A project by Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in collaboration with EXC 2020.

Inspired by Chinua Achebe's understanding of the 'middle ground' as a space of doubt and imagination, the project Middle Ground annually invites literature festivals from around the world to Berlin to rethink how stories are made, shared, and carried forward. 

In 2026, Middle Ground partners with the Nepal Literature Festival to approach literary practice through the lens of altitude. Here, altitude goes beyond physical positioning and can be understood as a metaphor of perspective. In the context of the Himalayan regions, this notion unfolds layered epistemologies that shape how communities there encounter and resist power. Nepal has long been contoured by the movement and passage of traders, pilgrims, migrants, refugees, and exiles, who over centuries have negotiated borders, weather, and power asymmetries. Ongoing political and religious tensions, alongside more recent anti-government protests, have further contributed to this complex landscape.   

This edition of Middle Ground brings Himalayan routes into conversation with other landscapes of transit, asking how literature captures experiences of waiting, crossing, and interruption. Through workshops, readings, performances, conversations, keynotes, and an open mic night, writers and audiences are invited to engage with literary practice shaped by life in the Himalayan region.

(HKW)