SAND 29 Launch: Cocoon

Artwork: saved, saved, saved by Angie Quick, as featured in SAND 29

Join us to celebrate the publication of our 29th issue on 23 May 2026 in Berlin! The evening will feature performances by several of the issue’s Berlin-based contributing writers, poets, and artists, as well as the chance to connect with writers, readers, and editors from Berlin’s international literary community.

With 30 contributors based in 14 different countries, the poetry, prose, and art in SAND 29 cocoons itself into various liminal spaces: communities, memories, dreams, languages. But while some cocoons create resilient spaces for resistance and regeneration, others struggle to keep the threats of the outside world at bay…

SAND 29 LAUNCH PROGRAMME | More featured artists tba

Katarina Gotic Damiani is (mostly) a Bosnian (mostly) poet. She is the author of two poetry collections — “we need a breathing tongue between” (kith books, 2024) and “leerlauf”(parasitenpresse, 2026) — as well as several visual and performance works, all rooted in language. She lives in Berlin. Katarina’s poem, “leerlauf,” is featured in SAND 29.
 
Martina Mackinlay is a BA student at Bard College Berlin. She often asks herself, “What is a cello if not a cupped silverfish?” She doesn’t know the answer yet, so she reads very much. Martina’s short story, “Red Court,” is featured in SAND 29.
 

Dinara Rasuleva (she/they) is a translingual Berlin-based Tatar poet_ess, whose projects include: “Lostlingual” — the poetic investigation on the loss of her native language, published by Rab-Rab press; TEL:L laboratories for writing in native forgotten languages; TATAR KYZ:LAR band, whose debut album AŞ was released as a computer game. Dinara’s poem, “YOM-ŞAQ,” is featured in SAND 29.

Sharni Wilson is an Aotearoa New Zealand writer of fiction and a literary translator from the Japanese. Her work has appeared in WLT, the Wild Umbrella, and Landfall Tauraka, among others. She won the ATB ¦ ITK award for her hybrid collection, One to Many and other experiments (2024). Sharni’s translation from Japanese of Kaori Ekuni’s short story, “Late Summer Dusk,” is featured in SAND 29.

Nata Togliatti weaves installations that unite the natural and consumer worlds, where patterns and repetition become meditations on connection. Blending Eastern and Western sensibilities, her work invites us to sense the delicate threads linking all forms of life. A selection of Nata’s art is featured in SAND 29.

Doors & drinks from 7:00 PM

Readings & performances from 7:30 PM 

Location: Lettrétage, Veteranenstraße 21, Berlin (near U Rosenthalerplatz / S Nordbahnhof)

Tickets: €5 / €17 (incl. print copy of SAND 29) — all proceeds go towards paying our contributors and printing costs

The venue has a limited capacity, so we recommend booking a ticket in advance!