Press releases

MINSK, 8 February (BelTA) – Writers from 15 countries will come to Minsk to take part in the second international literature symposium Writer and Time: Continuity in Literature, BelTA learned from Belarusian Information Minister Lilia Ananich.

Taking part in the symposium will be representatives of Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, China, Turkey, Israel, and Italy.

According to Lilia Ananich, it is very important that the symposium will not be focused purely on well-known writers and classic literature. It will also provide an incentive to the rise of national literature. The symposium will include a seminar for young wordsmiths from Belarus and Russia. The Minister said she hopes that men and women of letters from other countries will join the event later on.

Alexander Karlyukevich, Editor-in-Chief of the Belarusian newspaper Zvyazda, noted that a roundtable session will be held in the National Library of Belarus on 9 February before the international symposium. The session will be focused on artistic translation matters. Later on writers, students of literature, critics, publicists, novelists, and translators will be invited to take part in a thorough discussion about the mutual influence of literatures, about what works should be selected for translation in order to captivate readers.

A seminar for young writers will take place on 10 February as part of the symposium. The young writers will include winners of the Bridge of Friendship contest held within the framework of the Union State of Belarus and Russia. A contest for young writers will be announced during the seminar. The winner will get his or her book published by the symposium to be held in 2017.

The main events and the plenary session of the second international literature symposium Writer and Time: Continuity in Literature will be held on 11 February. Broad discussions about various matters will be arranged.

The Russian delegation will be extensive. Among other people it will include Secretary of the Union of Writers of Russia Valery Kazakov, First Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the magazine Nash Sovremennik Alexander Kozintsev, Editor-in-Chief of the Roman-Gazeta magazine Yuri Kozlov and many other poets and novelists.

It is worth noting that many guests will bring gifts such as their own published books or works by modern Belarusian writers that have been published by various media.

“It seems to me that this kind of contacts testifies to the fact that literature develops, that it is interesting for other countries,” said Alexander Karlyukevich.

The 23^rd Minsk International Book Fair will take place on 10-14 February. Book publishers from 29 countries will be active participants of the fair’s events. Armenia will be represented as a guest of honor.

The forum has been organized by the Belarusian Information Ministry and the Minsk city administration.