Bridging the gaps between neighboring countries, project CELA

Mirt Komel, Slovenian writer, Lucia Gaja Scuteri, Slovenian-Italian translator, and Frank Tazelaar, moderator, and director of one of the partners in the project, Wintertuin, a literary production house in Netherlands will speak about the CELA (Connecting Emerging Literary Artists) project. During the conversation they will present the operation of the CELA project and its concrete results. Mirt Komel will present what such projects can mean for the author of a smaller language and together with the translator Lucia Gaja they will try to answer the question of whether the gaps between the languages of neighboring countries are smaller or larger. They will talk about Italian-Slovenian cooperation and what Slovenian and Italian readers expect from authors and publishers. At the end, they will reflect on the challenges they faced with the project and at the same time they will look to the future, as the CELA project will get its third version in 2024.

Co-organizer: CELA EU

ABOUT THE PROJECT:

CELA (Connecting Emerging Literary Artists) unites 30 emerging writers, 79 emerging translators and 6 emerging literary professionals across 10 European countries and mentors them during a 4-year period. By building a growing network of literary artists across Europe through translating and promoting literary works in non-native languages, CELA aims to break through uneven literary infrastructures in different countries, and to open possibilities to reach European audiences beyond borders. The project is filled with assignments, writing and translation workshops, residencies, specialization courses, performances, and collaborations. Through working together and sharing their work, the partners, and participants of CELA are bridging the gaps between each other, the publishing industry, and the European public.

Photo: Gaby Jongenelen

Mirt Komel is philosopher and writer, working and writing in-between Nova Gorica and Ljubljana in Slovenia. He studied at the University of Ljubljana, completing a PhD in Philosophy in 2010 at the Department of Philosophy at the Faculty of Arts , and now teaches at the Department of Cultural Studies of the Faculty of Social Sciences. In 2015 he published his first novel with the Goga publishing house, Pianistov dotik (The Pianist’s Touch), followed by his second novel in 2018, Medsočje (Sontius Notes), both of which were shortlisted for the prestigious Slovenian Kresnik Award for literature. His third novel, Detektiv Dante (Detective Dante), was published in 2021 and in year 2023 he published his fourth novel Akiles.

Photo: Gaby Jongenelen

Born in Ljubljana (1985), Lucia Gaja grew up in Naples. After completing her master’s degree in Eastern European Languages and Literatures (majoring in Slovene Language and Literature, Czech Language and Literature and Central Eastern European History) at the Faculty of Arts of University in Naples ‘L’Orientale’. In 2017 she was awarded a PhD in Contemporary History and Slovene Linguistics at the University of Primorska in Koper. She’s been promoting Slovene literature and culture in Southern Italy since her undergraduate studies as a translator, interpreter and as co-organizer of cultural and academic events. She now works as a freelance translator from Slovenian into Italian and as a cultural mediator.

Photo: Gaby Jongenelen

Frank Tazelaar is concept developer, essayist, publisher, and programmer. He is the director of Wintertuin and initiator of CELA, head of the Creative Writing Department at ArtEZ University of the Arts, and intendant of the interdisciplinary production company De Nieuwe Oost. He is also the president of the EACWP and co-owner of a bookstore in Arnhem, Hijman in Netherlands.