Catalan literature to be guest of honor at prestigious book fair in Nordic countries

Catalan literature is going to be the guest of honor on the upcoming 2014 Göteborg Book Fair, the most prestigious literary event held in the Nordic countries. On the same week the Paris Book Fair will take place with Barcelona as the guest of honor. Under the umbrella denomination of Voices from Catalonia, eight Catalan writers translated into Swedish and other Nordic languages will participate at the Göteborg Book Fair. With the sight set at 2015, the Ramon Llull Institute is also working on the illustrated children’s and young’s literature to be the honor guest at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.

The Deputy Director of the Ramon Llull Institute  (IRL), Àlex Susanna, has announced they are working on being invited to some of the big annual literature book fairs so they can project efficiently the Catalan literature heritage from both the past and the present, which has a “huge potential”. In 2012, Catalan literature was the guest of honor at the Québec Book Fair.

As a preparation for this event, next June, eight Swedish editors and translators will visit Barcelona to establish contacts with book publishers, editors, authors, and literary critics. They will be immersed in Catalan literature and will make their proposals for the 2014 event. On this occasion, the focus will only be on authors writing in Catalan language. Mr. Susanna says that it is of paramount relevance for Catalan authors to be known in the Nordic countries, especially in Sweden.