PRESS RELEASE October 21st, 2021
ROMANIA ROCKS 2
BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW!
FULL PROGRAMME ANNOUNCED!
ROMANIAN-BRITISH LITERATURE FESTIVAL
3rd – 9th NOVEMBER 2021, London, with TOP AUTHORS FROM BOTH COUNTRIES
ROMANIA ROCKS 2, a brilliantly original festival of Romanian-British literary events, is taking place Weds 3rd – Tues 9th November 2021 at the Romanian Cultural Institute (RCI) in London, featuring the best and brightest ‘rock star authors’ from both countries in conversation about the literature and ideas that matter to them and to the world today. Jonathan Coe, Tracy Chevalier, Georgina Harding, Monique Roffey, Phillipe Sands and Lionel Shriver are in the line-up of UK-based star authors, participating in person in the headline ROCK TALKS, a series of conversations with their star Romanian counterparts Mircea Cărtărescu, Magda Cârneci, Ruxandra Cesereanu, Ioana Pârvulescu, Miruna Vlada, Ioana Nicolaie, Lavinia Braniște, Doina Ruști, Ioana Bâldea Constantinescu and Marina Constantinescu.
ROMANIA ROCKS 2 will additionally hold two major special events in translation and poetry, curated and hosted by the cultural entrepreneur and creative producer Gabriela Mocan, well-known for her cultural initiatives across Romania and the UK. The Romanian band with a literary spin, MOSES, will perform LIVE at a special Saturday evening concert on 6th November. A BBC Radio 3 collaboration with Romania Rocks and the Royal Society of Literature will be broadcast on November 23rd at 10pm.
The full programme of events and ticket registration details are now accessible via the RCI and ELNet websites (also available to download as a PDF document containing all the booking links). The venue is the beautiful glittering ballroom of the RCI in London. Most events are LIVE and free to attend but places are limited and you must register. Events will be live-streamed and filmed for viewing subsequently on YouTube and Facebook on the RCI and partner platforms. In this way the RCI can achieve its goal of reaching not just British and Romanian audiences but audiences around the world. Throughout the festival a dedicated bookshop will sell books from both the Romanian and British authors.
The general goal of Romania Rocks is to bring together world class authors from both Romania and Britain to get to know each other, their cultures and their work, to encourage greater exchange, more translations and broader readership. The original Romania Rocks festival in 2020 was the first festival of its kind and the first time such a large number of Romania’s and Britain’s authors met in collaborative, creative conversation. In spite of the pandemic and of lockdown, the festival ran over four weeks and featured many major authors from both countries, from Ben Okri to Ana Blandiana.
If you’d like to revisit the first ROMANIA ROCKS festival from 2020, here’s the link to the full programme of events and recordings on the RCI website: http://www.icr-london.co.uk/article/romania-rocks-romanian-british-literature-festival.html
If you’d like to access your free copy of THE ROMANIAN RIVETER, the first British literary magazine dedicated entirely to Romania, published by the European Literature Network, download here:https://www.eurolitnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Romanian-Riveter-download.pdf
ROMANIA ROCKS 2
For more information and media enquiries:
Rosie Goldsmith and Anna Blasiak, European Literature Network
contact@eurolitnetwork.com
Notes to Editors
ROMANIA ROCKS 2 is curated by the Romanian Cultural Institute, London
1 Belgrave Square, London, SW1X8PH, T: 0207 752 0134, E: office@icr-london.co.uk
Schedule and Events
The festival schedule, including biographies of all participants, as well as the full list of the headline events and workshops and booking details are published on: http://www.icr-london.co.uk and https://www.eurolitnetwork.com/category/rom-rocks-2/
Covid-19All precautions will be taken. The goal is to hold all events in person with live audiences but due to the current Covid-19 crisis, there may be last minute changes to the programme or author attendance. Most events will be filmed, livestreamed and subsequently made available for free via our websites.
Partners
Royal Society of Literature
BBC Radio 3
European Literature Network
EUNIC London
PEN International
Social Media #RomaniaRocks2 @RCILondon @eurolitnet
About the Romanian Cultural Institute: The Romanian Cultural Institute is Romania’s official organization which promotes Romanian culture, art and civilisation in the UK through international partnership programmes and events. It is a non-profit, non-political organisation, open to engage in any form of collaboration and partnership project-work: from government agencies to NGOs and individual artists or cultural promoters. In London, the Romanian Cultural Institute, located at 1 Belgrave Square, works to increase the visibility and impact of Romanian culture in Great Britain, Ireland and Iceland and to create enduring partnerships between Romanian artists and institutions and their local counterparts. More at: www.icrlondon.co.uk| www.facebook.com/ICRLondon
About the European Literature Network: The European Literature Network’s principal mission is to help promote and champion European literature and translation in the UK, and across all the countries of Europe. We are a small dedicated group of passionate professionals who believe in networking, innovation, mutual support and European cultural collaboration. We meet in networking groups and run a popular networking website. We publish Riveting Reviews, The Riveter magazine and The Riveting Interviews (audio and video podcasts) which focus on European literature in translation. More at: www.eurolitnetwork.com | https://www.facebook.com/EuroLitNetwork
ROMANIA ROCKS: This unique literary festival takes its name from Romania’s world-famous living, moving, growing rocks, the stunning geographical phenomenon known as “Trovants”. Hence our distinctive “rocks logo”. Romania’s rocks are also a superb metaphor for its vibrant and original literature and for a festival that aims to address some of the “cornerstone issues” of the day with Romanian and British authors.