Exchange programme for writers and translators from the Trio Presidency countries

In March 2015 the short prose author and novelist Nora Wagener and translator Paolo Pantaleo will stay at the International Writers' and Translators' House in Ventspils. Nora Wagener plans to finish her second book in Ventspils, and Paolo Pantaleo is planning to work on translations of Nora Ikstena's Dzīves stāsti (Life Stories) and Inga Žolude's collection of short stories, Mierinājums Ādama kokam (A Solace for Adam's Tree).

"Cultural cooperation between Latvia and the other Trio Presidency countries is as important as cooperation on policy issues, since it strengthens relations between the countries. In addition, writers' residency programmes are becoming increasingly popular as special places for creative work outside the daily routine," says the Head of the Presidency Secretariat’s Department of the Public Diplomacy and Culture Programme, Selga Laizāne.

Nora Wagener and Paolo Pantaleo have been invited to the residency programme in Latvia on the basis of their previous contributions to literature.

Paolo Pantaleo has translated Krāsainās pasakas (Colourful fairy tales) by Imants Ziedonis into Italian. In co-operation with the Venice publishing house Damocle Edizioni, he has also created the Piccola Biblioteca Lettone (Small Latvian Library) series which is dedicated to Latvian literature. So far, three short stories have been published in bilingual versions: Sapnis (Dream) by Rūdolfs Blaumanis, Lakatiņš baltais (White Scarf) by Nora Ikstena and Zīda mētelis (Silk Coat) by Jānis Ziemeļnieks. The selection of works of poetry and letters by Knuts Skujenieks Sēkla sniegā (Seed in the Snow) is to be published in the first half of this year. 

Nora Wagener is the winner of several literature prizes in Luxembourg, Austria and Germany. Her first novel Menschenliebe und Vogel, schrei was published in 2011. Her stories are published in various literary journals and anthologies. Nora also teaches short-story writing classes in Luxembourg and other places.

At the beginning of the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the EU, translator Silvija Brice will spend one month of the coming summer in Luxembourg, translating stories by Nora Wagener into Latvian. Writer Jānis Joņevs will travel to Italy in September to draw energy and seek inspiration for new creative works.

 

Silvija Brice received an award as the best translator of fiction in 1999 and has won the Ministry of Culture Award for translation of world literature into Latvian. She is also a winner of the Annual Latvian Literature Award in translation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Latvian writer Jānis Joņevs is known for his first novel "Jelgava 94", which tells the story of Jelgava city in the 1990s and young people's fascination with alternative culture and heavy metal music. The novel received a lot of attention from readers and critics and also won the Annual Latvian Literature Award 2013 and the European Union Prize for Literature 2014.

The residency programme for writers and translators is part of the Latvian EU Council Presidency cultural programme. It is organised by the Secretariat of the Latvian EU Council Presidency in collaboration with the International Writers' and Translators' House in Ventspils, the Latvian National Literature Centre, the Luxembourg Ministry of Culture and the National Literature Centre in Mersch (Centre national de littérature Mersch), Luxembourg.

The principle of the Trio Presidency is to ensure close cooperation between groups of three Member States that assume the Presidency of the Council of the EU one after the other. The current Trio Presidency is formed by Italy in the second half of 2014, Latvia in the first half of 2015, and Luxembourg in the second half of 2015.