Authors

Welcome to **I WRITE**, a gentle space for anyone who wants to write—quietly, freely, and without judgement. We are a Berlin community of writers who gather together weekly to write, talk and recharge after a long week. Some of us journal, some write novels, some do academic writing, many people come without a project in mind and see where the inspiration flow takes them. This is a space to simply show up and write, a safe place to be yourself and to release all your layers onto the paper. There’s no set topic, no feedback circle, and no pressure. Just warm people, a calm atmosphere, and time dedicated to yourself. 🗓️ **Agenda:** * 18:30 - 19:00 **→** 30 min arriving, optional socialising (arrive early, meet other writers) * 19:00 - 20:00 **→** 1 hour of silent writing (headphones welcome, focus encouraged) * 20:00–20:30 **→** 30 mins optional chat or solo time (stay and chat or go celebrate the rest of your evening) 🎒 **Bring:** * Something to write with (laptop, notebook, phone, typewriter… anything goes) * Your current project or a blank page * Yourself, exactly as you are **👉 Responsibility:** * Our location is limited; thus, I am kindly asking you to RSVP only if you are willing to attend. **📍Location:** * We meet at the Iska Cafe at Kalckreuthstraße 7, 10777 Berlin. * Google map pin: [here](https://maps.app.goo.gl/765XQTN8KBGv95gx9) * 🚇 **U1\, U2 Wittenbergplatz \|\| U1\, U2\, U3\, U4 Nollendorfplatz** * 🚌 **106\, 187\, M19\, M29 An Der Urania \|\| M46 Motzstraße** **About me:** Hi, my name is Anastasia. I started this writing club back in May 2025. Since then, it has been hosted weekly at the Heinrich Schulz Library and is now extended to the Café as well. Over this time, I’ve been privileged to meet some of the most creative and kind minds in Berlin. And I would be happy if you joined us. Whether you're an experienced writer or just at the beginning of your journey, you're welcome. If you know how to hold a pen or how to type, there will always be a space for you. Let's write together!

Hi! Welcome to Thought Experiments in Pubs - Berlin edition, where you get to have deep conversations with people you've never met. The topic will be Hope. I'll post some questions that will guide us through the topic as a comment on the day. **Location:** [Atopia Kaffeehaus, Prenzlauer Allee 187, 10405 Berlin](https://maps.app.goo.gl/Ukuup9CTrmedrB6f9) *Please consider that the locations we visit do not charge us for our booking, so in return, please make sure to show your appreciation by buying drinks or snacks. - If you're signed up but can't make the event, please cancel so someone else can take your spot *Make sure you check the right address, there is a sister pub nearby and it's not that one ☝️ **The idea:** A chance to meet and talk at a 'deeper' level, and skip the 'small talk'. **How will it work?** We will have a set of 'Thought Experiments', short, philosophical scenarios and questions, which will be discussed in groups. The conversation will flow freely, there are no strict rules, simply share and discuss your perspectives on the given topic. The thought experiments will be posted here ahead of the event. **Who should come?** Everyone! We believe that the more perspectives, the richer the conversation. This group is not about being experts in philosophy, it is about *doing* philosophy. That is, bringing our various life experiences and lenses on the world to group discussions about the human experience, the nature of reality... etc. **Do I need to bring anything?** No! Just an open, inquisitive mind. We will do 3 rounds of discussions. After the event, I would love to hear your feedback on the session. The thought experiments we will discuss are around the theme of the day. Prompts will be posted here on the day of the event. See you soon! \- Dirk *Thought Experiments in Pubs Berlin is inspired by [Thought Experiments in Pubs London](https://www.meetup.com/thought-experiments-in-pubs/), which originated in 2023 as a social experiment to get people together to connect at a deeper level. The copy on this page and original idea is derived from [Thought Experiments in Pubs London](https://www.meetup.com/thought-experiments-in-pubs/). For more info and to enquire about setting up your own group and joining the TEiP community, check out the [main TEiP website](https://www.alltogether.one/thoughtexperimentsinpubs) or contact Bonny: [bonnyastor@gmail.com](http://mailto:bonnyastor@gmail.com/)* [Buy Bonny a coffee](buymeacoffee.com/bonnyastor) as a thank you for keeping the community going and sharing the thought experiments with us. TEiP Berlin was started by Aino. Many thanks! I hope to keep it going just the same. [Photo generated with gencraft]

