Biggest line-up to date includes prize-winning novelists, short story writers and poets — from France in the west to Romania in the east, from Sweden in the north to Spain in the south
We are delighted to announce the participants for the 4th European Literature Night, to be held at the
British Library on Wednesday, 16 May 2012.
Ranging from crime writing to literary explorations of love, from historical novels to horror, from short story mazes to concise contemporary verse, the authors selected to take part in the 2012 European Literature Night encompass a wide range and wealth of writing that will appeal to readers across the board.
This year the European Union National Institutes for Culture in London (EUNIC) put out a Call for Nominations for writers to take part in the British Library event, which is fast becoming the European literature event of the year. 50 entries from 23 countries across Europe were submitted by publishers, cultural institutes and literary organisations. A judging panel, chaired by BBC journalist Rosie Goldsmith, met in February to choose the final panel of writers to come to London on 16 May. They are:
– AUSTRIA’s Paulus Hochgatterer – one of the leading contemporary authors on the German-speaking literary scene. His The Mattress House (trans. Jamie Bulloch) is a thriller that is as much about the everyday trials of life as it is about crime. It was published by Maclehose Press in January. ‘He is Austria’s answer to David Lynch’ – 3sat Kulturzeit
– DENMARK’s Pia Juul – winner of Denmark’s most important literary prize, Den Danske Banks litteraturpris, and author of five books of poetry, two short story collections and two novels. The Murder of Halland (trans. Martin Aitken), a crime novel which strays far beyond the norm, will be published by Peirene in June.
– FRANCE’s Laurent Binet – the first-time novelist won the prestigious Prix Goncourt du premier roman and the Prix des Lecteurs du Livre de Poche for his novel, HHhH. Harvill Secker will publish the English translation (trans. Sam Taylor) in May. ‘Magnificent … unsurpassable … exerts a hypnotic sway over the reader ’ – Mario Vargas Llosa
– GERMANY’s Ludwig Steinherr – one of his country’s foremost poets, also an essayist, translator, editor and lecturer, he has published 13 collections of poetry in German, as well as being translated into French, Czech and other languages. Steinherr’s first collection in English, Before the Invention of Paradise (trans. Richard Dove), was published by Arc in 2010.
– HUNGARY’s Noémi Szécsi – the author of four novels to date, and winner of the European Union Prize for Literature in 2009 for her second novel, The Finno-Ugrian Vampire (trans. Peter Sherwood), a linguistic tour-de-force and play on myths. It’s set in contemporary Hungary and will be published by Stork Press in October.
– MONTENEGRO’s Ognjen Spahić – the best-known of the new generation of Montenegrin writers to have emerged since the collapse of the former Yugoslavia. He is a novelist and short fiction writer and his novel Hansen’s Children, which has already been translated into six languages, was published by Istros Books in 2011 (trans. Will Firth).
– POLAND’s Zygmunt Miloszewski – his work includes horror stories and novels for young people but it is his crime writing, which uses historical and political themes, that has made Miloszewski a household name in his country. His A Grain of Truth (trans. Antonia Lloyd-Jones), the second of his crime trilogy, will be published by Bitter Lemon Press in August.
– ROMANIA’s Robert Şerban – a writer, editor, journalist, producer and television show host. His poetry has been translated into several languages and in 2004 the President of Romania granted him the status of ‘Knight’ for his cultural achievements. His work appeared in the anthology Of Gentle Wolves: An Anthology of Romanian Poetry by Calypso (2011).
– SWEDEN’s Anne Swärd – who has published three novels and is a regular contributor to several Swedish newspapers. Her most recent novel, Breathless (trans. Deborah Bragan-Turner) will be published by Quercus Books in April. It won the Bokcirklar’s Stora Läsarpriset [The Readers Award] in her native land and has been sold in 13 countries.
istrosbooks 