The Migrant and the Other in the Perspective of Concise Literary Genres and Adding Lesser-used European Languages

Start: 2015

End: 2017

Partner:          ICU OOD (Bulgaria)   Publishers

Action: Creative Europe        Literary translation projects

 

Summary:

The project enriches publisher’s profile and readers’ experience by digging deeper into the topic of migration and the image of the Other in literature. These fundamental human relations are engraved onto the modern multicultural European consciousness. Selecting works of outstanding literary qualities, we broaden the declared publishing niche by adding different genres (novels, short stories) and countries (Malta, Croatia, Serbia, Libya, Egypt, Ireland, UK). The project envisions the translation, publication and active promotion of 5 books: 2 novels (Toibin, Matar) and 3 short-story collections (Mejlak, Novakovich and a 23-stories book by 23 authors, edited by Z. Smith). They are all awarded contemporary writers who address issues of the formation of multicultural identities and inspire mutual tolerance. The Maltese Mejlak resides in Bruxelles with his Estonian girlfriend; Croatian-born Novakovich lives in Canada, his stories of war and lust are set in the Balkans; Matar is Libyan by origin, born in New York and living in London; the colossus of contemporary Irish fiction Toibin has turned the topic of living abroad and the preservation of a personal identity into his literary leitmotif. Smith’s selection of storytellers is skillfully intertwined in the project to the benefit of the migration theme. The project aims to further involve Bulgarian readers in the context of multiculturalism and continue the trend of making them active part of the cultural map of European literature.Three of the authors will be introduced for the very first time in Bulgaria. All titles have not been previously translated into Bulgarian and represent a noteworthy contribution for a better understanding of present-day literary Europe.ICU selects its creative teams with extensive care. We work with established and award-winning editors and translators and we aim at broadening the visibility of translators’ work. The results so far show that we follow the right path.

 

Website: http://icu-bg.com/en/