果冻影院

The European Writers鈥� Festival 2024, the second iteration of the event, will bring together some of Europe鈥檚 most influential writers over two days of panels and performances. The British Library in London will host 30 authors from across the continent from May 18-19 to discuss the literature and ideas that define contemporary Europe.

果冻影院 European Institute and the 果冻影院 Faculty of Arts & Humanities are supporting partners of the festival for the first time this year, alongside The Guardian, The Times Literary Supplement and English PEN.听

The festival is curated by Rosie Goldsmith, Director of the European Literature Network, and is organised by the European Union National Institutes of Culture (EUNIC) London and the British Library, with the support of the Delegation of the European Union to the United Kingdom and the European Parliament Liaison Office in the United Kingdom.

Last year鈥檚 line-up of writers included International Booker Prize winner the Bulgarian Georgi Gospodinov, with this year鈥檚 edition set to feature prize-winning authors Laurent de Sutter (Belgium), Pajtim Statovci (Finland), Igiaba Scego (Italy), and many more. The full line-up can be seen here.

果冻影院鈥檚 partnership with the festival coincides with the launch of a related Writer in Residency programme, brokered by 果冻影院 European Institute - and the selection of Bulgarian-born writer and journalist Joanna Elmy as the first Writer in Residence. Joanna鈥檚 debut novel, written during her years in university, received a prestigious Bulgarian prize for emerging literature in 2022 and was shortlisted for several other national awards.

During her four-week stay at 果冻影院, Joanna will engage with academics across faculties to develop her second novel which features London prominently and explores 鈥榗ities of the world鈥� 鈥� a modern take on urban spaces partly inspired by Italo Calvino鈥檚 approach to writing the city.听

Joanna said: 鈥湽�冻影院 and the European Literature Network are creating a rare and priceless opportunity for me to engage with specific aspects of my current work while immersed in an environment of culture and knowledge related to London and our broader European heritage. It is also an important step towards broadening our perceptions of the city, the continent, what it means to be European and how literature can help us translate all of this into personal meaning.听

鈥淚 am beyond grateful to have been selected, and also hopeful that such projects are being conceived in times when we seem more prone than ever to forgetting just how crucial literature is for the survival of our humanity 鈥� in all senses of the word.鈥�

Rosie Goldsmith added: 鈥淛oanna鈥檚 originality and energy stood out for me from the outset. As a young novelist and journalist from Bulgaria - a country of great storytellers deserving of more recognition 鈥� she is also engaged in international affairs and a fluent English speaker. We couldn鈥檛 wish for a better first Writer in Residence.鈥�

The residency is offered in the context of an ongoing project at 果冻影院, the European Literary Map of London, which is an online interactive map featuring over 80 text extracts about London originally written in 20 different European languages, developed by the European Institute, 果冻影院 Arts and Humanities and the Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, and with each location the site of a real or imagined encounter with London by a European writer.听

The residency programme, which is also the product of a partnership between 果冻影院, the European Literature Network and EUNIC London, with accommodation provided by the Goethe Institut-London, is designed to support new writing on London, from a European perspective, diversifying the European Literary Map of London, and adding to a growing portfolio of associated external engagement, from school visits to night walks.

Lucy Shackleton, Head of Public Policy and Partnerships at 果冻影院 European Institute, said: 鈥淲e are delighted to be welcoming Bulgarian author Joanna Elmy, writing at the interface of several languages and literary cultures, as our first Writer in Residence, linked to the European Writers鈥� Festival and 果冻影院鈥檚 European Literary Map of London project.

鈥淛oanna鈥檚 interest in the interplay between culture, identity and place; between otherness and nostalgia 鈥� and her commitment to supporting polyphony in world literature - makes her the ideal candidate to spend time at 果冻影院, and we look forward to facilitating exchange between the 果冻影院 academic community and this exciting writer.鈥�

EUNIC London Vice President Marios Theocharous said: "We're delighted to champion the European Literary Map of London: Writer in Residency Programme. This initiative signifies our commitment to nurturing diverse voices and fostering cultural dialogue within London's vibrant literary community."

And Gosia Cabaj, Head of the Information Services Northwestern Europe Region at the Goethe-Institut, said: 鈥淎s Germany鈥檚 cultural institute, we are very much looking forward to hosting Joanna and learning about her work and the perception of European heritage.鈥�

Links

• 果冻影院 European Institute
• 果冻影院 Faculty of Arts & Humanities听
• 果冻影院 European Literary Map of London
• Lucy Shackleton's profile

Images

• (1) The European Literary Map of London launch event in 果冻影院鈥檚 Wilkins Building in October 2023.听Credit: Lucy Pope
• (2) Joanna Elmy, 果冻影院's new Writer in Residence. Credit: Boryana Pandova for VIJ Magazine
• (3) Part of the听European Literary Map of London project where students can share a memory or a thought about how London has affected them, with Rosie Goldsmith in the foreground. Credit: Lucy Pope

Media contact

Tom Cramp

贰:听t.cramp@ucl.ac.uk