Here is the schedule of Polish events during The London Book Fair 2017 and beyond. More details here
13 MARCH
6-7pm, UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies
The histories of Poland and Russia. Different paths and models of development
Free but booking essential
Eminent visiting Polish scholar and author Professor Andrzej Nowak, who is widely recognised for his work on the political history of Central and Eastern Europe will discuss 18th and 19th century Poland and Russia with SSEES’s Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Hosking OBE, author of several highly-regarded works on Russian history, and Professor Simon Dixon, a specialist in imperial Russian history. The event will be chaired by SSEES Director Professor Jan Kubik.
2-5:30pm, British Library
Joseph Conrad study day
Book here
Professor Robert Hampson initiates an afternoon of expert discussion with a lecture on Conrad as ‘England’s Polish Genius’. This is followed by the first of two panels which explores ‘Joseph Conrad and London’. In the final part of the day, take a look at Joseph Conrad and contemporary fiction reflecting on Conrad’s place in relation to contemporary British and Polish fiction.
More details here
14 MARCH
10-11am, London Book Fair, National Hall Gallery Club Room
New Poetic Universes
Jacek Dehnel, Marzanna Bogumiła Kielar and Moniza Alvi. Chaired by Sarah Hesketh.
10-11am, London Book Fair, Children’s Hub
Look! Polish Picturebook!
Małgorzata Cackowska introduces Look! Polish Picturebook! – a publication which presents for the very first time such an extensive selection of Polish picturebooks from 1960s until today
10–11am, London Book Fair, location TBC
Polish Book Market – Publishing and Distribution Landscape. Main Trends and Development Perspectives
Panel organized by the Polish Chamber of Books, panellists: Włodzimierz Albin and Sonia Draga
11:30am-12:30pm, London Book Fair, National Hall Gallery Club Room
Am I a Crime Writer? Crime writing from Poland
Panel discussion with Olga Tokarczuk, Zygmunt Miłoszewski and Amanda Jennings. Chaired by Karen Sullivan
11:30am-12:30pm, London Book Fair, location TBC
Licensing Books to and from Poland – overview of the Polish market
Panel organized by the Polish Chamber of Books, panellists: Kamila Kanafa, Sandra Sawicka
11:30am-12:30pm, London Book Fair, Cross Media Theatre
Digital Poland: New Trends in Publishing from The Witchers Homeland (edu-tech, gamification and so forth)
Speaker: Marcin Skrabka
1-2pm, London Book Fair, National Hall Gallery Club Room
Do pictures travel? Is there a European aesthetic?
Panel discussion in partnership with IBBY, panellists: Aleksandra and Daniel Mizielińscy, Marta Ignerska, Sarah Fanelli, Lisa Edwards, Duncan Partridge
2:30-3:30pm, London Book Fair, Literary Translators Centre
Translation slam: Polish
Translators Sean Bye and Marta Dziurosz in this fast translation duel. The slam will showcase the art of translation by comparing side by side new translations of contemporary writing by Polish author Ewa Winnicka
4-4:30pm, London Book Fair, English PEN Literary Salon
Zygmunt Miłoszewski in conversation with Antonia Lloyd Jones
7-8:30pm, British Library, Conference Centre
A life of crime? Crime writing from Poland
Book here
Polish writers Olga Tokarczuk and Zygmunt Miłoszewski will discuss the permeable boundaries of genre fiction. Miłoszewski is a writer who has made his name writing psychological thrillers like Rage and A Grain of Truth, but he has also experimented with other genres, including fantasy and thrillers. Tokarczuk is famous for her strange, introspective works of fiction, but her crime novel Drive Your Plough Over the Bones of the Dead has recently been made into a film Spoor by Agnieszka Holland. Together they will discuss genre fiction, its possibilities and limitations, and whether genre restrictions for writers are helpful or unhelpful. Chaired by Claire Armitstead
15 MARCH
10-11am, London Book Fair, National Hall Gallery Club Room
Intellectuals in the Media
Challenging and wide ranging discussion on Polish political philosophy with Prof. Andrzej Nowak and Dr. Dariusz Karłowicz. Chaired by Doug Wallace
10-11am, London Book Fair, English PEN Literary Salon
Artur Domosławski in conversation with Hugh Thomson
10-11am , London Book Fair, location TBC
How do We Promote Authors and Books in Poland?
