Mariana Enriquez, Christina Rosenvinge and Empar Moliner, among the authors of the La Coma festival in Mallorca

Palm Anna Starobinets, Mariana Enriquez, Zülfü Livanelli, Remedios Zafra, Empar Moliner, Laura Fernández, Roser Cabré-Verdiell, Christina Rosenvinge and Núria Cadenes will be some of the participants in the second edition of La Coma, Festival of Contemporary Literature and Thought. A literary event that is consolidated after the success of the first edition in 2025, this year with 25 proposals for activities and incorporating an extra day into the program. It will be on May 6, 7, 8, and 9 at Es Baluard Museu and Casa Llorenç Villalonga.

La Coma is a space for dialogue and contemporary thought that, once again this year, will host some of the most powerful literary voices of today. Also participating will be Marc Artigau, Núria Cadenes, Lucia Pietrelli, Luna Miguel, Nerea Pallares, Carlota Gurt, Layla Martínez, among others. They will be accompanied by more than thirty participants who will facilitate dialogue throughout the four days of the festival.

This second edition, promoted by the Consell de Mallorca, through the Fundació Mallorca Literària, is titled ‘THE THREAD OF THE STORY’. The events will begin on Wednesday, May 6, at the Aljub of Es Baluard Museu with an inaugural conversation that aims to recall the dawn of the literary story. The word of Sappho of Lesbos, consecrated to desire and tenderness, will be the focus of a recital offered by the poet Maria Callís as a prelude. And, afterwards, the singer-songwriter Christina Rosenvinge will converse with the Mallorcan writer Begoña Méndez, entering into dialogue the Sapphic verses that Rosenvinge reinterprets in a musical key with the genealogy of mystical authors that Méndez has explored.

The events will continue at Es Baluard Museu on Thursday the 7th in the afternoon and Friday the 8th all day, with interventions by Anna Starobinets, Mariana Enriquez, Zülfü Livanelli, Remedios Zafra, Laura Fernández, Roser Cabré-Verdiell, and Núria Cadenes, among others. Special mention should be made of the participation of authors who are currently at the forefront of the rise of fantastic fiction in very diverse forms, such as the Russian Anna Starobinets, considered one of the masters of fantastic, dystopian, or metaphysical horror, which is grafted onto everyday horrors in her native Russia; the Argentine Mariana Enriquez, a master of contemporary horror, who will offer a masterclass from her current residence in Tasmania; as well as Laura Fernandez, Roser Cabré-Verdiell,... In contrast to these voices, there is Zülfü Livaneli, one of the most acclaimed authors of current Turkish literature and a prominent personality for his career as a singer-songwriter and activist, who will confront us with the lights and shadows of artistic commitment and dissent.

Also noteworthy at these conferences are the approaches to hatred and affection from Catalan narrative, through the dialogue between Núria Cadenes and Míriam Cano; the meeting in the form of a recital and also a conversation between the Iranian poet Ghazal Mosadeq, the Palestinian writer Mohamad Bitari and the Lebanese musician and poet Rasheed Jalloul, three committed voices rising from exile. Likewise, on Friday afternoon, the performance Medea will be presented in the courtyard of Can Balaguer, a scenic proposal that shows the power of the voice and word of Sílvia Bel and Neus Borrell to rewrite the classical myth from a story of Medea herself, full of nuances.

The last day will take place on Saturday, May 9, at the Casa Llorenç Villalonga, in Binissalem, with workshops by Míriam Cano and Laura Sam and interventions by Albert Roig, Empar Moliner, Montse Virgili, Carlota Gurt, Marc Artigau, Luna Miguel, Laia Malo, Layla Martínez, and Desirée de Fez. The day will feature presentations of important titles and novelties, such as the Anagrama and Mercè Rodoreda awards. At noon, a writers' lunch with prescribers will be offered to foster the meeting between invited authors and library staff, teachers, booksellers, or journalists, aiming to serve the connections of the literary system from La Coma. The festival's closing will be by Tulsa, Miren Iza's musical project, which was awarded the National Prize for Current Music in 2024.

The festival program includes more than twenty sessions over four days and more than 30 writers and artists in various languages: Catalan, Spanish, Galician, Basque, English, Persian, Turkish... In addition to dialogues, there will be other formats such as recitals, performances, masterclasses, workshops, performances, and other forms of artistic expression –theater, dance, song.

La Coma is a project of the Consell de Mallorca, through the Fundació Mallorca Literària, with the collaboration of Es Baluard Museu, which offers its spaces to host the festival on May 6, 7, and 8. This year, the Palma City Council joins as a collaborator with the incorporation of Can Balaguer as a festival venue. On Saturday, May 9, the day will take place at the Casa Llorenç Villalonga.

The entire festival program can be consulted on the website lacomafestival.cat.