28 August 2019 The realities of Polish literature Conrad Festival presents its first accompanying stream
Join us for a debate about the condition of the publishing market, the lifespan of the book and the latest reading trends, as well as to discover small children’s publishing houses. All of this will be available as part of the Book Industries, bringing together publishers and book market researchers. The first stream of events accompanying the Conrad Festival will run from the 23rd to the 26th of October.
During our open debates, we will try and identify actual spaces and realities occupied by literature these days. We invited the representatives of the book industry to join us in the debates. What are the realities governing the functioning of Polish literature? This question will serve as the leitmotif of this year’s debates concerning the condition of the publishing market and the Krakow literary field.
The open meetings addressed to the literary industry, taking place as part of the Book Industries stream, will be inaugurated on the 23rd of October at 4:00 p.m. with Drama or Life? On the condition of the literary field at De Revolutionibus Books & Café. The starting point for our debate will be sociological studies on the literary community in Krakow. What does the report have to say about literary life and the city itself? Does Krakow support literature? What needs to be repaired as quickly as possible, what needs to be changed in future? The conclusions of the report will be presented by Anna Fiń and Monika Miszczuk-Wereszczyńska. At 6:00 p.m., you can join us for another debate, devoted to the news from the book market and publishing trends. Where does the popularity of certain genres and themes come from? How are reading tastes created and shaped? Is it possible to counteract the short lifespan of a book? Krzysztof Cieślik, translator and literary critic, Magdalena Dębowska, literary agent and founder of Karakter publishing house, and Sonia Draga, editor-in-chief of Wydawnictwo Sonia Draga publishing house will talk about ways to solve the problems of the book market.
On the 24th of October at 9:00 a.m. we will go to the Wyspiański Pavilion for a meeting hosted by the employees of the Dwie Siostry publishing house, during which we will present announcements of new books by small children’s publishing houses. The event is addressed to booksellers and librarians, as well as for all lovers of children’s and young adult literature who want to be in the know. At 2:00 p.m., De Revolutionibus Books & Café will host a debate entitled Places or Museums of Literature?, concerning houses of literature. What are they and what role do they play in cities? What issues to they face? How should they be financed? How can they combine opening up to the needs of visitors with the high quality of their offer? Marcin Hamkało, director of the Pan Tadeusz Museum in Wrocław, Szymon Kloska, coordinator of the Lem 2021 programme on behalf of the Krakow – UNESCO City of Literature, and Jáchym Topol,programme director of the Václav Havel Library in Prague, will talk about these issues. The debate will be accompanied by a presentation by JEMS Architekci – creators of the architectural design of the Planet Lem Centre for Literature and Language in Krakow, explaining how to translate strategies into actual architectural projects. Both meetings will be hosted by Marcin Wilk.
For the first time during the Book Industries stream, we will also explore the links between literature and film under the joint Word2Picture programme, presented jointly with the Krakow Film Commission. We would like to invite all participants from the literary circles – and others – to join us in the debate, which will serve as an opportunity to combine a pen and a director’s eye. We will share the details of the Word2Picture programme in a separate announcement.
