Jáchym Topol & Filip Topol at the Manchester Literature Festival

18th October, 5.30pm
Manchester Literature Festival
International Anthony Burgess Foundation
(Tickets are free, but booking is advised)
Book on 0843 208 0500 or
www.manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk

In collaboration with the Czech Centre, LAF are helping to bring Jáchym Topol and his brother, the musician Filip Topol, to the Manchester Literature Festival this October. With the eminent playwright Josef Topol as their father, Jáchym and Filip grew up surrounded by the Czech intellectual and artistic underground. Filip became a rock star by his teens and is part of the band Psí Vojáci (Dog Soldiers) and is a solo artist.

Jáchym Topol’s fourth novel Gargling with Tar is set in the fall of the Prague Spring of his youth and has been described as the Czech Tin Drum. Jáchym’s novels have been translated into many languages and he has been described by Boyd Tonkin as “the Martin Amis-cum-Irvine Welsh of the post-1989 transition”. This event is supported by the Czech Ministry of Culture.

Sha'ar International Poetry Festival, Tel Aviv

18th - 24th October
Tel Aviv

Word Express poets Netalie Braun, Gokçenur Çelebioğlu, Ivan Hristov, Ana Ristovic and Anat Zekharia will come together for a workshop to prepare a poetry and multimedia performance for the 10th Sha'ar International Poetry Festival organised by Helicon Society for the Advancement of Poetry in Israel.

Frankfurt Book Fair LAF Debate

7th October,
2:30 pm, Hall 5.0

LAf continues its series of annual debates with at the new Weltempfang – Centre for Politics, Literature and Translation at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

Literature in a Digital World
Digital media are having a profound influence on the ways in which literature is written, distributed, promoted and received today. From the infinite fluidity of word-processed text and the potentially infinite digital publishing volume to the multiplicity of forums and social networks through which literature is promoted and discussed, literary works now exist in a immeasurable space without boundaries and demarcations. What impact does this have on the very form and content of literature being written today, as well as on literary debate and promotion?

With Chris Meade (Institute for the Future of the Book), Ronald Schild (MVB Marketing-und Verlagsservice des Buchhandels) and Francesca Rhydderch (Transcript Review). Moderated by Akshay Pathak (German Book Office New Delhi).

International Translation Day at the Free Word centre

Thursday 30th September
9.30am - 5pm
Free Word Centre
60 Farringdon Road, London

How does a book make its way from an international author to an English-language reader? What can be done to increase the proportion of translated literature in the UK? LAF is participating in a day of celebration and debate organised by English PEN, the London Book Fair's Literary Translation Centre, Dalkey Archive Press and the Free Word centre.

A Difficult Age! - Workshop with Writers and Illustrators for Arab Teenagers

26th – 28th September
Goethe Institut, Cairo

Workshop participants from Egypt, Lebanon and Palestine are reunited after a period of online collaboration to develop themes and narratives for young Arab readers with more experienced colleagues, writers Fatima Sherafeddine (Lebanon), Rui Zink (Portugal), and illustrator Barbara Yelin (Germany).

Organised in cooperation with the Goethe Institut in Cairo.

Poetry Unlimited in Vilnius and Riga

12th - 18th September
Riga and Vilnius

LAF continues its Poetry Unlimited project with two events this autumn: a third Metropoetica workshop and performance in Riga, and a performance in Vilnius and Riga by The Berserkers, a group of poets-musicians who first met in Scotland in 2008 and have since produced a cd with a distinct Nordic flavour, Under the Evening Sky.

Malta Festival of Mediterranean Literature

9th - 13th September
Couvre Porte, Birgu

Developed by Inizjamed and LAF, this island festival is now its fifth year. We will be welcoming writers and translators from the coasts of the Mediterranean and beyond with novelist Niall Griffiths (Wales, UK), writer and translator Hugo Mae (Portugal), Beirut39 writers Hyam Yared (Lebanon) and Youssef Rakha (Egypt), Miquel Desclot (Catalonia, Spain), Victor Fenech (Malta),  Biagio Guerrera (Sicily, Italy) writer of books for children and adults Pierre J. Mejlak (Malta), Nadia Mifsud (Malta, Lyon) and Ġużè Stagno (Malta).

Alongside readings and discussions, a translation workshop will help the writers develop their translation skills and start new collaborations.The festival is being organized by Inizjamed and Literature Across Frontiers with the support of the Birgu Local Council, Institut Ramon Llull and Direcção-Geral do Livro e das Bibliotecas, Ministério da Cultura of Portugal. Find out more and read the programme on www.inizjamed.org.

Vilenica Festival 2010

1st – 5th September
Slovenia

3rd September, 6pm
Round Table and Literary Reading
Ljubljana, SWA Summer Garden,
in case of rain at the SWA headquarters

Vilenica festival, the literary festival held in Slovenian libraries, castles, village halls, woods and a magnificent karst cave, will celebrate its 25th year this September. Wales is this year’s country in focus and Wales Literature Exchange (WLE) will be bringing writers from Wales to read and discuss the literature of their country.

Word Express in Sofia

29th - 31st August,
Sofia

Word Express poets Yaprak Oz (Turkey), Vassilis Amanatidis (Greece) and Radu Vancu (Romania) are attending  the Sofia Poetics International Poetry Festival where they will read together with the Bulgarian poets Kamelia Spassova, Maria Kalinova and Ivan Hristov. Read more about the project which is helping young South East European writers make their work travel at www.word-express.org

JUMPSTART Join the Dots

20th - 21st August
Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts,
New Delhi

Literature Across Frontiers Director Alexandra Büchler will speak at JUMPSTART - Join the Dots in New Delhi this August. The two-day event is for anyone and everyone working with and interested in Children’s Books. Organised by the German Book Office in India, writers, illustrators, publishers, film producers, booksellers and reading experts will come together from India, Asia and Europe to debate and collaborate. See http://www.jumpstartfest.com

Beirut39: from Hay to Edinburgh and Manchester

18th August, 4pm
Edinburgh International Book Festival

19th October
Manchester Literature Festival

In April 2010 the Hay Festival, in cooperation with LAF, brought 39 of the most exciting new authors from the Arab world to the Beirut39 festival. This summer the project continues. In August, Beirut39 authors Hala Kawtaharani (Lebanon), Najwan Darwish (Palestine) and Hamdy El-Gazzar (Egypt) will be appearing at this year's Edinburgh International Book Festival to discuss and read from their work.

In October Beirut39 writers Abdelkader Benali (Morrocco/Netherlands), Yassin Adnan (Morrocco) and Ala Hlehel (Palestine) will appear at the Manchester Literature Festival. 

Word Express in Crear and the Edinburgh International Book Festival

Translation workshop:
9th - 15th August, Crear and Edinburgh
Performances:
Saturday, 14th August, 6pm, Crear
Sunday, 15th August, 8pm Corner Theatre,
Edinburgh International Book Festival, Charlotte Gardens

This summer Word Express arrives in Scotland. LAF and the Scottish Poetry Library are bringing Word Express writers Gokçenur Ç and Efe Duyan (Turkey), Katerina Iliopoulou and Yannis Isidorou (Greece), Marko Pogačar (Croatia), Raman Mundair and Ryan van Winkle (Scotland) together on the west coast of Scotland for a translation workshop and performances at Crear and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. 

Literature Across Frontiers in Ledbury

Ledbury Poetry Festival
2nd - 11th July
Ledbury, Herefordshire, UK

Literature Across Frontiers is all set for some poetic summer days at this year's Ledbury Poetry Festival. With the programme bursting with poets and translators LAF is helping bring to the mix Estonian poetry and song (with Kristiina Ehin, Anna Hints and Mari Kulkun), words from across the wall with Israeli writer Tal Nitzan and Palestinian poet Basem Nabres and two iconic female poets Mary O'Donnel (Ireland) and Doris Kareva (Estonia).

Literature for Young Readers in the Arab World

22nd – 26th June,
Goethe Institut, Cairo

Organised in cooperation with the Goethe Institut in Cairo, this three day workshop will bring together writers and illustrators from Arab and European countries to develop themes and narratives for young Arab readers and offer participants the opportunity to work with more experienced colleagues on a joint project.

