Once again, within the framework of The Book Week in Catalanthe Institut Ramon Llull organizes a mission of international publishers in order to reinforce links and open new opportunities for the international projection of Catalan literature. September 21-26, 18 international participants They will see in the first person the vitality of the book in Catalan and will participate in multiple meetings with professionals in the sector.
All of them will immerse in the Catalan publishing sector and in Catalan literature through a program that includes a personalized agenda with about twenty professional meetings per guest (more than 400 meetings in total), introductory sessions in Catalan literature and the publishing world in Catalan, informal meetings with writers, illustrators and translators, and visits to bookstores and other cultural facilities such as the CCCB and the Massana School.
Notable names include the Taiwanese publisher Yi-Hsuan Chen, by Little Ecus. Its participation is the result of the collaboration between the IRL and Taicca – the Homologist Institution in the IRL based in Taiwan – and will enable Catalan participation in the fellowship organized next February. This alliance responds to the strategic goals that the IRL has in the Asian market.
Among the participants are Martin van der Heide, from the Dutch publishing house Cossea, who has published translations by Montserrat Roig and Irene Solà. Recently, Solà and his translator Adri Boon have been recognized with the European Netherlands Translation Prize.
Apart from Cossea, 4 other guest publishers have translated or translated modern classics of Catalan literature: the Chinese publishing house Shanghai 99 (Mercè Rodoreda and Josep Pla), the Turkish Medusa and the American Random House Books (Montserrat Roig) and the British Virago (Mercè Rodoreda). The presence of these publishers highlights the consolidation of the classics of Catalan literature in the international scene.
Similarly, Catalan Enlightenment is becoming more and more recognized in the international publishing scene. The mission is publishers from exporting and very competitive markets such as France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Brazil or South Korea. Some of them have published the works of some of the most recognized illustrators in our country, such as Rocio Bonilla (Jumbo), Liliana Fortuny (Host), Xavier Salomó (Ibis Grafika) or Víctor Escandell (Clavis).
The list of international participants is as follows:
Fiction editors
- Julio SilveiraEditorial Image, Brazil
- EVY FJORENForlaget Press, Norway
- Martin van der HeideCOSSEE, Netherlands
- Olivia Jane BarberVirago Books (Little Brown), UK
- Sofija ZivkovicNot RULES PUBLISHING, Serbia
- Olivia (Xiaoqing) ZhangShanghai 99 Readers, China
- Miriam KhanukaevRandom House Books, United States
- Sevi Sonmez BiancardiMedusa Books, Turkey
- Paulina Maria SurniakWydawnictwo Poznanskie, Poland
LIJ editors
- Staf leoClavis, Belgium
- Lina KrnicIbis Grafika, Croatia
- Sabrina MascarenhasRaise, Brazil
- Juseon moonLuna e Bel (imaju), South Korea
- Thomas Dartige du FournetGallimard Jeunesse, France
- Pavla NejedláHost Publishing House, Czech Republic
- Sophie Jasmin GawehnJumbo Verlag, Germany
- Maria Maddalena LucarelliFatatrac Edizioni, Italy
- Yi-Hsuan ChenLittle Ecus, Taiwan
Llull Fellowship is one of the main platforms of international projection of Catalan literature, which adds to the presence of the IRL at the international books of the book. Each year, publishers from around the world bring together a key role in deciding which authors and works reach new markets. The initiative allows you to establish direct links with the international publishing sector, generate new opportunities for translation and consolidate relationships that often translate into long -term publishing projects.
The publisher’s mission also helps to strengthen the prestige of Catalan literature as a cultural heritage with its own voice in the global scene, both in the field of modern classics – with authors and Rodoreda, Pla or Roig – and contemporary creation. At the same time, it opens paths in strategic markets beyond Europe and the Anglo -Saxon world, such as Asia or Latin America, and gives visibility to the power of Catalan, youthful literature and Catalan illustration, more and more internationally recognized.
