The prestigious Literarisches Colloquium Berlin (LCB) will dedicate one day of its winter program to contemporary Catalan literature. It will be the next one December 2from 19:30 hours, and will coincide with the residence of Catalan women writers Andrea Genovart i Marta Pera Cucurellwho have been the first authors selected for the residency under the collaboration agreement established with the Ramon Llull Institute, and which will make it possible to have two places in the Berlin residency for Catalan-language authors each year. The LCB thus joins the Institute’s strategic residencies program, which already had collaboration agreements with other residencies such as Art Omi, Château de Lavigny and Casamia.
The event will begin with a conversation about perspectivesthe context and the trends current trends in Catalan literature with the participation of translators Michael Ebmeyer i Kirsten Brandtand the literary critic and editor Oriol Viader. The three have participated in the editing and translation of texts for the monograph day hour dedicated to contemporary Catalan literature. The magazine includes texts translated into German by more than twenty Catalan authors.
After an overview that will provide context to the audience, there will be two talks that will present the work of the two resident authors. Andrea Genovart will talk to Kirsten Brandt and Marta Pera will talk to Michael Ebmeyer. Fragments of his works will be read, in Catalan and German.
Literarisches Colloquium Berlin is a forum for reflection, experimental workshop and talent factory, which promotes exchange and interaction with foreign institutions. Founded in 1963, it is one of the most recognized literary institutions in Europe and internationally, and has established itself as a reference space for creation, exchange and contemporary literary reflection.
The international writing residence is located in a villa from the Wilhelminian era, next to the Wannsee, and has a large number of partners and collaborators. They host a variety of public events, be it book launches, outdoor festivals, reading courses on small stages or comic book openings, meetups, a playwrights’ lab or fairs.
Participants of the day
Andrea Genovart (Barcelona, 1993) has a degree in Literary Theory and Comparative Literature from the University of Barcelona and a Master’s in Cultural Management from the Factoría de Arte y Desarrollo de Madrid. He has been part of the contemporary artistic creation project Espositivo (Madrid) and has written scripts for advertising spots. He currently collaborates in El País, in the press of various publishers and in the communication of the bookshop La Central.Preferred consumptionwon the 8th Llibres Anagrama de Novel Award and has been translated into Spanish by the same publisher.
Marta Pera Cucurell (Mataró, 1959) works professionally in literary translation and writes poetry. She has translated more than a hundred works of fiction, essays and poetry by great writers, current and classic: Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Katherine Mansfield, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Doris Lessing, Margaret Atwood, Flannery O’Connor, Edith Wharton, Mary Shelley, Percy B. Shelley, Vladimir Nabokov, Henry James, William Faulkner, Joseph Conrad, Franz Kafka, Robert Musil, Peter Handke, Salman Rushdie, Colum McCann… She is the author of the book The fifth essence of dust Poetry Collection Award 2018 and has received the Jordi Domènech Poetry Translation Award for Master of Disguise by Charles Simic (2014), the Valencian Writers Criticism Award and the Ángel Crespo Award for the translation of the book Letters to my motherby Sylvia Plath (2024), and the City of Barcelona Award 2023 for the translation ofOrlandoby Virginia Woolf.
Michael Ebmeyer (Bonn, 1973) is a writer, translator and journalist who lives in Berlin. He has published four novels, as well as non-fiction books. His latest book isriot Zur Aktualität einer Idee(with images by Roland Schappert, Heidelberg 2025). His penultimate book,The answer is non-binary: an allegation in favor of subversive thinkingwas published in 2024 in a Catalan version, translated by Joan Ferrarons i Llagostera.
Michael Ebmeyer(Bonn, 1973) translates from Catalan, Spanish and English. He is a German translator of Najat El Hachmi, Ennatu Domingo and Jordi Puntí.
Kirsten Brandt(Friedberg, Hessen, 1963) is a German philologist and translator. Translates from Catalan, Spanish and Portuguese. He has translated Carme Riera, Josep Pla, Jaume Cabré and Eugeni Xammar from Catalan.
Oriol Viader(Barcelona, 1994). It is dedicated to the publishing sector from different areas, both editing and in the business part. As an author, he has published in different anthologies of short stories and some of his stories have been translated into German in the collectionIch verpreche dir einen schönen Sommer(2021). He edited and prefaced the anthologyWer sind wir, wer(2025) on new Catalan literature and collaborates with independent media such as Jotdown Cultural Magazine or the art and literature magazine Pájaro azul. Currently, he investigates the constructions of the story around the idea of fate and predestination, and works as an editorial consultant for different companies in the sector.
day hour
The prestigious German literary magazineday hour Zeitschrift für Literatur, Kunst und Critic(Journal of literature, art and criticism) has just published the monographic issue“Wer sind wir, wer. Neue Stimmen aus Katalonien”dedicated entirely to contemporary Catalan literature. The volume, edited byOriol Viader and Kirsten Brandtoffers a wide range of voices and genres that reflect the vitality and diversity of current Catalan lyrics.
The issue, which has the support of the Ramon Llull Institute, includes texts by more than twenty Catalan authors. Specifically, we find fragments of the works ofMaria Arimany, Borja Bagunyà, Eva Baltasar, Max Besora, Blai Bonet, Roser Cabré-Verdiell, Mireia Calafell, Alba Dalmau, Juana Dolores, Víctor García Tur, Andrea Genovart, Pol Guasch, Carlota Gurt, Joan-Lluís Lluís, Ángeles Moreno, Jordi Masó, Marta Orriols, Anna Pazos, Josep Pedrals, Albert Pijuan, Irene Pujadas, Raquel Santanera, Martí Sales, Maria Sevilla Paris, Irene Solà and Blanca Llum Vidal
The translations into German have been carried out by renowned translators such asMichael Ebmeyer, Jay Uhlemann, Axel Sanjosé, Guillermo Alvarez Sellán, Birgit Kirberg, Ursula Bachhausen, Laura Hahn, Laura Obradors Nogueraor the sameKirsten Brandt.
The publication also features illustrations byEnrique Garay,Bea SalasiUncle Guimmade expressly for publication.