With writers Fatima Sherafeddine (Lebanon), Jukka Parkkinen (Finland), and Rui Zink (Portugal), and illustrator Barbara Yelin (Germany).

Word Express Translation Workshop

21st - 27th June,
Buyukada Island, Turkey

The journey began in October 2009, but Word Express is still travelling, bringing together young writers and translators from South East Europe to translate their literary worlds. Turkish writers Gokcenur Celebioglu, Baris Mustecaplioglu and Yaprak Oz will welcome Igor Isakovski (Macedonia) Milan Dobricic (Serbia) and Claudiu Komartin (Romania) on the island of Buyukada in Turkey to work on translations of the work of authors involved in the project. This workshop is organised by Delta Publications.

You can read more about Word Express and the writers involved at www.word-express.org

Workshop for Translators of Turkish Literature

Cunda Island,
17th – 26th June 2010

This ten-day workshop brings together translators of Turkish literature on the island of Cunda (Ali Bey Island). The translators will familiarise themselves with new trends in contemporary Turkish writing, meet authors, discuss and translate their work. The workshop, primarily focused on developing the skills of literary translators and generating translation into English, will this year include also translators into Finnish, Latvian and Polish.

Organised by Bogazici University’s Department of Translation in cooperation with Literature Across Frontiers, the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Finnish Literature Exchange and the Latvian Literature Centre.

Finnish and Estonian Translation Seminar

14th – 19th June
Käsmu and Helsinki

This June Finnish and Estonian writers and translators will cross the Gulf of Finland and come together to explore each other’s literature. Fiction writers Hannu Oittinen (Finland) and Jan Kaus (Estonina), dramatists Jouko Vnahanen (Finland) and Maimu Berg (Estonia) and classical fiction specialists Juhani Salokannel (Finland) and Piret Saluri (Estonia) will probe the space between the two Baltic languages, learn the pitfalls and pleasures of translation and discuss the possibilities of publication.

Living Literature & Music Festival, Ljubljana

4th - 11th June
Škuc, Stari trg 21, Ljubljana, Slovenia

This June Ljubljana will see five festive days of literature and music. Featuring performances from this year's translators' workshop particiapants, poets, authors and musicians from around the world. The events are organized by Društvo Škuc and the Centre for Slovenian Literature in cooperation with Literature Across Frontiers. www.skuc.org

Meeting of International Poetry Festival Directors at Poesiefestival Berlin 2010

4th June
Kunstakademie, Berlin

This year, the Poesiefestival Berlin travels around the Mediterranean with a programme featuring poets from the Maghreb, Israel, Italy, Mallorca, Malta, South of France, Turkey, Egypt, Palestine and other countries.

LAF is cooperating with the festival organiser Literaturwerkstatt to bring together directors and organisers of poetry festivals from 16 countries of the Euro-Mediterranean region to exchange ideas and experience and discuss issues of programming, funding and possible joint projects.

Festival of the European Short Story

30th May – 6th June 2010,
Zagreb and Rijeka

This year’s Festival of the European Short Story (FESS) focuses on Catalan short fiction in cooperation with the Institut Ramon Llull and Literature Across Frontiers. The festival brings together twenty masters of the genre, including four Catalan short story writers Lolita Bosch, Jordi Puntí, Llucia Laloux Ramis and Màrius Serra. Central place among the featured writers is held by the well-known Hungarian prose writer László Krasznahorkai whose books have been turned into film masterpieces by director Béla Tarr. See the FESS website for more information.
 

Poetry Translation Workshop, Slovenia

29th May – 6th June
Dane, Ljubljana

In cooperation with the Center for Slovenian Literature and the Living Literature Festival in Ljubljana, LAF is holding a translation workshop with poets writing in small and big languages: Antoine Cassar (Malta), Mamta Sagar (India), Stanislav Lvovsky (Russia), Veronika Dintinjana (Slovenia), Yasuhiro Yotsumoto (Japan), Yolanda Castaño (Spain, Galicia) and Xi Chuan (China). This meeting of minds, languages and voices will take place in the village of Dane in Western Slovenia, where on Thursday the 3rd June at 6pm there will be a reading at Sežana Library (www.sez.sik.si). On Saturday the 5th June at 8pm the poets will read at the Living Literature Festival in Ljubljana (www.skuc.org).
 

