European Literature Night 2013

Now in its fifth year, and held simultaneously in capital cities across the continent, European Literature Night takes you on an enthralling reading journey across vivid cultural landscapes. The British Library hosts eight exceptional writers, from groundbreaking new talent to leading names. Joining BBC journalist and presenter Rosie Goldsmith for readings and conversation with Norbert Gstrein (Austria), Miha Mazzini (Slovenia), Erwin Mortier (Belgium/Flanders), Ece Temelkuran (Turkey), Jordi Punti (Spain/Catalonia) Jáchym Topol (Czech Republic) Birgit Vanderbeke (Germany) and Frank Westerman (Netherlands).

Miha Mazzini is a bestselling Slovene writer, author of twenty-seven books published in nine languages. He is also a screenwriter of two award-winning feature films and is a voting member of the European Film Academy.

Frank Westerman was born in 1964 and lives in Amsterdam. He is the author of seven highly acclaimed books, including Ararat, Engineers of the Soul and, most recently, Brother Mendel’s Perfect Horse. His work has been published in more than fifteen languages and has won many prizes.

Erwin Mortier’s debut novel, Marcel, won several prizes and was nominated for the most distinguished Flemish and Dutch literary awards. He also is a poet, essayist and translator and regularly contributes to newspapers and literary magazines  throughout Europe.

Ece Temelkuran has published ten books is one of Turkey’s best-known journalists and political commentators. Her books broach subjects that are highly controversial in Turkey and she has won numerous awards for her work, including the Pen for Peace Award.

Norbert Gstrein is the author of several collections of stories and novels. His first translated novel, The English Years (2002), won international critical acclaim and Winters in the South, his first novel in translation into English has been awarded several European literary prizes.

Jáchym Topol is the leading Czech author of his generation and of the postmodern trend in Czech prose after 1989. Famous in his youth as an underground poet and songwriter, his most recent novel, The Devil´s Workshop, received the 2013 English PEN Award for outstanding writing in translation.

Jordi Puntì writes in Catalan and is a regular contributor to the Spanish and Catalan press. Considered one of the most promising new voices of contemporary Catalan literature, Lost Luggage his first novel, has been translated into 15 languages, and won the Spanish National Critics' prize 2011.

Birgit Vanderbeke has written seventeen novels and is one of Germany's most successful literary authors. The Mussel Feast was published in 1990, won many literary prizes and has never been out of print since. It has been translated into all major European languages.

Rosie Goldsmith (Chair of ELN) is a journalist specializing in arts and international affairs, in the UK and abroad. As a BBC broadcaster she travelled the world, from Libya to Japan to East Timor and is a high profile champion of European literature. 

Presented in partnership with EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture) London, the European Commission Representation in the UK and Speaking Volumes Live Literature Productions

To celebrate European Literature Night we will also be hosting a free discussion on Writing, Creativity and Translation, led by the Open University. Tickets need to be booked separately.