New Starting Time: 12:00 For space reasons, we are limited to a certain number of attendees, so please update your RSVP if you can't come. If you are new, come and say hello, as we know that suddenly going quiet for 45 minutes and staring at that blank page can be intimidating when it's your first time. We have a lot of long-term regulars who will be happy to help you feel welcome. In between sessions, we have a Telegram chat: https://t.me/joinchat/ERW3pxD5kfELGeWs9SUhjw For more information, visit [https://shutupwrite.com](https://shutupwrite.com/).

*This event is a collaboration with our friends from Domain Driven Design Berlin, check out their Meetup page [here](https://www.meetup.com/de-DE/domain-driven-design-berlin/) and sign up there!* \-\-\-\-\- **About the evening** Join us for our next Berlin Collaborative Modelling session — a hands-on workshop where we'll build a Context Map from scratch. Context Maps make the big picture of a system explicit: which bounded contexts exist, how they relate to each other, and where the friction, dependencies, and power dynamics between teams actually live. They help you make better decisions about integration strategies, team ownership, and where to invest in clean boundaries versus where to accept pragmatic compromise. To get there, we'll use Event Storming as our starting point — laying out domain events to discover natural clusters of behavior, then drawing boundaries around them to identify candidate bounded contexts and subdomains. From there, we'll sketch out the relationships between contexts and discuss what patterns like Customer/Supplier, Conformist, or Anti-Corruption Layer look like in practice. What to expect: This is a collaborative, stickies-on-the-wall kind of evening. No laptops needed, no prior DDD experience required — just curiosity about how to make sense of complex systems. We'll work through a shared example domain together, so everyone starts from the same place. **RSVPS:** **Please sing up on the event page from [Domain Driven Design Berlin](https://www.meetup.com/de-DE/domain-driven-design-berlin/)!** \-\-\-\-\-\- **Code of Conduct** We adhere to the [Berlin Code of Conduct](https://berlincodeofconduct.org/) to ensure a welcoming and respectful environment for all participants. The event space operates under largely compatible [Thoughtworks Meetups & Events CoC](https://www.thoughtworks.com/en-de/about-us/events/code-of-conduct-germany). **Accessibility** The Location is accessible for wheelchair users. This includes the entrance (no steps to get into the location), toilets and the stage.

Come along, grab a coffee, shut up, and write! We will do at least two sessions of each 45 minutes of writing and two breaks. We will start the first writing session at 10:45. For space reasons we only allow a limited number of attendees, so please update your RSVP if you can't come. We'll probably be grouped around the large table in the back room's center. In the summer, also outside. Looking forward to seeing you there!

## DNA. presents: "CREATIVE WRITING" In this workshop, You will learn a method that can help You to strengthen Your access to Your creativity, write more, write better and get back into a flow state in which new ideas emerge. Rediscover Your creative flow with Lena's hourglass method. ##### HOURGLASS METHOD Lena will guide You through the three phases of her hourglass method, which consist of different writing exercises, and explain the background to them. You will use pen, paper and Your words as tools, but You don't have to be a poet to have fun and benefit from the workshop :) ##### APPLICATION OF THE METHOD: The method can also be used on Your own at home after the workshop, whenever You need a creative jump-start. ##### SETTING: The small group setting as a safe space also allows You to share your thoughts with others. You'll learn techniques to: * Tap into Your Inner creativity. * Overcome self-doubt and fear. * Express Yourself authentically and confidently. * Cultivate a sense of purpose in Your art and communication.

