Brexit, what Brexit?
DECEMBER 2016 NEWSLETTER
Rosie Goldsmith, Director European Literature Network
November for us was a jam-packed European Literature month, with several events each week to launch and discuss publications from Turkey, Slovenia, Italy, Poland and Flanders, as well as festivals in Norway and Austria. Thank you to Mark Banting and Waterstones Piccadilly for providing the space so generously for so many of our events.
Also in November, the Portuguese Embassy provided an excellent ‘taster conference’ on contemporary Portuguese Literature. This ‘taster’ would be a great idea for other EU cultural institutes too. Anna attended a Polish Literature Conference on Zofia Nałkowska at UCL London. We hope to have reports and photos on these events soon. Here are some photos as tasters. And we were delighted to have Deborah Levy appearing as one of our ‘Euro Stars’ (more photos here).
I hosted a panel discussion on behalf of the German Embassy and European Jewish Association on 9th November, the anniversary of both the fall of the Berlin Wall and of Kristallnacht. Our subject was the documentary film on the Nazi concentration camps, ‘Night Will Fall’. It was one of the most difficult debates I’ve ever had to moderate.
On 15th November London Book Fair and the Publishers Association held an all-day conference on Diversity and Inclusivity in Publishing, which I co-chaired with fellow journalist Arifa Akbar. We all need to improve in this field. I learned a lot.
Did you read our #RivetingReviews in November, including the review of Frantumaglia by Elena Ferrante? This month we have a special German edition of #RivetingReviews, guest edited by the wonderful Judith Vonberg. Starting TODAY we’ve got mini-videos, a literary Advent calendar and all manner of riveting ways to appreciate German literature. Do read Judith’s Riveting Introduction to this special month.
Further in December, this Saturday afternoon (3rd), I’m excited about our family and friends event at the Victoria and Albert Museum, featuring the Children’s Laureate and all-round National Treasure Chris Riddell. Tickets here.
And don’t miss the next European Literature Network Meeting on December 7th at Europe House. I know I say this every time but these days it is always true: this meeting can help decide the future of European Literature in the UK – and we have some important speakers to explain some key developments.
More news: on 17th January 2017, for One Night Only! Don’t miss our High Impact All-Stars at The Tabernacle in London. TICKETS ON SALE HERE! Stars include the brilliant Herman Koch. It’s an all-singing-all-dancing revival of our original Dutch Literature Festival ‘High Impact: Literature From The Low Countries’.
And in January our #RivetingReviews will be dedicated to Dutch Literature (from Flanders and The Netherlands). So, here’s YOUR chance to review, and write about, this fabulous flood of High Impact Literature from the Low Countries – and if you’re a publisher please send us your PR for potential reviews. We’ll cover all the books featuring in our Tabernacle event, and as many others as we can possibly manage – but we need YOU to participate. Our December special German edition will give you some creative ideas for promoting Dutch literature. Do get in touch. Guest editors for this special Dutch #RivetingReviews are ELNetwork stalwart, West Camel, and Dutch literature specialist, Aimee Hardy.
By Rosie Goldsmith