Translation workshop for young poets, Slovenia

2nd - 10th June 2012,
Dane (Sežana) & Ljubljana, Slovenia

Literature Across Frontiers and the Centre for Slovenian Literature hold their annual poetry translation workshop, this year focussing on young poets. Angeliki Dimouli (Greece), Beñat Sarasola (Spain – Basque), Dmytro Chystiak (Дмитро Чистяк, Ukraine), Julia Sarachu (Argentina), Katja Gorečan (Slovenia), Keith Borg (Malta) and Samira Negrouche (Algeria) will spend a week together translating each other's work. On Friday 8th of June they'll perform at the Festival Živa književnost / Living Literature Festival (www.skuc.org).

Festival of the European Short Story, 2012

27th - 31st May, 2012
Zagreb and Pazin, Croatia
www.festival-price.profil.hr/

We continues our partnership with the European Festival of the European Short Story in Croatia. Entering its second decade, the festival programme features writers who have mastered the shorter, but not to be underestimated, form of fiction. There will be a particular focus on Dutch writers this year and the programme even includes a football match - writers vs Croatian artists.

LAF are co-operating with the festival to bring the Basque writer Xabier Montoia and British writer James Hopkin, author of the Dalmation Trilogy, recently dramatised for BBC Radio 4.

We are also holding a round table discussion on the models of promotion for national literatures, with Bas Pauw (NLPVF), Dubravka Nemec (Croatian Ministry of Culture); Alexandra Buchler (LAF), Katja Stergar (JAK, Traduki), Janis Oga (Latvian Literature Centre), moderated by: A. Buchler and M. Buljević. this event will take place on Monday 28th at 12:00 in Booksa, Martićeva 14 D.

The Literature of the Black Sea region at Prague Book World 2012

17th - 20th May, 2012
Prague

This year LAF partners once again with Svet knihy / Book World to present a programme of events based around the main theme of the book fair - the literature of the Black Sea region. Focusing on a region that lies on the border between Europe and Asia, events will feature authors from Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Ukraine and Turkey and will also provide a wide context for the fair’s guest of honour: Romania.  Three young poets who participated in LAF’s Word Express project will talk about their Balkan literary journey and read their work at the gala evening which will close the events. LAF will also be presenting a debate about the European Union Prize for Literature featuring three past winners.

Publishers and Translators Seminar, Cairo

May 8th 2012,
Al-Alsun Faculty of Languages, Ain Shams University
Cairo

LAF and Al-Alsun Faculty of Languages at Ain Shams University are holding a one-day seminar to bring together leading Egyptian publishers of literature in translation, translators, editors and readers, along with international experts to shed light on the art of translating literature from a diverse range of languages from Europe and beyond. 

Open to the public as well as to professionals from the field, this seminar will consist of a series of moderated panel discussions covering key practical topics such as the rights and responsibilities of the translator, how to pitch to a publisher, editorial policy and selection of foreign books for translation into Arabic, the marketing of translated literature in Egypt, and grants available for translation projects. The seminar follows on from previous events we held in Cairo in 2011. We wrote an article about this workshop on the Free Word Centre website.

Translation Workshop, Istanbul

 7th - 12th May, 2012
Istanbul
Poetry Reading, Friday 11th May, Nazim Hikmet Centre, 7pm

French poets Marc Delouze and Aurelia Lassaque join Turkish poets Gökçenur Ç, Efe Duyan, Gonca Özmen and Pelin Özer in Istanbul, Turkey to work on translations of each other’s work in French, Occitan and Turkish. The poets will use literal translation prepared especially for the workshop by Canan Maraşlıgil. The workshop is followed by a reading at the Nazim Hikmet Centre, Istanbul.

Jasmine Donahaye in Malta

24 - 25th April,
University of Malta, Malta 

The writer, editor and academic Jasmine Donahaye is visiting Malta to take part in a discussion with local writers and lead a creative writing workshop. The discussion will take place on Wednesday the 25th of April at 5pm will deal with "How different forms of writings inform one another". Dr Donahaye will be talking alongside Immanuel Mifsud and Norbert Bugeja. After the debate Jasmine Donahaye will read from her most recent work. Organised by Inizjamed and Literature Across Frontiers.

Crossing Borders - Translating Wales and the Balkans

Thursday 19th April, 6.30pm. Free
Free Word Centre, Farringdon Road, London

Literature Across Frontiers is delighted to partner with new publisher Istros Books for an evening of discussion with three novelists: Montenegrin writer, polemicist and winner of last year’s European Prize for Literature Andrej Nikolaidis, bestselling Croatian writer Robert Perišić and Welsh novelist and photographer Owen Martell, whose recent book has just been published in translation Serbia. The writers will join the literary editor of The Guardian, Claire Armitstead at London’s Free Word Centre to discuss translation, cultural and language politics and what it’s like to be an emerging writer on the European literary scene. This event is free, to reserve a place please contact news@lit-across-frontiers.org.