We are excited to feature **Marzieh Fadaee**, who is currently Head of Cohere Labs at **cohere** and will discuss "**Scaling LLMs Across Languages**", lasting approximately 45 minutes. After the talk, seize the opportunity to connect with fellow AI enthusiasts to share ideas and questions while enjoying free drinks and pizza. **Door close by 7.15pm, so please come early! Also, "attend"ing (RSVP) here on Meetup is strictly necessary to be guaranteed entry.** Please note that Meetup has recently been quite keen on promoting its Plus program. However, you are not obligated to purchase it, as both our events and the platform remain free. **Who is this event for?** This event is open to everyone interested in state-of-the-art AI research. We especially design it for students, PhD candidates, academic researchers, and industry professionals with a research focus in machine learning. **Abstract**: Scaling has driven progress in language models, but improvements in peak performance often fail to translate across languages. In this talk, I show how multilingual models expose the limits of scale and highlight the importance of balanced performance. I argue for a shift from optimizing peaks to lifting the floor, through better data, design, and evaluation illustrated through Tiny Aya. **Bio**: Marzieh Fadaee is the Head of Cohere Labs, where she leads research on fundamental problems in artificial intelligence. Her work spans multilingual language models, data-efficient learning, model evaluation, and trustworthy AI, with a focus on building systems that are robust, inclusive, and globally impactful. She co-leads the Aya initiative that brought together over 3,000 collaborators worldwide to create the world's largest multilingual instruction dataset and the development of a series of state-of-the-art multilingual language and vision models. Before joining Cohere Labs, Marzieh was the Research Lead at Zeta Alpha Vector, where she pioneered innovative approaches to knowledge discovery and organization. She holds a PhD from the University of Amsterdam where she conducted foundational research on neural machine translation. Her research has been published in top venues such as NeurIPS, ACL, EMNLP, and ICLR, and she frequently serves as a mentor and advisor in the global AI research community. We are [BLISS](https://bliss.berlin/) e.V., the **AI** **organization** in Berlin that **connects like-minded individuals** who share great interest and passion for the field of machine learning. This summer 2026, we will, again, host an exciting speaker series on site in Berlin, featuring excellent researchers from cohere, ETH Zürich, University of Oxford, HuggingFace, and Stanford University. Website: [https://bliss.berlin](https://bliss.berlin/) Youtube: [https://www.youtube.com/@bliss.ev.berlin](https://www.youtube.com/@bliss.ev.berlin) Disclaimer: By attending this event you agree to be photographed.

Welcome to **I WRITE**, a gentle space for anyone who wants to write—quietly, freely, and without judgement. We are a Berlin community of writers who gather together weekly to write, talk and recharge after a long week. Some of us journal, some write novels, some do academic writing, many people come without a project in mind and see where the inspiration flow takes them. This is a space to simply show up and write, a safe place to be yourself and to release all your layers onto the paper. There’s no set topic, no feedback circle, and no pressure. Just warm people, a calm atmosphere, and time dedicated to yourself. 🗓️ **Agenda:** * 14:30 - 15:00 **→** 30 min arriving, optional socialising (arrive early, meet other writers) * 15:00 - 16:00 **→** 1 hour of silent writing (headphones welcome, focus encouraged) * 16:00–16:30 **→** 30 mins break + optional chat or solo time (stay and chat or go celebrate the rest of your Saturday) * 16:30–17:30 → 1 more hour of silent writing (for those staying) * 17:30–18:00 → 30 mins of chat, and leaving 🎒 **Bring:** * Something to write with (laptop, notebook, phone, typewriter… anything goes) * Something to drink (there is no cafeteria, unfortunately) * Your current project or a blank page * Yourself, exactly as you are **👉 Responsibility:** * Our location is limited; thus, I am kindly asking you to RSVP only if you are willing to attend. **📍Location:** * We meet at **Heinrich Schulz Library in Charlottenburg**. In the library, go look for the Gruppenraum; I will be waiting for you there. Any trouble finding the room, I will come to meet you outside. * 🚇 U7 **Richard-Wagner-Platz** * 🚌 M45 Bus **U Richard-Wagner-Platz** **About me:** Hi, my name is Anastasia. I started this writing club back in May 2025. Since then, it has been hosted weekly at the Heinrich Schulz Library (who is kind enough to allow us to use this room for free). Over this time, I’ve been privileged to meet some of the most creative and kind minds in Berlin. And I would be happy if you joined us. Whether you're an experienced writer or just at the beginning of your journey, you're welcome. If you know how to hold a pen or how to type, there will always be a space for you. Let's write together!

