Germany’s most influential linguist, Sick will speak to an audience of nearly 15,000 about topics including his best-selling book, "Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod." (Dative is Death to Genitive).

In the few years since its inception, "lit.Cologne" has become an institution in Germany’s literary calendar, attracting authors such as Wladimir Kamiener, Daniel Kehlmann, Doris Lessing and Walter Kempowski along with a slew of up-and-comers.

The festival’s reputation and its star treatment of authors like Sick has turned a collection of staid readings into mega-events. American novelist Bret Easton Ellis, the author of "Lunar Park" and "American Psycho" will bring a little international star-power to the festival.

"We are oriented towards festivals such as the Berlinale," said organizer and founder Werner Koehler, a former bookseller. "You have to be excited about it, and not act like you’re apologizing for having only literature to offer."

Over nine days, the festival will offer 131 events, even tramping slightly on the toes of the Leipzig Book Fair, which begins March 16. Still, despite the competition, Leipzig remains in a league of its own, with over 1,800 readings throughout the city.

In Cologne, events ranging from a poetry evening with literary critic Marcel Reich-Ranicki to an opera cruise with Elke Heidenreich will showcase the breadth of German literature today and cast doubt on critics who have bemoaned an end to the high art of literature.

"I’ve been hearing that the book branch is dying since I started working in it," Koehler told the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.