The Third Literary Translation Centre at the London Book Fair

16th – 18th April
Earl’s Court, London

The Literary Translation Centre is back for a third year at the London Book Fair. This immensely popular hub for translators, publishers and the reading public is a place to hear new perspectives on the transformative art of literary translation and the publishing of books from around the world. Organised by a consortium of organisations, of which LAF is a founding partner, the centre features a programme of stimulating discussions and a dedicated space to network and meet.

Art and Conflict – the Case of Syria

 4th April 7pm, Dash Cafe
Rich Mix, 35 Bethnal Green Road, London, E1 6LA

Dash Café Arabic Series presents “Art and Conflict – the Case of Syria”, a panel debate organized in association with Literature Across Frontiers and Firefly International.

What is the role of art in situations of conflict? Can art convey the horrors of war, interpret conflict and reveal human nature caught in the middle of inhuman conditions in ways fundamentally different from journalistic reporting? How can art that responds to conflict empower both the makers and the viewers? These and other questions will be discussed by a panel chaired by The Independent columnist and commentator Yasmin Alibhai-Brown in conversation the author of The Road from Damascus Robin Yassin-Kassab, Syrian journalist Leila Adnan, and cultural activist and director of Reel Syria Dan Gorman. The night will also feature music from Fantazia. See www.dasharts.org.uk for more information. 

LAF at the Abu Dhabi Book Fair

28th March - 2nd April
Abu Dhabi

Continuing our work linking the literature and literary scenes of Europe and the Arab world, LAF is attending the Abu Dhabi book fair again this year. We will be providing publishers with information on books from Europe and representing the work of our partners. LAF's Alexandra Büchler will also be chairing a panel discussion on comics and graphic novels: The Rise of the Image, on Friday the 30th of March.

Nikola Madzirov reads in Bangor and Manchester

13th and 14th March 2012

This March we are delighted to have with us in the UK the acclaimed Macedonian poet and translator Nikola Madzirov. Rapidly gaining an international reputation, Madzirov recently published Remnants of Another Age, a collection of his poetry in English translation and he won the East European Hubert Burda poetry award and the prestigious Miladinov Brothers poetry prize for Relocated Stone (2007). Madzirov will be reading alongside local and international poets at two events organised in co-operation with the Manchester poetry collective Bad Language and Poetry Wales:

Poetry from Cuba and Macedonia with Poetry Wales, Bangor, 13th March
with Zoe Skoulding (Wales) and Victor Rodriguez Nunez (Cuba)
 Blue Sky Café, Bangor High Street, 6.30pm

Bad Language, Manchester, 14th March
with local poets David Tait, Sian S Rathore and Kieron King
Kraak Gallery, Stevenson Place, 7.30pm – 9.30pm, £2 www.kraak.co

Translating Children's Literature - a creative course

10th - 11th March,
Ty Newydd National Writers’ Centre in Llanystumdwy, Wales

Wales Literature Exchange is organising a weekend creative translation course concentrating on children’s literature. Renowned international writers who have written specifically for children Sampurna Chattarji (India), Mererid Hopwood (Wales) and Gerdur Kristny  (Iceland) will tutor participants in a challenging and engaging two days of presentations and discussions.

The course is being organised in partnership with The Welsh Translators and Interpreters’ Association and Ty Newydd: National Writers’ Centre for Wales as part of the Translators’ House Wales programme of activity, in co-operation with Literature Across Frontiers.

LAF Network Meeting, 2012

23 – 22 February 2012, Palma Majorca

The Literature Across Frontiers network is coming together for it’s yearly extensive meeting in Palma, Majorca. Hosted by the Institut Ramon Llull, the LAF partners will be evaluating the recent phase of the LAF programme and looking ahead to 2013 and beyond.

LAF presents: Literary Translation from Arabic into English in the UK and Ireland - a research report

Presentation and debate at the Free Word Centre, 
London, 60 Farringdon Road, EC1R 3GA
2nd February 2012, 6.30pm - 8.30pm,
Free, refreshments will be served 

LAF and the Free Word Centre invite you to a presentation of the report by co-authors Alice Guthrie and Alexandra Büchler, followed by a panel debate and Q & A. Speakers include translators of Arabic fiction Professor Marilyn Booth, Dr Peter Clark OBE and publishers Harry Hall (Haus Arabia) and Ashley Biles (Saqi).

LAF’s recent report Literary Translation from Arabic in the UK and Ireland is an in-depth look at the last twenty years of Arabic literature in English translation in the UK and Ireland. Drawing on a broad range of sources, the report traces the trajectory of contemporary literary works translated from Arabic, from the initial selection of titles, to the work of translators and editors, through to book sales and critical reception. It addresses a range of relevant issues such as translator training and translation quality control, and public and private support for translation.

As could be expected, the journey of books into a culture generally resistant to translation offers rich areas for discussion and the authors look forward to your feedback.