Für Mitglieder von Text Collective Berlin ist die Teilnahme an dieser Veranstaltung kostenlos. Nicht-Mitglieder werden um eine Spende von zehn Euro gebeten. [https://textcollective.de/ticket](https://textcollective.de/ticket) Es handelt sich um einen moderierten Workshop. Kreative Schreibübung mit anschließender Diskussion zum Erfahrungsaustausch, Inspiration und Motivation zu sammeln. Ein Raum für alle, die kreativ schreiben möchten – egal ob du gerade erst anfängst oder schon länger schreibst. **Jeden zweiten Samstag des Monats von 14:30 Uhr bis 16:30 Uhr in Charlottenburg (Haus am Mierendorffplatz).** **Was dich erwartet:** In unseren Treffen arbeiten wir mit abwechslungsreichen Schreibimpulsen, die neue Perspektiven eröffnen und spielerisches Experimentieren ermöglichen. Du schreibst direkt vor Ort, teilst deine Texte mit der Gruppe (freiwillig!) und erhältst konstruktives Feedback. Die Atmosphäre ist offen und unterstützend. Hier darf ein Text noch unfertig sein, eine Idee noch roh, ein Gedanke noch unausgereift. In dieser Atmosphäre gegenseitiger Wertschätzung entsteht der Mut, sich auszuprobieren und die eigene Stimme zu entdecken. Wir lesen einander vor, geben Rückmeldung, ermutigen uns gegenseitig und praktizieren das Zuhören. **Über Text Collective Berlin:** Wir sind eine kreative Schreibcommunity, die regelmäßige Workshops und Lesungen organisiert. 2025 erschien unsere erste Anthologie "Begegnung zwischen Welten" mit Texten aus der Schreibwerkstatt.

FEHLSTELLEN - ein Leseabend des Autorenforum Berlin e.V. - Texte und Bilder Samstag, 9. Mai, 20-22 Uhr, EINTRITT FREI Wir wissen nicht, was im Verborgenen liegt, aber wir laden Euch ein, es mit uns zu ergründen. Wir, das Autorenforum Berlin e. V., präsentieren euch einen Abend mit Lesenden aus dem Kreis des Autorenforums und ihren Texten, in denen überbelichtet, Fragmente fixiert und das Alltägliche neu gerahmt wird. Wir haben Texte für Euch gesucht, die wie Lücken in der Erinnerung klaffen oder behaupten, sie seien schon immer da gewesen. Es sind Texte, die aus dem Rahmen fallen, niemanden meinen und doch jeden treffen – gefunden im Rauschen einer fremden Cloud, zwischen den unkenntlich gemachten Zeilen gefundener Dateien. Es werden Konturen geschärft und Hintergründe sichtbar gemacht. Kommt dazu, wenn wir Geschichten Gehör schenken, die das Verborgene hervortreten lassen, die unerbittlich in die Sichtbarkeit schneiden. www.lange-buchnacht.de/2026/tak-village/fehlstellen/ Kommt dazu und feiert mit uns, und lauscht gebannt dem Unausgesprochenen! Kuratiert und moderiert von: Alexandra Balakina, Thimo von Stuckrad und Peter Franz Weber im tak Village - der kleine Spielort des tak Theater Aufbau Kreuzberg im Oranienhof des Aufbau Haus am Moritzplatz Hof-Eingang über Oranienstrasse 140, 10969 Berlin (neben Denn’s Biomarkt) Barrierefreier Zugang über die Hofeinfahrt der Oranienstraße 140. Ein weiterer Zugang zum Hof befindet sich zwischen der Buchhandlung Moritzplatz und dem Imbiss WRAPUBLIC, Prinzenstraße 85/Ecke Oranienstraße. Bitte beachten Sie, dass am Abend der Veranstaltung ggf. nur einer der beiden Eingänge geöffnet sein könnte