Panel organized by the Polish Chamber of Books, panellists: Piotr Dobrołęcki and Urszula Chwalba
10am-2pm, London Book Fair, Polish pavilion
PubTechPoland
The Polish publishing industry is not only about traditional books. Our national inborn creativity and devotion to new technologies have brought the Publishing Technologies from Poland (PubTechPoland) initiative to life. It aims to introduce the world to the joined forces of Polish publishing software companies (ArtaTech, Learnetic, SuperMemo, PWN, Legimi, Vulcan Media, FunMedia, Yellow Dot).
11:30am-12:30pm, London Book Fair, National Hall Gallery Club Room
An equal share: women’s writing from Poland
Panel discussion with Olga Tokarczuk, Ewa Winnicka, Marzanna Bogumiła Kielar and Catherine Taylor
11.30pm-12:30pm, venue TBC
Experience from Poland: Children’s Books and Educational Learning Resources Supported with Technology
Organized by The Polish Chamber of Books, panellists: Maria Deskur and Krzysztof Biedalak
1-2pm, London Book Fair, National Hall Gallery Club Room
What place for reportage in a post-truth world?
Discussion with Artur Domosławski, Ewa Winnicka and Remi Adekoya. Chaired by Tim Marshall
1-2pm, London Book Fair, Literary Translation Centre
Translating Conrad
Panel discussion with Jacek Dukaj, Magdalena Heydel and Catherine Anyango. Chaired by Stanley Bill
1-2pm, London Book Fair, Children’s Hub
The Mizielińskis. Presentation of creative workshop
2:30-3pm, London Book Fair, English PEN Literary Salon
Olga Tokarczuk in conversation with Rosie Goldsmith
2:30-3:30pm, London Book Fair, Polish pavilion
Live drawing with The Mizielińskis
3:30-4:30pm, London Book Fair, Children’s Hub
Is Illustration for Children a Different Kind of Illustration?
Speakers: Marta Ignerska and Magdalena Kłos
4-5pm, London Book Fair, English PEN Literary Salon
Ewa Winnicka in conversation with Ellie Mae O’Hagan
16 MARCH
10-11am, London Book Fair, English PEN Literary Salon
Salt Monody. Marzanna Bogumiła Kielar in conversation with Sasha Dugdale
1-2pm, London Book Fair, English PEN Literary Salon
Jacek Dehnel in conversation with Marta Dziurosz
2:30-3:30pm, London Book Fair, Club Room
Writing History as Fiction in 21st Century: Poland
Discussion with Jacek Dehnel, Olga Tokarczuk, Jacek Dukaj and Rosie Goldsmith
7-8:30pm, Waterstones Gower Street
Imagining The Future
Discussion with Jacek Dukaj and British-Malaysian writer Zen Cho
7-8:30pm, London Review Bookshop
Olga Tokarczuk in conversation with Deborah Levy
SOLD OUT
One of the most acclaimed Polish writers of her generation, Olga Tokarczuk has won multiple prizes, most recently for her novel The Books of Jacob, which explores an important moment in 18th Century Polish history. Two recent novels, The Books of Jacob and Flights, will shortly be published by Fitzcaraldo Editions. Here, she discusses writing fiction in Poland and her place within it, as well as the similarities it shares with UK fiction – and the differences that set it apart. Join us for an evening of discussion with Booker prize nominated Deborah Levy.
More information here
8-9:30pm, Southbank Centre, Poetry Library
World Poets Series: Polish poets in London
FREE but booking required
In recent years, The Poetry Library has hosted readings from poets from South Korea, Mexico and Syria. This year, we host poets from Poland to celebrate the Polish focus of the London Book Fair. With Marzanna Bogumiła Kielar, Jacek Dehnel and George Szirtes
17 MARCH
6:30-9pm, Yurt Café, St. Katharine’s Precinct
Drawing and discussion with Marta Ignerska and Ginny Skinner
Booking opening soon
Join acclaimed artists Marta Ignerska and Ginny Skinner for an evening of live drawing at the award-winning Yurt Café in Limehouse, east London. Marta Ignerska designs and illustrates books for children and adults. Her work has garnered numerous prestigious awards. Ginny Skinner is a painter and illustrator of the graphic novel Briony Hatch. Over the course of the evening, they will create new pieces of art. Audience members will also be encouraged to participate. This event is in partnership with Limehouse Books.
18 MARCH
2:15-3:15, Harlow Library, Essex Book Festival
Partners in Crime
Book here
Tajemnica Domu Helclów (“The Mystery of Helcel House”) is a deliciously camp pastiche of a period crime story published by Jacek Dehnel and Piotr Tarczyński under the name Maryla Szymiczkowa. The adventurers of their main protagonist, Mrs Szczupaczyńska, often referred to as ‘the Miss Marple of Polish crime fiction’, will be shared with leading UK ‘partners in crime fiction’ Nicci French.