reflected in the audience.