Love, old age and faith are the three great themes in life that Martin Walser deals with in his new novel Muttersohn (Mother's Boy), which is to be released in the autumn of 2011. One chapter from the book, titled My Afterlife, is already available to his readership.

"The older you become, the more it makes sense to pay attention to the effect you have on others. I am sixty-three years old." These are the words with which Martin Walser's character, Augustin Finli - protagonist in the novel and head physician at a provincial hospital – begins the chapter. At 63, he has ceased to count the years and has become accustomed to being the "old guy" at work. Another main theme in the book is belief: "Belief requires love" and "What we believe is greater than what we know" says Finli. His creator, Martin Walser, already stated this credo in the past as follows: "I do not believe, but I do kneel down."

Martin Walser, born in 1927 in Wasserburg, lives on Lake Constance. He has received many awards for his literary work, among these the Georg Büchner Prize and the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. He was awarded the Pour le Mérite medal and nominated as an Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 2008 he published the novel A Loving Man.

The discussion round will be chaired by legal practitioner and cultural historian Manfred Osten. 2008 saw the release of his book Die Kunst, Fehler zu machen: Plädoyer für eine fehlerfreundliche Irrtumsgesellschaft (The Art of Making Mistakes: In Favour of an Error-Friendly Society).