New voices from Europe. A meeting with CELA authors
22.10, 20:00 / Spółdzielnia Ogniwo, ul. Smolki 11a 

In war-torn Ukraine, a former teacher establishes a book club in a nursing home. A Spanish architect returns to his hometown to confront the truth about his father's involvement in the country’s brutal past. Having overstepped the boundaries of her rural community, a young Czech peasant woman faces trial for her transgression. The protagonists of these stories by emerging European writers confront oppressive systems — the contemporary ones as well as those rooted in the past. Although their fates are embedded in specific socio-political context, there is a universality to their struggles. The CELA (Connecting Emerging Literary Artists) program selects the most compelling emerging European authors to present them to readers at literary festivals around the continent. During this year's Conrad Festival, we will be introducing Antonio Lleras from Spain, Olena Pshenychna from Ukraine, and Sára Zeithammerová from the Czech Republic, whose stories, thanks to translations by Justyna Sterna, Magdalena Ukrainets, and Paulina Zając, will reach Polish audiences. The authors will read excerpts from their texts and, together with their translators, discuss their experiences of writing, translating, and the unique relationship between writer, translator, and story.

Guests: Antonio Lleras, Olena Pshenychna, Sára Zeithammerová, Justyna Sterna, Magalena Ukrainets, Paulina Zając.

What Hemingway doesn’t know. A meeting with Artur Dron
24.10, 14.00 / Cafe-Bookstore NIĆ, ul. Sławkowska 28
Host: Nadia Moroz-Olszańska 

Contemporary reflections on war remain influenced by descriptions and images of the great twentieth-century conflicts, so deeply imprinted on the collective memory, culture and literary canon of the West. But what can Hemingway truly tell us about the war being waged today beyond our eastern border? The acclaimed prose debut of Ukrainian veteran Artur Dron refutes the thesis of the universality of war depictions found in the literary canon. Written while convalescing after being discharged from military service due to injuries sustained in battle, his poignant book confronts the reader with personal experiences from the front lines and forces them to reconsider the meaning of sacrifice and combat.

Translation as disobedience. CELA translators’ debate
24.10, 16.00 / Pałac Potockich

Can a translator stay faithful to the text while disobeying its author? Is expanding the scope of literary language through translation a form of disobedience to the native canon? Is undertaking the task of literary translation tantamount to fighting a battle already lost to new technologies? Or is it an example of admirable dissent, the highest form of literary rebellion? The attitude of young translators presenting readers with works by debutants outside the dominant English language is undoubtedly defiant. How do they understand their work and how does their attitude towards it evolve as their careers develop? This topic will be discussed by participants of the CELA (Connecting Emerging Literary Artists) project – an international initiative supporting literary translation from European languages: Bulgarian, Czech, Spanish, Dutch, Polish, Romanian, Serbian, Slovenian, Ukrainian, and Italian.

Guests: Patrycja Chajęcka, Zofia Kręc, Amina Niepsuj-Wood, Aleksander Podgórny, Marta Talacha, Justyna Sterna, Aleksandra Wójcik, Magdalena Ukrainets, Paulina Zając