📚 **Short Story Sunday** 📍 **Location:** Iska Café 📅 **Timing:** Every second Sunday 🕰 **Time:** 11:00 – 13:00 **Selected story: The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe (\~12 pages)** 1st Link: https://americanliterature.com/author/edgar-allan-poe/short-story/the-cask-of-amontillado 2nd Link (backup): [https://poemuseum.org/the-cask-of-amontillado/](https://poemuseum.org/the-cask-of-amontillado/) 3rd Link (backup PDF): https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/the_cask_of_amontillado.pdf **A Slow Sunday Morning with Stories** The **Sunday 15 Pages Short Story Book Club** is a gentle way to begin the day — a cozy literary gathering for people who enjoy slowing down, listening to stories, and sharing thoughtful conversation. Instead of reading alone at home, we experience literature together. Each meeting invites us to step out of the Berlin’s rush into a calm space of imagination, reflection, and human connection through short fiction. **How the Morning Flows (Approx. 2 Hours)** **11:00 – 11:30 \| Arrival & Settling In** Gather at the café, order something you enjoy, and ease into the morning. **11:30 – 12:15 \| Collective Reading** We read a carefully selected short story together. **12:15 – 13:00 \| Discussion & Reflection** An open and informal conversation about impressions, emotions, interpretations, and ideas ✨Feel free to join only for the discussion part if you feel like reading on your own ✨ **What to Expect** Short stories are selected by the hosts and announced online before each meeting. No preparation is required — simply arrive and immerse yourself in literature and conversation. **What to Bring With You** • Your own copy of a story • Curiosity and openness • A willingness to listen and share perspectives • Optional: a notebook if you enjoy jotting down thoughts • Your appetite for coffee, cake, and good stories **📍Location:** * We meet at the Iska Cafe at Kalckreuthstraße 7, 10777 Berlin. There is no pin at the google maps yet, so please just come directly to the location and find us at the right door at Erdgeschoss. * 🚇 **U1\, U2 Wittenbergplatz \|\| U1\, U2\, U3\, U4 Nollendorfplatz** * 🚌 **106\, 187\, M19\, M29 An Der Urania \|\| M46 Motzstraße**

For our April gathering, let us delve into Rushdie’s “largest aesthetic achievement,” according to Harold Bloom and what scholars describe as fundamentally a study of alienation and hybrid identity: The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. **About the Book** *The Satanic Verses* is a complex, magical-realist novel that intertwines multiple storylines involving two Indian expatriates — **Gibreel Farishta**, a famous Bollywood actor, and **Saladin Chamcha**, an immigrant voice actor in Britain — who survive the mid-air bombing of a hijacked plane and fall into a surreal fantasy world. Their experiences blur dream and reality, exploring altered identities, spiritual visions, and personal transformations. One of the key narratives involves a mythical city and a prophet figure named **Mahound**, whose revealed “verses” and tribal conflicts echo and reimagine early Islamic history in dream sequences that question faith, revelation, and authority. **About the Author** Salman Rushdie is a British-Indian novelist and essayist, born in 1947 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. He was educated in England and he rose to international prominence with *Midnight’s Children* (1981), a landmark novel combining history and magical realism to depict India’s post-independence experience; it won the Booker Prize and is considered one of the most influential novels of the 20th century. Rushdie is known for his imaginative prose, layered narratives, and exploration of themes such as identity, migration, cultural hybridity, and freedom of expression. His 1988 novel *The Satanic Verses* brought worldwide attention and controversy, significantly affecting his life and career. Despite these challenges, he has continued to produce acclaimed fiction and nonfiction, including *The Moor’s Last Sigh*, *Shalimar the Clown*, and the memoir *Knife* (2023), and is widely regarded as a major figure in contemporary world literature. **About the Meeting** We will approach the text thoughtfully and without preconceived agendas, experiencing it as a work of literature first and foremost—one that invites reflection, careful interpretation, and respect for diverse perspectives, without seeking to provoke controversy or advance any political or polemical stance. **About the location** It will be announced at least 2 days before the event takes place with all the details. **Event contribution alert** The event might require a small participation fee (3-5 euros) or the purchase of something to eat or drink in case we are hosted by a coffee shop. I will make sure to communicate that in advance.

