European Literature Night VII- Celebrating Literature from Across the Continent (13 May – 9 June 2015)Welcome to the UK’s seventh European Literature Night! Held simultaneously in 24 cities around the continent, the ELN is one of the highlights of London’s literary calendar. In 2015 we were delighted to see European Literature Night move beyond just one night as we offer a host of events, from the main night’s plethora of inspiring interviews to a spoken word wonder fest, from learning the tricks of the translators’ trade to hearing stories of exile which connect Europe to the rest of the world. There’s something for everyone and literature by writers whose names you may not know yet, but will remember for a long time afterwards.
This year the ELN series of events took place at The British Library, Free Word Centre, The Phoenix and Waterstones Piccadilly
More information on the full programme: www.europeanliteraturenight.co.uk/
ELN was organised by EUNIC, initiated and coordinated by the Czech Centre, supported by the Representation of the European Commission in London and carried out in partnership with the British Library and Speaking Volumes Live Literature Productions.
ELN VII: Trade Secrets
The Emerging Translators’ Network Translation Clinic
Wednesday 13 May, 11.00 – 13.00 Entrance Hall, British Library – Free
Are you interested in the world of literary translation? Do you have burning questions about how to get involved, how to approach publishers, how much to charge and just how long it takes to translate a novel? Come to the Clinic to ask the experts everything you always wanted to know but were afraid to ask. You’ll also be able to contribute to a mass translation of a new piece of experimental writing. All languages welcome!
The Lunchtime Launch
Wednesday 13 May, 13.00 – 14.00 Entrance Hall, British Library – Free
A slice of European literature and translation. Buy yourself some lunch and get a taste of Europe. Spain’s Jesús Carrasco will treat audiences to a bite- sized reading of his new book Out in the Open, (Harvill) launched at ELN VII, followed by a conversation with his award-winning translator Margaret Jull Costa. Hosted by European Literature Night judge and prize-winning translator Daniel Hahn.
ELN VII: The Workshops
Bridging the Gap – Stories and histories in translation
Wednesday 13 May, 14.30 – 15.30, British Library Conference Centre – Free
If writing attempts to create links between past and present, the foreign and the familiar, dreams and reality, then arguably translation is another kind of bridge between worlds. This panel of writers, translators and publishers will explore how literature in translation can give anglophone readers the opportunity to experience the stories and histories of other literary voices. WITH The Open University’s Fiona Doloughan (Chair), Istros Books publisher Susan Curtis-Kojakovic, writer Evald Flisar (Slovenia), poet Wioletta Greg (Poland) and translator Marek Kazmierski.
The event is free but seating is limited, advance booking is required via the British Library Box Office.
The Choreography of Translation
Wednesday 13 May, 16.00 – 17.30, British Library Conference Centre – Free
How does literature from smaller European nations, written in less well known languages or from less familiar traditions, reach wider European audiences? Explore the roles played by translators, agents, publishers and others in selecting what is translated and published. How are translations ‘choreographed’ between various intermediaries? And why do some books ‘dance’ whilst others stumble or fall? WITH Geopoetika’s Vladislav Bajac (Serbia), Istros Books publisher Susan Curtis-Kojakovic (UK), translator from Portuguese and Spanish Margaret Jull Costa (UK), literary agent Nicole Witt (Germany) and researchers from the AHRC-funded research project Translating the Literatures of Small European Nations
The event is free but seating is limited, advance booking is required via the British Library Box Office.
ELN VII: The Writers
Wednesday 13 May, 18.30, British Library Conference Centre
Admission: £10 (£8 over 60s, £7 concessions)
European Literature Night’s seventh appearance in the UK takes us on an engaging literary tour of the continent, travelling from the northerly reaches of Denmark, east to Poland and Slovenia, to the southern shores of Italy and then west through France to Spain. Prepare for a literary feast of compelling European poetry, fiction and short stories which explore the nature of relationships, childhood trauma, questions of morality and much more.
WITH Naja Marie Aidt (Denmark), Andrea Bajani (Italy), Jesús Carrasco (Spain), Evald Flisar (Slovenia), Wioletta Greg (Poland) and Yasmina Khadra (France).
Book tickets and read more here
ELN VII: In Spoken Word
Wednesday 13 May, 19.00 Entrance Hall, British Library
Admission: £10 (£8 over 60s, £7 concessions)
Telling the stories of the continent through the universal rhythm of poetry, a host of Europe’s most vibrant poets and spoken word artists gather together for one night only to share their work. Wide-ranging in theme and style, criss-crossing the local and the global, the personal and the public, there is something for everyone to enjoy, as well as the underlying music of the words which connects us all.
WITH Baloji (Belgium), Xavier Baumaxa (Czech Republic), Christodoulos Makris (Cyprus), Joelle Taylor (UK) and Karlis Verdins (Latvia). Hosted by comedian Ava Vidal (UK).
Book tickets and read more here
ELN VII: The Reception
The evening events at the British Library will be followed by a reception in the Entrance Hall of the British Library, open to everyone who has attended The Writers or In Spoken Word events. It will include music, a glass of wine and the chance to buy books by the participating authors and have them signed.
ELN VII: When Home Is Far Away
Wednesday 3 June, 19.00, Waterstones Piccadilly – Free
Living away from home, being away from family nowhere near the touchstones of childhood memories is something many of us choose to do. But what if you haven’t chosen such a life and it has simply been thrust upon you? How does it feel to know you can’t go back? Three writers who live in exile across Europe share the stories that come to them and reveal how their creativity breathes new life into new places when home is far away.
WITH Hassan Blasim (Iraq/Finland) winner of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize in 2014, Hamid Ismailov (Uzbekistan/UK) the BBC World Service’s first Writer in Residence and renowned poet Ribka Sibhatu (Eritrea/Italy). Hosted by journalist Rosie Goldsmith.
ELN VII: The Translation Pitch
New Literary Voices
Thursday 4 June, 19.00, Free Word Centre
Admission: £5 (£3 concessions)
Eight enthralling books by contemporary European writers which have not yet been translated into English will be pitched live to an audience and expert jury consisting of Max Porter (Granta Books), Kerry Glencorse (Susanna Lee Associates) and Stefan Tobler (And Other Stories Publishing). With just three minutes per pitch, and complemented by extracts read by actors, this whirlwind journey of discovery will uncover brilliant new European literary gems.
Featuring Pierre Autin-Grenier’s That ́s Just How (France), Jan van Loy’s Scraps (Flanders), Vonne van der Meer’s Take 7 (Netherlands), Jan Nemecs A History of Light (Czech Republic), Verena Rossbacher’s Small Talk and Slaughter (Germany), Krisztina Tóth’s Pixel (Hungary), Jesper Wung-Sung’s Proper Fractions (Denmark) and Vladimir Zarev’s Ruin (Bulgaria). Hosted by Chris Gribble (UK).
Book tickets here
ELN VII: Liars’ League
Near & Far: New European Writing
Tuesday 9 June, 19.30, The Phoenix
Admission: £5 (on the door)
Writers write, actors read, audience listens, everybody wins. That’s the motto of Liars’ League, the award- winning, globe-straddling short story night which has been running in London since 2007. This showcase of European literature in translation celebrates fresh talent from Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. Actors will read stories from some of the most exciting European authors, featuring extraordinary characters like Sigitas Parulskis’s World War II photographer and Jan Krasnowolski’s drug-smuggler turned refugee-babysitter. From Katerina Tuckovás Czech witches via Nora Bossong’s bereaved businesswoman to Tadej Golob’s struggling comic-book writer, these fictions will take you far from home, bringing the foreign into focus and turning the familiar strange
Book tickets here
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