Alternating between languages, to accommodate both message and form, is commonplace for literature in Luxembourg. This multilingualism allows for new avenues of possibility and many authors choose to write for publication in several languages: in Luxembourgish, German, French, or English. Subsequent translations into Italian, Spanish, Swedish, even Bosnian, are not unheard of. In a European context, where most translated works are of American or Anglo-Saxon origin, such a linguistically diverse production is an asset, with as many pros as cons. Indeed, how can the visibility of publications by Luxembourg authors be improved? By widening the scope of its home readership, presenting this unique body of work at literary festivals, in bookshops and media channels, in neighbouring countries and beyond.
To this end, Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg, a new multidisciplinary service to promote cultural activity in Luxembourg, offers tools in specific support of the national publishing landscape, and of the country’s literary creativity, in its various aesthetics and forms, such as fiction, non-fiction, and youth. Kultur | lx supports broadcasting, career development and promotion. It implements actions which enhance the visibility of authors and their publishing houses. It ensures, for instance, that the Luxembourg literary scene is duly represented at festivals, fairs and exhibitions, notably the “Frankfurter Buchmesse”. In close cooperation with various partners from the book industry, Kultur | lx will soon extend its aides even further, in preparation for future national and international events. You may follow all this bustling activity on the website kulturlx.lu.
Let us invite you to delve into books by Luxembourg authors and partake of their bold literary imaginary. May we wish you a pleasant experience of shared multilingualism.
Jean-Philippe Rossignol and Aviva Rübel
Literature and Publishing Department
Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg
14:30/15:30 – Fiction takes the floor: conformism and side step
– Nora Wagener, author of Alle meine Freunde, Éditions Guy Binsfeld
– Tullio Forgiarini, author of Céruse, Hydre Éditions
– Anja Di Bartolomeo, author of Wunderholz, capybarabooks
Moderation: Jeff Thoss
14:00 – Official opening
Minister of Culture, Sam Tanson
14:25/15:30 – The challenges of multilingualism
– Ulrike Bail, author of wie viele faden tief, Conte Verlag
– Guy Helminger, author of Die Lombardi-Affäre, capybarabooks
– Robert Schofield, author of The Treasury of Tales, Black Fountain Press
– Joseph Kayser, author of Lapsuus, Éditions Guy Binsfeld
Moderation: Nathalie Jacoby (Centre national de littérature)
College of Lycée Technique of Lallange
10:30/11:30 – Childhood and imagination
– Yorick Schmit and Dirk Kesseler, « D’Sandmeedchen », Rotondes / Kremart Édition
– Marina Fonseca and Lisa Junius, « Waking the Mountain », