Markus Heitz

Black-wearer and Senior Goth, ironic and sarcastic and always working on the next project. Full-time story inventor, studied history and German studies, occasional songwriter for QNTAL and Corvus Corax, multi-SPIEGEL bestseller, radio play maker, and born in 1971. He has written more than 70 books. Primarily fantasy, horror, and space fiction. He's even written children's books and political short stories. Manically creative, in fact. As Maxim Voland, he writes thrillers. Crazy. But he's a dud at math and crafts. You don't have to be good at everything.

BOOK OF THE READING (WORLD PREMIERE): DIE LEGENDEN DER ALBAE - Blutrote Himmel (german)
Above the Enchanted Land, Albae appear in flying machines and give the inhabitants an ultimatum: Either they hand over a valuable stone sarcophagus and its thief, or nothing and no one will be safe from the Albae.

Lydia Benecke 

Criminal Psychology of Sexual Homicidal Fantasies

For a long time, it was assumed that people who have sexual homicidal fantasies would eventually commit corresponding crimes. However, with the advent of the internet, it has become increasingly clear that there are victims of such sexual fantasies who live with them without ever committing crimes. For two decades, Lydia Benecke has been conducting interviews with these individuals who have consciously decided against committing crimes. In doing so, she explores what distinguishes them from those who turn their sexual fantasies into reality, and with whom she interacts as part of her recidivism prevention work with criminals. The resulting insights were useful to her, among other things, in a criminal case in which she played an unusual role.

Note:
Because this presentation deals with sexual fantasies and related crimes, it is not suitable for persons under 16 years of age.

Christian von Aster

Now over 50 years old, Mr. von Aster dares to reveal some closely guarded truths during his reading, concerning not only his own past but also the past of some of the greats of the Black scene today. With a confession that almost reveals everything, blurring the lines between seduction, madness, and commerce, some things perhaps becoming clearer in retrospect. Among other things, he reveals that if he hadn't chosen to write, he could have been rich and famous long ago...

Dirk Bernemann

Dirk Bernemann, born in 1975 in western Münsterland, is a writer and artist. His first artistic experiments with music and poetry took place in the late 1990s. He has been writing novels and short stories since 2005, including the bestseller "Ich hab die Unschuld kotzen gesehen" (I Saw Unnocence Vomiting). He has currently published 20 novels and short story collections, and two of his titles have been adapted into various theater productions. In 2016, his first play, "Bella Noir, 2 Zigaretten Demut" (Bella Noir, 2 Cigarettes Demut), premiered in Munich. Since 2017, he has been leading workshops on creative writing in schools and correctional facilities. His most recent two books were published in 2024: the novel "Kalk" (Lime) and the short story collection “An Und Für Sich”. Dirk Bernemann lives in Berlin.

Crypt Talk

We learned to love the crypt talk with Chris Harms from Lord of the Lost and M'era Luna chief booker Stephan Thanscheidt during the two digital editions of M'era Luna. This year we can again attend the conversation live.

We look forward to exciting insights into the world of music and background information about our beloved festival, the music business in general and a firework of anecdotes.

Warm-up and After-Show-Party

Top-class personalities also await you on the turntables at the warm-up party on Friday evening and at the after-show party on Saturday. Bruno Kramm (Das Ich) and Dorian Deveraux (Jesus On Extasy) will get you in the mood for an ecstatic weekend on Friday, and Thenia AF and Marc Urban will turn the night into day on Saturday.

Friday, 23:00 – 05:00 a.m., Disco Hangar // Saturday: 0:00 - 05:00 a.m., Disco Hangar