After a successful promotion at the Frankfurt Book Fair last October, one of the international activities that kicked off the 20th anniversary of the Forum of Slavic Cultures was a presentation at the Leipzig Book Fair.
With the publication of the 100th volume in the 100 Slavic Novels series, the FSK wanted to present this unique literary collection (as well as other FSK publications) to an international audience, bringing Slavic literary and cultural achievements to the attention of the German and international public, experts and connoisseurs.
The FSK also organised two events at the Leipzig Book Fair. At the first one, entitled “On the Edge of Madness”, Slovenian writer Suzana Tratnik discussed her writing and activism with German “bookstagrammer” Florian Valerius (@literarischernerd). The main topic was the novel My Name is Damjan, which was included in the 100 Slavic Novels and published in Slovak and Serbian as part of it, and appeared in many other translations.
At the second event, entitled “100 Slavic Novels and Slavic Literary Exchanges”, FSK Director Dr. Andreja Rihter, Prof. Dr. Robert Hodel from the Institute of Slavic Studies at the University of Hamburg and Mladen Vesković, Editor-in-Chief of 100 Slavic Novels, discussed the collection and its role in the mutual translation of Slavic literatures, the common features of contemporary Slavic fiction, and the future of the project. Mladen Vesković stressed that the 100 Slavic Novels collection is a true anthology of contemporary Slavic literatures, which speaks about the Eastern European transition more authentically than historiography. Robert Hodel added that these are incredible literary treasures and that he is surprised time and again how much wonderful literature has not yet been translated into the world’s major languages. Andreja Rihter said that the Leipzig Book Fair had brought about an agreement with the German Sorbian community and that the collection would now also be present in Germany.
