It’s clear that Europe (post-Brexit post-pandemic) is on the move again and it cheers me up enormously to hear your stories of happy reunions at book fairs and festivals. October’s Frankfurt Book Fair was obviously a success – not so much in the numbers attending (still down compared with pre-pandemic) but in personal and professional networking and events. Spain was FBF’s Market Focus country, which was perfect preparation for The Spanish Riveter editorial team, West Camel, Katie Whittemore and Alice Banks. They are now deeply immersed in commissioning for the magazine, publishing in April 2023. I myself spent a few jolly days in Vienna meeting Austrian authors, publishers and journalists in preparation for The Austrian Riveter, also launching in April 2023 to coincide with both London Book Fair and Leipzig Book Fair, and with editorial support from Sheridan Marshall and Anna Blasiak, The Austrian and Spanish Riveters will be our 11th and 12th editions; each one, ofcourse, free and fabulous!
The Riveter magazines are also on the move. Our 2022 Italian Riveter has already travelled all over Europe and last month I took my few remaining copies to present at Cheltenham Literature Festival at an event on Italian literature with the festival’s Literary Explorer-in-Residence Ann Morgan. The whole point of these magazines is to inspire readers, publishers, festival directors and everyone to read, promote, translate and publish more from the countries we feature. We include something for everyone: extracts of fiction, non-fiction and graphic novels, short stories, poetry, interviews and essays; nothing too long, nothing too heavy. With all things European in the UK under enormous strain, here at the European Literature Network we feel strongly about keeping the European literary flags flying.
To that end, I am thrilled to announce that I am the curator of a festival of European literature in the UK, to take place over the weekend of May 20th/21st 2023 at the British Library London and in partnership with them and EUNIC, the EU cultural umbrella organisation in the UK. It will be bold and exciting and we want you all to be there, authors from all over Europe alongside our own great European authors, translators and publishers. A feast for everyone. We will be in touch as soon as we have more information.
We publish our regular #RivetingReviews on December 19th (the deadline is December 12th), edited by the wonderful West Camel, and these will carry us through to the new year. Please contact him/us at the usual ELNet address: contact@eurolitnetwork.com. As you know, we are a terribly tiny team tackling mountains of requests, without grants – I wish we could do more – but this makes me even prouder of what we do achieve. Do make a regular date with our website www.eurolitnetwork.com, where you will find all previous Riveter magazines and #RivetingReviews; where you can watch or listen to our podcasts and read our excellent blogs. For example, I hope you are following LA ESPAÑOLA: Riveting Writing from Spain with Alice Banks which currently features Katie Whittemore’s Translator Triptych.There’s also THE ITALIANIST: Riveting Italian Books You Need to Know About by Alex Valente, and, POETRY TRAVELS created by Anna Blasiak and Lisa Kalloo, with the exquisite poem A MESSAGE FROM THE ISLE OF WIGHT by Wioletta Greg. You’ll also find an exclusive short story called LETTERS, by Turkish writer Ciler Ilhan, who today lives in the Netherlands, and an excellent essay RUSSIAN AND ME by translator and writer Katia Gregor, formerly of this parish! You’ll also find lots on our website to read from and about Ukraine – let’s keep up the support!
This November join me as I venture out on my own European travels, first on November 11th when I interview the brilliant Bulgarian author Georgi Gospodinov at Hatchards Piccadilly and on November 16th at the Austrian Cultural Forum London for the ACF Translation Prize ceremony. Then on November 17th I strike out onto the European mainland for my annual gig at ELIT, the European Literature Days on the Danube in Austria.
Many thanks to all of you, writers, translators, publishers and academics, for enriching our European literary landscape, proving that European literature certainly does flourish in the UK, even in the most difficult terrain. Happy European Travels, whether at home with a book or on the road – and give me a wave (I’m the one wearing red!).
Love, Rosie the Riveter
Photo: Rosie Goldsmith and Ann Morgan discussing The Italian Riveter at Cheltenham Literature Festival 2022.