Dear Readers,
What makes a good text? How does writing work as a collective process? What kinds of challenges are authors facing today? And what roles do publishers currently play?
The program of the 24th ilb not only showcases »polished« literature but also spotlights the writing process itself. A number of events offer a platform for participating authors to exchange their views on the challenges of writing, while also giving the audience personal and exclusive insights into the working and writing practices of contemporary international authors. Here are a few warmly anticipated events:
ECHO.ECHO. Temporal Collectives: Dedicated to the collective, the event series »ECHO.ECHO. Temporal Collectives« explores collaborative writing practices and collective memory. The author collective Wu Ming discusses UFO sightings and World Cup football, while Eastern European poets explore queer temporalities beyond the linear. In collaboration with the Excellence Cluster »Temporal Communities: Doing Literature in a Global Perspective« at Freie Universität Berlin.
ECHO.ECHO. Temporal Collectives | So 08 Sep – Mi 11 Sep
Decolonize Publishing: When books by African authors are first published in Europe or the USA, it impacts their ability to publish in Africa. Licenses and translations are expensive, often preventing books from being published where they were written. Mkuki Bgoya and Lola Shoneyin discuss with moderator Stefanie Hirsbrunner their visions for decolonizing publishing.
Decolonize Publishing | Sa 14 Sep | 18:00
Lost/Found in Translation. The Joys and Challenges of Multivocality: All writing is translation. Some writers work in their native language, while others are compelled to write in languages imposed by colonialism or market demands. Chika Unigwe, Fiston Mwanza Mujila, and Mkuki Bgoya explore the challenges and joys of working and living in multiple languages simultaneously.
Lost/Found in Translation | Fr 13 Sep | 20:00
The Art of Writing: Helon Habila and Yishai Sarid: A tour guide at the Treblinka concentration camp, a Berlin nightclub, a teenage hacker, and a Sicilian refugee camp: the settings and characters that these internationally acclaimed authors explore in their novels are diverse, conflict-ridden, and highly relevant. In two individual events, Helon Habila and Yishai Sarid offer unique insights into their respective creative processes.
Yishai Sarid: The Art of Writing | 06 Sep | 19:30
Helon Habila: The Art of Writing | 08 Sep | 16:00