Belgrade Poetry and Book Festival

15th - 21st May
Belgrade

In its fourth year, the Belgrade Trgnise Poezija Festival has invited Word Express poets Igor Isakovski (Macedonia), Marko Pogačar (Croatia) Milan Dobričić (Serbia) and Ana Ristović (Serbia) to read and discuss their work. They join Adam Wiedemann (Poland), Goncalo M. Tavares (Portugal), Brian Henry (USA), Niall McDevitt (Great Britain), Katerina Rudcenkova (Czech Republic), Žarko Milenić (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Jaume C. Pons Alorda (Spain), Milena Marković (Serbia), Jasmina Topić (Serbia), Dragan Radovančević (Serbua) and many more. And so the scene is set for seven days of literary celebration under the banner of Dušan Vukajlović's phrase 'on light gentle darkness'. www.word-express.org

Bookworld, Prague

13th - 16th May 
Prague Exhibition Grounds, FRA Bookshop and Cafe,
Shakespeare's and Sons Bookstore

This May sees Prague’s 16th International Book Fair and Literary Festival, Bookworld, and with 'Intercultural Understanding through Literature' as a focus of the event, LAF and our partners are having a collective stand in the International Hall and bringing women peots to the programme in cooperation with FRA bookshop and literary cafe. The Latvian poet, translator and screen writer Liāna Langa launches her first book of poetry in Czech translation, and the Slovak poet and translator Mila Haugová, Slovakian poet, translator, film critic and theoretician Mária Ferenčuhová and Turkish poet and columnist Bejan Matur read to Czech and English-language audiences over three evenings.

Athens International Literature Festival

7th – 9th May,
Dasien, Athens

This May the Greek capital is playing host  to literary fusion with Word Express writers Netalie Braun (Israel), Tom Chivers (UK), joining Greek authors Thodoris Chiotis, Katerina Iliopoulou, Giannis Isidorou, Efthymis Sanidis, Lina Theodorou, and Phoebe Giannisi for a ten-day residency.

The festival starts on the 7th of May when the writers-in-residence will perform their responses to Athens and Word Express poets Ivan Hristov (Bulgaria), Gokçenur Ç (Turkey) and Adela Greceanu (Romania) will read their work alongside  Phoebe Giannisi, Gianna Boukova and Giorgos Hantzis. To find out more visit Word Express and Dasien.

Poetry Translation Workshop and HeadRead, Estonia

1st - 8th May
Käsmu, Estonia

This translation workshop brings together poets writing in languages between which there may not be literary translators to discover and translate each others' work via a bridge language. Taking part are Fatima Naoot writing in Arabic, Jaume Subirana (Catalan),  Amir Or (Hebrew), Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl (Icelandic), Martin Solotruk (Slovak), Gregor Podlogar (Slovenian) and Estonian poets and translators Maarja Kangro, Doris Kareva, Hasso Krull, Carolina Pihelgas and Tõnu Õnnepalu. Organised by the Estonian Literature Centre in cooperation with Literature Across Frontiers, Center for Slovenian Literature, Institut Ramon Llull, and Icelandic Literature Fund, this workshop follows on from the Literature Beyond Borders workshop in 2004.

The poets will perform their poetry and new translations in the Literary Tent at HeadRead, the Tallinn Literature Festival, on Thursday, May 6th at 5pm.

