Tuesday 25 Apr 2023, 19:00 – 20:30, British Library, Book here
Celebrating Spanish literature in English, on the publication of THE SPANISH RIVETER magazine.
This is an in-person only event at the British Library.
The Spanish Riveter magazine is devoted to the languages of Spain, the literatures written in them and their translation into English. In an evening of lively discussion and readings with some of the magazine’s star contributors, we celebrate the wealth of contemporary writing in Castilian, Catalan, Galician and Basque, as well as the Latin American influence.
Listen to Margaret Jull Costa read from her translation of Javier Marías. Hear broadcaster and writer Robert Elms eulogise about Spanish culture. Enjoy readings from the greats of Spanish literature, alongside introductions to new and emerging writers of colour and queer writers, who offer some of the most innovative work being produced in the languages of Spain today. Chaired by guest editor of The Spanish Riveter, Katie Whittemore.
Margaret Jull Costa has worked as a translator for over thirty years, translating the works of many Spanish and Portuguese writers, among them novelists: Javier Marías, Bernardo Atxaga, José Saramago and Eça de Queiroz; and poets: Fernando Pessoa, Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, Mário de Sá-Carneiro and Ana Luísa Amaral.
Robert Elms is a writer, broadcaster, and Sony-Award-winning radio show host for BBC London. He is a former columnist for NME and The Face, and author of Spain: A Portrait after the General, an account of Spanish history, culture and politics, and of The Way We Wore, a book about fashion’s relationship with music and youth culture.
Teresa Solana directed the National Translation Centre in Spain for seven years and now devotes her time to writing her own novels in Catalan and translating them into Spanish. A Not So Perfect Crime, her first novel, won the 2007 Brigada 21 Prize for Best Noir in Catalan and A Shortcut to Paradise, her second, was short-listed for the 2008 Salambó Prize for Best Novel in Catalan.
Peter Bush is an award-winning translator from Catalan, French, Spanish and Portuguese. Peter has translated a number of prominent Catalan writers into English including Josep Pla, Mercè Rodoreda and Joan Sales. Throughout his career, he has won numerous awards for his translations from Catalan, including the Premi Ramon Llull and La Creu de Sant Jordi.
Aixa de la Cruz is a Spanish writer of Basque origin. Her published work includes novels, essays, and short fiction. Her autofiction novel Cambiar de idea/Changing My Mind was awarded the 2020 Premio Euskadi for literature written in Spanish. Her story True Milk was included in the Penguin Book of Spanish Short Stories, edited by Margaret Jull Costa (2021). Her fifth novel, Las herederas/The Heiresses, was published in 2022.
Juan Cruz Ruiz is an award-winning Spanish author, journalist, editor, and co-founder of El País newspaper, for whom he was a London correspondent. In 2012, he was awarded the prestigious National Award for Cultural Journalism from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport. His prolific oeuvre includes over forty books, among them works of fiction, poetry, essay, and journalism.
Katie Whittemore is a literary translator of Spanish fiction and Guest Editor of The Spanish Riveter. Her translations include novels by Sara Mesa, Nuria Labari, Aroa Moreno Durán, Javier Serena, Lara Moreno, Katixa Agirre, Almudena Sánchez, and Jon Bilbao. Her translation of Not Even the Dead by Juan Gómez Bárcena is due out this year.
THE SPANISH RIVETER magazine of contemporary Spanish literature and translation in English, is a unique collaboration with the major institutes of Spanish culture in the UK and the official languages of Spain, as well as with leading writers, translators, publishers and academics. This event is brought to you by the European Literature Network and the Cervantes Institute, London. The Spanish Riveter magazine cover by Ana Galvañ.
Half Price tickets available for Members, Students, Under 26s and other concession groups.
This event will not be live-streamed.