Looking back on the fiction fellowship
In preparation for our Guest of Honour programme at the Gothenburg Book Fair, we are organising several fellowships exclusively for Swedish publishers. Our mission is to introduce them to our literature and authors, with the hope that by 2027, Swedish translations of Flemish authors will be published. Early September, we immersed eight Swedish publishers into the rich and diverse world of Flemish fiction.
DAY 1
Monday, the day of arrival, we assembled for a dinner to get to know one another. Tuesday, we started with an introduction to the Flemish and Dutch book market with Niels Famaey (Flemish Publishers Association) and Esther Scholten (Dutch Publishers Association) with a focus on fiction. Next, we introduced them to our Grand Prize for Literature laureate: Tom Lanoye.
After lunch, three emerging voices took the stage. Journalist Katrien Steyaert talked to Lieselot Mariën, Tiemen Hiemstra and Tijl Nuyts about their debut novels. Later in the afternoon, author Jeroen Olyslaegers took us on a walking trip through Antwerp, inspired by his WWII novel ‘Will’.
I particularly appreciated the visit to the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library, the walk through wartime Antwerp with Jeroen Olyslaegers – and, of course, the thrill of seeing your own beautiful premises (something to be truly envious of).Ingemar Nilsson (Flo förlag)
DAY 2
In the first session of the day, we stretched our limbs and minds while we talked about the (erotic) body in literature with Jana Antonissen, Patricia Jozef and Sulaiman Addonia. Maxime Van Steen, researcher at the University of Ghent, lead the conversation.
For lunch we headed to Hotel Dumont, the Flanders Literature headquarters. The afternoon was dedicated to a mini rights center, which gave the participants the opportunity to meet publishers and agents from publishing houses from The Netherlands and Flanders in 20 minutes speed dates.
It was such a pleasure to meet so many authors and hear them speak about their books. I also very much enjoyed the walking tours. What will stay with me is how enjoyable, rewarding, and fun it was to talk about literature and our slightly quirky book market.Åsa Björck (Historiska Media)
DAY 3
After a refreshing morning walk, we visited one of Antwerp’s best kept secrets: the Nottebohm Room at the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library. Translators from Dutch into Swedish Annika Johansson and Robin Lindqwister told more about some of their favourite titles.
Afterwards, we made our way to the independent bookshop Stad Leest. Our colleague Patrick moderated an interview on (auto)biographical fiction and stories on family (structures) with Lara Taveirne, Angelo Tijssens and Julie Cafmeyer.
After lunch walked to the impressive Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, where authors Maarten Inghels, Anneleen Van Offel and Marieke De Maré gave a literature-infused tour of the collection, whilst they presented their literary work.
The meet ups and the presentations with the authors were very interesting. The speed dating with the publisher and agents was also quite rewarding, both in terms of ideas and personal contact with the authors, publishers and agents.Mårten Ericson (Bokförlaget Augusti)
