As per our earlier post, and this update, Adania Shibli cannot be in Beirut for the Beirut 39 festival, but she is participating in a number of wonderful events surrounding the London Book Fair. Those of you in the UK, be sure to check them out:
Join Adania and many other superb festival writers at International PEN’s Free the Word! literary lunch, Sunday, April 18, at the Young Vic.
And on April 19 at the London Book Fair, see the panel “Why Does Translation into English Matter?”, with Adania, Bill Swainson (senior editor, Bloomsbury), Amanda Hopkinson (professor, University of East Anglia), Donato Ndongo-Bidyogo, and Marlene Van Niekerk, moderated by Ros Schwartz:
What does it mean to an international writer to be translated into the English language? An increased readership, certainly, and a moment of recognition. But what are the wider artistic implications?
How do translators interpret their role and responsibility? What are the rewards of translating literature into English, and how central is contemporary literature in translation to the cultural consciousness of this country? What is its significance for the UK publishing industry?
English PEN brings together an international panel to discuss the literary, personal, and cultural importance of being translated into English.