Under the Spotlight: Priyanka reads her Story

Last November I attended Priyanka's book reading at Axel Springer Verlag, one of Germany's leading publishing houses. Most book readings follow a bit of a formula: a few words of introduction, a short excerpt, maybe a Q&A at the end . Nice, tidy and predictable But Priyanka completely transformed that. After being introduced by Niklas Friedel, a representative from Queerseite, her reading felt more like a performance or honestly, a duet between her words and an instrument called a Gayageum, played by HyunJeong Parks. The fusion of music and reading was soft and deliberate, neither one overwhelming the other. Instead, the music moved in and around her voice, blending so naturally that you sometimes couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began.Priyanka moves between languages beautifully. As the book is written in German, it was clear how much care and respect she had for the German language. Then, when she spoke about her process and around her stories, she switched into her native English, and that mix of precision and warmth just pulled everyone in.The whole evening had this cozy, almost intimate feeling — the kind of energy where people leaned forward in their seats without realizing it. TheQ&A at the end was just lovely. The audience asked such thoughtful questions, and Priyanka responded with that same calm creativity that shaped the rest of the night.It wasn’t just a reading — it was a whole experience. One that lingered.Let’s go back to that evening together.https://queer.axelspringer.com/de/