Drunk driving is not cool, but drunk writing is! This is a community event for writers, with drinks! Work on your own projects or use the creative writing prompts provided. Join us at Das Gift, where we will have focused 20 minute writing sprints, with breaks in between. Das Gift is at Donaustraße 119, 12043, Berlin.

Book a ticket [HERE](https://www.epiccomedyberlin.com/weekly-shows?utm_source=meetup&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=dark-thoughts-meetup-berlin-sales&utm_content=listing-main-v1&target=weekly-shows&show=dark-thoughts&city=berlin) A Berlin comedy show where Berlin's top stand up comedians take your suggestions and generate hilarious sets on the spot! ★★★★★ DOORS 10:45 PM SHOW STARTS 11 PM ★★★★★ ★★★★★ENGLISH-SPEAKING★★★★★ Finally, something Netflix can't match! The Darkest Thoughts Comedy Berlin show offers you the audience a chance to get immediate comedy based on any topic you can think of. This interactive comedy show opens with a short and funny conversation with the host about what themes interest you today. Then there is a short break where you get another drink and write down whatever you want us to improvise about in the second part related to the themes we discussed. Then a lineup of the best Berlin comedians will come in and improvise standup comedy on the spot with your notes! It's gonna be funny, interesting comedy show generated straight from your thoughts! This is a donation-based show (Recommended donation 10-15 Euro) so entry is free but we recommend you reserve your seat as seating is limited (reservations valid until 15 minutes before the show starts.) So reserve now and let the Darkest Thoughts Comedy show pluck some funny directly from your mind!

This month we’ll be ready Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett. Feel free to come and chat even if you don’t finish the book!

Join us for a cozy evening of books and conversation. 🗓 Tuesday\, May 12 \| 6:30 p\.m\. Hilliard Branch \| 4500 Hickory Chase Way Schedule 6:00 p.m. – Book sale opens 6:30 p.m. – Author talk 7:15 p.m. – Audience Q&A 7:30 p.m. – Book signing It’s a great chance to pick up a new book, hear an author’s perspective, and share the experience with a community of readers.

**Latest Dojo Location!** **Knotty Pine Brewing** 1765 W 3rd Ave, Columbus, OH 43212 We're going to try a new dojo location for a few weeks and see how it works Dojos are informal Python group study sessions where everyone interested in Python gathers to learn about Python, help others with Python, or just hang out. Everyone is welcome from Python beginners to experts. Bringing a laptop is encouraged (we'll have extension cords and power strips). If there's something you want to learn leave a comment on this invite so we can plan ahead. We're looking for speakers for our Monthly Meetups! Fill out the form if you are interested in presenting to the Python Community. https://forms.gle/ehSfUAC2WgR34Crq9

The Alliance is part of the Greater Central Ohio Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society. We are an all-voices chorus dedicated to providing an inclusive environment for all those who love to sing, regardless of their race, gender identity, sexual orientation or musical background. The Alliance is the first and only all-voices barbershop chorus in Central Ohio. **Who:** Anyone with a passion for singing at a high level. Previous barbershop chorus/quartet experience not required. **When:** The Alliance rehearses weekly on Thursdays from 7pm-10pm. **Where:** Lord Of Life Lutheran Church: 2480 W Dublin Granville Rd, Columbus, OH 43235 To become a full member of The Alliance, we welcome you to start by visiting us for a few rehearsals to experience the group and sing with us! Then, you may begin the 2-part audition process for membership: the assessement, and audition. We strive to make our auditions as stress-free as possible to help you let your best singing self shine.