Ħarba International Children's Literature Festival, Malta

22nd - 25th April
St. James Cavalier, Valletta

This April,  LAF cooperates with Inizjamed on the first ever festival of children's literature in Malta. Hundreds of primary and secondary school children are taking part in workshops with actors, writers, illustrators and musicians exploring the power of words and images. Literature is being brought to life through installations by leading Maltese Artists Pierre Portelli and Raphael Vella, as well as through music and drama. Children will do workshops with authors and illustrators  Ed Vere (UK), Lluís Farré (Catalonia) and André Letria (Portugal) and many Maltese writers with whose books they have been growing up, and will create endangered animals for the UK  author's Lauren St John's campaign Animals Are Not Rubbish. Read more on www.inizjamed.org 

Literary Translation Centre at the London International Book Fair, 2010

19th - 21st April,
Earl's Court, London

Literature Across Frontiers is one of the partners and sponsors in a new initiative: the launch of a Literary Translation Centre at the London Book Fair. The Centre will provide a space dedicated to translation, a hub where translators, authors, editors, publishers, university students and booksellers can network and attend a programme of panel debates and sessions on translation.

LAF is presenting a series of panel discussions organised in cooperation with the British Centre for Literary Translation and the Translators Association, as well as a session focusing on promotion of literature written in the less widely spoken languages.

Beirut39 Festival

15th – 18th April
Beirut

Beirut39 Festival celebrates 39 writers from the Arab world under the age of 39. Organised by the Hay Festival, in co-operation with Literature Across Frontiers, the writers will be in Beirut for four days for over 50 events taking place all over the city. The festival hopes to reflect the power of writing to stimulate social cohesion and cultural understanding.

"In Beirut the Orient, the Occident and the Mediterranean combine to produce a unique cultural mix. Beirut39 is a great opportunity to discover new voices in Arab literature." To read more about the festival visit the Beirut39 website. You can also read in-depth interviews and articles about the participating authors on the Beirut39 blog.

Word Express translation workshop, Wales

6th - 11th April
Tŷ Newydd, Wales

In Autumn 2009, the Word Express project facilitated a series of first-time meetings between young writers from South Eastern Europe on three epic train journeys across the region.

This spring sees the first in a series of reunions for the Word Express writers as part of the translation phase of the project. Welsh writers Owen Martell and Siân Melangell Dafydd will welcome Milan Dobričić from Serbia, Mima Simić from Croatia and Igor Isakovski from Macedonia at Tŷ Newydd writers' house in North Wales. The workshop is organised by Literature Across Frontiers and Wales Literature Exchange.

Bologna Book Fair

23rd - 26th March
Bologna

LAF director Alexandra Buchler and Clare Azzopardi from the Maltese cultural NGO Inizjamed will be attending the Bologna Book Fair this March to discuss future projects with publishers of books for children and young readers.

Poetry Translation Workshop, Portugal

Vila do Conde, near Porto,
North Portugal
15th – 20th March 

Bringing languages together to stimulate new translations in poetry, this workshop will give poets and translators Arvis Viguls (Latvia), Sonata Paliulytė (Lithuania), Ivan Štrpka (Slovakia), Petr Borkovec (Czech Republic) and young Portuguese poets from Porto Nuno Brito, Luís Filipe Cristóvão, Daniel Jonas, Jorge Melícias and Maria Sousa, a chance to work together for the first time.

The workshop is organised by Literature Across Frontiers in cooperation with Biblioteca Jose Regio, Vila do Conde, with the support of Books from Lithuania, Direccao Geral do Livro e das Bilbiotecas, Latvian Literature Centre, Slovak Centre for Information on Literature and Czech Ministry of Culture.

Promoting Multilingualism in Brussels

13th March, Brussels

Literature Across Frontiers is represented on the Translation Working Group of the Multilingualism Civil Society Platform set up in 2009. The Platform will hold its second Plenary Meeting in Brussels on 13 March 2010 to discuss the EU multilingualism agenda.The main objective is to promote a permanent dialogue between the Commission and civil society on the different aspects of the multilingualism policy. Read the press release.

Anna Lindh Foundation Forum 2010

5th - 7th March, Barcelona

The Anna Lindh Forum is a major civil society gathering for the promotion of intercultural action across the Mediterranean region. Literature Across Frontiers will be participating in the forum and contributing to the organisation of an event on translation in the Euro-Mediterranean cultural space. Visit the Anna Lindh Forum pages here.

Abu Dhabi Book Fair

3rd – 7th March
Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Grounds
Stand 9D01

Over the past three years, LAF has established contacts outside Europe in order to facilitate literary exchange and mutual promotion of literature between the countries of its European partners and countries in the region of the Southern Mediterranean and the Middle East.

