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European Writers’ Meeting

European Writers’ Meeting at the Europe Point with some of the continent’s best first authors!
They will be talking to authors on five topics (simultaneous interpretation provided):

  • Dealing with the past in art
  • Otherness as a challenge
  • Inequalities in society and the family
  • The writer as researcher. Problems of physical, mental and spiritual health and illness in contemporary European literature

“First novels”, while they do not represent a genre in themselves, offer an as yet unexplored “raw material”. These authors are as yet unknown as writers, and this allows the texts to be approached without prejudice. The yearly parade of first novels is thus an opportunity to clear an emotional and critical path, without signposts. A real dialogue about books can begin with authors who have not been idolised. By their presence, these burgeoning literary talents, bring literature closer to life, and the mystery of writing provides a basis for many exciting and significant encounters. It is also true that in France, for instance, the term “first novel” is an accepted label of standard categorization, used in library catalogues or publisher’s brochures. It is as though book publishers are conscious of their image as the discoverers of new talents; at a minimum they fear passing over that rare pearl, the writer prodigy. The diversity of the publishing market, together with European publishing policy, offer an exciting perspective for encounters and dialogues in a country whose literature is being translated into more and more languages. The launch in Budapest of a regular European Festival of First Novels, provided a chance for today’s young European literary talents, and also to their publishers, to communicate — and also provides an opportunity for possible new translations and publications.

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