[1] The main stage of the festival is located in the midst of the sprawling nature of the Old Botanical Garden in Zürich.
The main program of the festival consists of premieres, performances and readings by international authors.
Many world-famous writers have appeared at the festival in recent years, including John Coetzee, Zadie Smith, Bernardine Evaristo, David Grossman, Julian Barnes, Roxane Gay, John Cleese, Leïla Slimani, Junot Díaz, Connie Palmen, David Mitchell, Rebecca Solnit, John Banville, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Marlon James, Xiaolu Guo, Peter Sloterdijk, Deborah Levy, Hua Hsu, Helen Macdonald, Teju Cole, Deborah Feldman.
Part of the festival's curatorial signature is its interdisciplinary approach: the readings are often thematically linked with projects from other genres, e.g. poetic installations, interactive radio plays, scenic readings, singer/songwriter concerts, silent film screenings, or interdisciplinary performances at the intersection of text, dance, and theater.
[2] In interaction with nature and scenographic design, the aim is to create a "poetic overall experience" that involves all the senses.