Festival of Hope 1 / 27 April 2020

Festival of World Literature, edition 2019

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Having written her first novel in six months, it took her ten years to find someone to publish it. When A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing finally saw light thanks to a small, independent publisher, it jolted both literary conventions and the literary scene. She has been compared with Joyce, though she has also given to literature a new, fresh and overriding female voice. Having worked on her second novel for full nine years, she once more surprised – and inspired – readers and critics alike. The Lesser Bohemians has the synopsis of a love story, but in truth is a novel about coming-of-age and growing up, of a kind previously unseen in European and world literature. Eimear McBride has received numerous awards for it, and the Croatian translation won the Iso Velikanović Prize for Best Translation in 2018. 

Translator Anda Bukvić Pažin is here at the Festival of World Literature 2019 in Zagreb in conversation with this radiant author who combines theatre and acting with literature, and who interweaves music and the written word in an unprecedented manner.

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Paul Beatty is the first American recipient of the prestigious Man Booker Prize for literature, and The Sellout, the book that won him this prize, is considered by many to be one of the most important American novels of the 21st century. It will truly change anyone who reads it: Beatty turns the world upside down and, moreover, does this without even a hint of political correctness. But while he writes about difficult themes such as economic inequality, racial discrimination, police brutality, and post-slavery in post-racial America, his compelling satire also makes for one of the most amusing and witty books imaginable. An author to be read and listened to, a book not to be missed!

In conversation with his Croatian editor Roman Simić at the Festival of World Literature 2019 in Zagreb.

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An often-misused description “young writer” nevertheless makes sense every now and then. The acknowledge the best among them, the voices who already are constituent parts of the contemporary literary scene and will continue to be so in the future, the Festival of World Literature, Ireland’s Cúirt International Festival of Literature (held in Galway) and Slovenia’s Vilenica International Literary Festival have jointly established a competition for young writers who are established in their own countries, but whose international recognition and visibility have yet to develop. 

Luiza BouharaouaMarija Dejanović and Dinko Kreho are three young and promising Croatian writers, and on this particular festival evening, they were joined by a winner of the competition, the excellent young Ukrainian writer Myroslav Laiuk, and by a more established colleague of the pen, the Spanish writer Cristina López Barrio. The reading ceremony and the prelude to these young writers will be conducted by their peer, the popular writer Sven Popović.

Author

FSK Fraktura

The Festival of World Literature was founded by Fraktura Publishing House in Zagreb, Croatia, in 2013. As a literary and cultural manifestation taking place every year in September, the festival includes literary talks, poetry readings, round tables, film screenings, graphic novel discussions, concerts. The aim of the festival is to bring together the best of local and international literature through a series of live events, as well as to provide an opportunity for the audience to interact with contemporary writers.

https://fsk.hr/