This will be LAF’s fourth visit to the Abu Dhabi Book Fair where we will meet with Arab publishers and promote the translation subsidies offered by our partners from fifteen European countries. On the LAF collective we will also present several books in English and Arabic translation. These books, from our partner countries, will then be passed on the the National Library of Abu Dhabi.

Arabic Poetry Today

Abu Dhabi Book Fair
6pm, 3rd March
Poetry Forum, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Grounds

At this year's Abu Dhabi Book Fair, LAF brings you readings and discussions on the translation of poetry with four key writers from the Arab world: Samer Abu Hawwash (Lebanon), Khalid al-Maaly (Iraq / Germany), Khulood al-Muaala (United Emirates) and Youssef Rakha (Egypt).

LAF network meeting

Bratislava, Slovakia
25th - 27th  February 2010

The LAF network of partners will hold its annual general meeting in Bratislava this year. The meeting is hosted by the Slovak Centre for Information on Literature (Literárne Centrum) www.litcentrum.sk.

Yang Lian at FRA in Prague

23 February 2010,
7:30pm,
FRA Cafe and Bookshop, Šafaříkova 25, Praha 2

LAF continues its cooperation with Prague’s prime literary venue by presenting an evening dedicated to the distinguished Chinese poet Yang Lian. The evening will be hosted by Czech poet Petr Borkovec. www.yanglian.net/

Cairo Book Fair

28th January – 8th February
Cairo

LAF continues its promotion of intercultural dialogue between Europe and the Arab world at the 42nd Cairo Book Fair. With Russia as this year’s guest of honour, the fair aims to further the exchange of cultures and introduce publishers, authors and readers from around the world to new literatures from Egypt, the Middle East and Europe. Alongside the fair, LAF are bringing three writers from Central Europe to Cairo with European Literature Today and holding a seminar for Arab publishers.

European Literature Today

28th January, 7pm - 8pm 
Al-Balad Bookstore,
31 Mohamed Mahmoud Street – El Tahrir Square,
next to Cilantro.

LAF is back in Cairo with the fourth event from the series European Literature Today: highlighting the cultural diversity of Europe and presenting its multifaceted literary scene through the work of living authors from different countries.

Meet three authors from Central Europe: Veronika Šikulová (Slovakia) Maja Vidmar and Mirt Komel (Slovenia), introduced in Arabic by lecturer and translator Dr Khaled Biltagi of Al-Alsun Faculty, Ain Shams University.

International Seminar for Arab Publishers, Cairo

27th January
British Council,
192 El Nil Street, Agouza, Cairo

On the eve of the Cairo Book Fair, LAF and Kotob Arabia are holding a seminar for Arab publishers. As part of our work with the Anna Lindh foundation and with the kind support of the British Council Egypt, this one-day seminar will provide publishers with an improved understanding of the principles of international publishing and best practice in the publishing of translations. Participants will also have the opportunity to discuss their experiences of international publishing and ideas for projects with the organisers. Speakers will include: Mohammed Awf and Ramy Habeeb (Kotob Arabia, Egypt), and Alexandra Büchler (Literature Across Frontiers, UK).

Beirut39 in Cairo

7 pm – 8:30 pm, 26th January
Al Kotob Khan Bookstore, 3/1 Al Lasilky Road,
New Maadi, Cairo 11742 Tel+202 2519 48 07

An evening with Beirut39 writers - Hamdy el Gazzar, Mansoura Ez Eldin, Mohamed Salah Al Azab, Nagat Ali and Youssef Rakha. Hosted by the writer and translator Nael Eltoukhy.

Beirut39 is a project of the Hay Festival which celebrates Beirut as the World Book Capital 2009 and highlights writing by the new generation of authors from the Arab world. Selected by a panel of judges, the 39 writers under the age of 40 will be brought together for a series of events in Beirut in April 2010.

Beirut 39 in Cairo is organised by Literature Across Frontiers, a partner of Hay Festival, on the occasion of the Cairo Book Fair 2010.