Music Summer: Isabella Straub and 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, clever, 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 Ö-Ticket.
http://www.musiksommerbadschallerbach.at/

Isabella Straub
Born in Vienna, studied German Studies and Philosophy. Many years as a journalist, then a copywriter. Author since 2013. Lecturer in creative writing. Hobby (is that still a 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 Vienna.
Awards and honors: Walter Serner Prize, Debut Prize of the Erfurt Autumn Reading, German Short Story Prize, FM4 Wortlaut, Residency Scholarship at the Mare Künstlerhaus of the Roger Willemsen Foundation Wentorf, Erfurt and Hamburg City Writer. Shortlists: Alfred Döblin Prize, Wortmeldungen Literature Prize, Franz Tumler Prize, Wartholz Literature Prize, Bremen Literature Prize, MDR Literature Prize... Several annual scholarships from the German Literature Fund, LiterarMechana, the State of Carinthia, and the Austrian Federal Ministry for Arts/Culture.

Nullzone
Everything is turned upside down in the 22 floors of the Kratzer. The crooked high-rise building with social housing in a Vienna urban development area is set to make way for a futuristic luxury real estate project – and this brings together completely different life concepts. A novel that revolves around the question: How do we want to live together in the future?

Anna Weidenholzer
Anna Weidenholzer, born in Linz in 1984, 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 in the planned detailed replica of the town center, they stand lined up: the neighbor in the work coat, the flatlander who asks for room number six every October 21, Isabelle, who skins the rabbits, Cervicek, Marianne, Mr. Adam, and all the lonely ones who have somehow blended into the landscape with their bright multifunction jackets. They stand there in winter, when the bears rest, in spring, when winter is leafed over, in summer with little clothing, and in autumn, when the sun is low, like figures in a hidden object picture: isolated, seemingly unconnected, like suns of their own world – and yet united in the greater whole.
With masterfully placed strokes, Anna Weidenholzer portrays an illustrious society that is gradually losing the certainties of everyday life and begins 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 gets stuck in our throats – and that's a good thing.” — Ö1
“Poetic miniatures and wonderfully quirky impressions stand alongside observations that unfold into narratives. Anna Weidenholzer's prose is a joyful plea for expansiveness in the landscapes of literature.” — Jury statement Book of the Month, Ö1

General Information
* The box office opens 90 minutes before the event starts.
* Admission begins about 45 minutes before the start.
* NEW: Reserved seating via Ö-Ticket

Ticket Sales

Please note that reserved tickets must be paid for!

Ö-Ticket: www.oeticket.com
Outlets: Newsstands, ticket offices, tourist information centers, Media Markets, etc.
Bookings through the Musiksommer website are processed with Ö-Ticket: 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' Association and OÖ Pensioners' Association
€ 2.00 discount on many events.

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

Ö1 Club
10% discount

Others
50% discount for children, teenagers, students, and people with disabilities.

For students of the Oö. State Music School under 18 years, a flat price of € 5.00 applies when mentioning the music school and teacher.