Our OCTOBER Newsletter
#GETRIVETING!
by #RosieTheRiveter
#GetRiveting everyone! In an attempt to swamp your lives with more hashtags and to get everyone ‘riveting’ and rallying to the cause of European arts, literature, language and translation in the UK, I have become a shameless #Riveter. Many of you are already #riveting away, I know, but here’s a chance to Adopt A New Hashtag. So far I’ve been inviting you to participate in our #RivetingReviews and our #RivetingReads – to sign up favourite-authors-in-English to recommend their favourite #RivetingReads in translation. From now on though, we @eurolitnet will attempt to be even more riveting in everything we do, to create even more #RivetingEvents, and one day, maybe, our long-dreamed of magazine #TheRiveter and broadcast interview series #RivetingVoices.
Autumn is a truly beautiful time, not only in nature, but in the book trade: it is the time of #RivetingPublishing and groaning piles of new #RivetingReads. My favourite season.
As you’ll recall, ‘Rosie The Riveter’ started off as an American cultural icon in World War Two, widely portrayed on posters and advertising, in film and song. She was a factory ‘riveter’, an early feminist. She was also fictional – so, it’s a great story and inspiration. (And pure coincidence that she and I have the same name?)
So you’ll see a lot of riveting going on @eurolitHQ – always on your behalf! – over the next few months: with our colleagues at Waterstones Piccadilly (#FerranteNightFever anyone? Polish women writers; Festival of World Literature); British Council/London Book Fair and Writing West Midland (Europe Day 8th Oct). We will also be riveting away in The Mosaic Rooms (Tahar Ben Jelloun), Istros/Peter Owen (Slovenian literature), at the BBC National Short Story Awards (with Booktrust & Comma Press) and the Language Show Live at Olympia. #RivetingFestivals, featuring international literature, are taking place everywhere through October – for example Cheltenham, Birmingham, Guildford, Henley, Manchester, Timisoara and Krakow.
This month’s #RivetingReviews will focus on Italian literature, inspired by my summer in Italy and the superb Mantua Literature Festival. Still time to offer up your favourite Italian reads and reviews – deadline October 13th.
Before I go, and leave you to peruse our October Calendar, thank you to all EuroLitNet members for attending our Meeting at Free Word Centre on 20th September – so many good ideas, news and views. Members will receive the promised Meeting Notes separately. Thank you also to everyone who participated in our September Euro Stars event at Waterstones Piccadilly. It was inspirational – for the debate and the readings. Sincere thanks to the Stars of the evening, Tim Parks, Claudiu Florian, Antoine Laurain and Joanna Walsh, and to everyone who organized, funded us and attended. We will post a full ‘media package’ on our website this month covering the event with photos, video, sketches and blogs.
Thank you, as ever, to my #Riveter-in-Chief Anna Blasiak.
Yours most sincerely, #RosieTheRiveter