Dear readers, we hope the new year has started well for you! We are planning on taking a creative break and then get back to you with reviews, interviews, event reports, critical articles about developments in the literary field, public readings, reports from book fairs, and many more…
Coming up next are, for example, an overview article about the Literary Field in France and an article about The Good Immigrant compiled by Nikesh Shukla. So please stay tuned!
In the meantime, there are two events that those of you who are in Berlin (or plan a city trip) might want to check out:
New Year’s Reception of the Berlin BücherFrauen: “The Elephant in the Green Salon”
The “BücherFrauen” are a professional network for women in the book industry. They were founded 26 years ago following the model of the British “Women in Publishing”. Its members are authors, translators, editors, agents, marketing experts, booksellers, and many more. While information exchange and support of each other is one side of the network, the Women in Publishing are also a political network that shapes the book industry. Through public events, work in committees, honorary offices, academic research and many other activities they aim at improving the conditions for all women in publishing.
For their New Year’s reception, the Berlin group has invited female illustrators from the renowned “Spring Magazin“. Their last project in 2016 was a joint issue with eight German and eight Indian illustrators called “The Elefant in the Room”. During the event, the artists Larissa Bertonasco, Ulli Lust, Nina Pagalies and Stephanie Wunderlich will present this special issue and engage in a discussion with the Berlin Women in Publishing – and the audience. The official part is followed by a reception. All are welcome!
When? Thursday, 12 January 2017, 7.30 pm (entrance opens 7 pm)
Where? Grüner Salon, Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz 2, 10178 Berlin
How much? 5 Euro (reduced rate: 2,50 Euro), no fee for “BücherFrauen”
Further details and registration: link to the event website
#BritLitBerlin2017: Diverse Voices, New Directions
Every year, the British Council organises a literature event in Berlin. The format has changed over the years, but what stayed the same is that they invite some well and some lesser known British authors to stay, read and discuss their writing and the state of the literary field with the audience. These authors will participate in 2017: Sharon Dodua Otoo, Daljit Nagra, Nikesh Shukla, Catherine Johnson, Hari Kunzru, and Irenosen Okojie. This year’s seminar is chaired by Bernardine Evaristo, so I hope we’re in for some critical questions and differentiated discussions. This is what she wrote for the seminar’s website:
“British literature continues to be deeply enriched by diverse writers who invigorate its arts and culture; writers whose work forges new imaginative pathways in foregrounding stories and perspectives that otherwise remain untold.
The 32nd British Council Literature Seminar in Germany will discuss the power of this writing to transform the nation’s identity. We will discuss the importance of literary voices that express multiple articulations of our contemporary society, excavate the hidden histories of the past, and imagine the future and alternate universes.”
Details and registration: link to the #BritLit2017 website
We will report from the seminar and look forward to an exciting new year in the literary fields and our Literary Field Kaleidoscope!
