A selection of fifteen conversations with Swedish authors and cultural personalities who featured in this year´s digital programme at Book Fair Play, a newly developed streaming service by the Gothenburg Book Fair, will be made available in five languages: English, Spanish, French, German, and Arabic.
Press release 14 October 2020 Launch in conjunction with the Frankfurt Book Fair: Swedish author dialogues from digital Gothenburg Book Fair 2020 subtitled in five languages and spread internationally
Today, Gothenburg Book Fair, the Swedish Arts Council, and the Swedish Institute are launching a new partnership to disseminate conversations about Swedish literature worldwide. A selection of fifteen conversations with Swedish authors and cultural personalities who featured in this year´s digital programme at Book Fair Play, a newly developed streaming service by the Gothenburg Book Fair, will be made available in five languages: English, Spanish, French, German, and Arabic. The dialogues can be found at the Gothenburg Book Fair’s international website www.goteborg-bookfair.com. The dialogues will be spread by the Swedish Arts Council, the Swedish Institute, and several Swedish embassies.
The Frankfurt Buchmesse, Frankfurt Book Fair, is opening in Frankfurt in digital form today. At the same time, the Swedish Arts Council is – within the framework of the Swedish Literature Exchange – releasing this autumn’s edition of the publication New Swedish Books, which presents a selection of books that addresses all those interested in contemporary Swedish literature. Additionally to the publication presented is the cooperation between the Gothenburg Book Fair, the Swedish Arts Council and the Swedish Institute, which makes it possible for those who speak English, Spanish, French, German and Arabic to tune in to a selection of the dialogues with the authors. All in all, fifteen author dialogues from Book Fair Play have been translated and subtitled into these languages. The Swedish Arts Council has funded the translation, except to Spanish, which was funded by the Swedish Embassy in Mexico. The Swedish Institute will make the material available to all Swedish foreign authorities via the digital platform sharingsweden.se, which means that approximately 100 Swedish embassies around the world can spread the talks further.
“There is great interest in Swedish literature and Swedish authors throughout the world. Through Book Fair Play we can act as a catalyst for spreading this year’s publishing to an international audience, which is very exciting. We have made a selection from this year’s Book Fair, mirroring the mix and scope that we think is interesting for several languages”, Oskar Ekström, program director at the Gothenburg Book Fair says.
The content focuses on current Swedish publishing in children’s and youth literature, as well as literary, non-fiction, and crime fiction literature. The dialogues are between 30 and 40 minutes long and will be available at www.goteborg-bookfair.com, each on their own language page.
“This is a welcomed addition to our years-long cooperation on Gothenburg Book Fair Fellowship, the visiting program for international publishers and translators. This year we instead organised webinars and panel dialogues, which we have made available on our website as of today. These dialogues will be a nice bonus for those who want to get deeper insight into Swedish literature in 2020”, Susanne Bergström Larsson, head of Swedish Literature Exchange at the Swedish Arts Council says.
Book Fair Play is a streaming service developed for this year’s Gothenburg Book Fair. Through it, the Gothenburg Book Fair shows its own program of 150 author dialogues that were broadcast and recorded from 24–27 September from various studios in Sweden and abroad, as well as seminars from external collaborators. Already during the Fair Days, Book Fair Play succeeded at reaching out internationally: most viewers were from the Nordic countries, but England, Germany, the USA, and South Africa were examples of countries with a large audience. This new initiative helps strengthen the Gothenburg Book Fair’s international reach.
The Swedish Arts Council has, through the Swedish Literature Exchange, been tasked with promoting Swedish literature in translation. Part of the work is to arrange visiting programs in Sweden, of which the largest is Gothenburg Book Fair Fellowship, with is a scheme of circa thirty participating international publishers and translators with an interest in Swedish literature. This year’s Fellowship programme also took place virtually and included prominent literary critics appearing in panel discussions. The programme is free to view via https://www.kulturradet.se/en/swedishliterature/news/2020/2020-new-swedish-books/
Read more about its activities and the subsidies that can be applied for at www.swedishliterature.se.
The Swedish Institute actively works to increase the surrounding world’s interest in and trust in Sweden. Its digital platform Sharing Sweden is found at https://sharingsweden.se/.
The following dialogues have been selected for translation and subtitling:
Genetic Engineering, Ethics and Intelligence Participants: Torill Kornfeldt, Maria Gunther, Sara Öhrvall, moderator: Lars Mogensen Organiser: Natur och Kultur, Albert Bonniers Förlag, Volante Direct link to Book Fair Play >> English subtitles >> Books in the Grip of Horror Participants: Peter Fröberg Idling, Jack Werner, Mats Strandberg, Jenny Jägerfeld, moderator: Johanna Koljonen Organiser: Natur och Kultur, Norstedts, B.Wahlström Direct link to Book Fair Play >> English subtitles >>
One Life – Three Analyses Participants: Martin Hägglund, Ulf Danielsson, Karin Pettersson, moderator: Johar Bendjelloul Organiser: Fri tanke, Katalys, Volante Direct link to Book Fair Play >> English subtitles >>
Selma Lagerlöf – Timelessly Relevant Participants: Anna Nordlund, Anna-Karin Palm, Mats Malm, Eva-Lis Sirén, moderator: Gunilla Kindstrand Organiser: The Reading Movement in collaboration with the Swedish Academy, The Swedish Literature Bank, the Teaching Foundation and the Mårbacka Foundation Direct link to Book Fair Play >> English subtitles >>
Slow Crime – Bringing Suspense to Book Lovers Participants: Camilla Läckberg, Mattias Edvardsson, Rebecka Edgren Aldén, moderator: Kattis Ahlström Organiser: Forum, Norstedts Direct link to Book Fair Play >> English subtitles >>
Children’s Books – Free Zone or Battlefield? Participants: Kristoffer Leandoer,Christina Wahldén, Fredrik Wadström, moderator: Jenny Aschenbrenner Organiser: Swedish PEN Direct link to Book Fair Play >> English subtitles >>
The 2020 Gothenburg Book Fair was held through Book Fair Play 24–27 September. This year’s themes were READ! READ! READ!, reading promotion, (in collaboration with the Reading Movement), and Digital Culture (in collaboration with Dreamhack, Göteborg & Co, Lin Education, Majblomman and Storytel). The program is freely available at Book Fair Play until 31 December 2020. The 2021 Book Fair will be held 23–26 September.
For more information, please contact: Charlotta Parkås, press contact +46 736 60 69 61 chp@bokmassan.se
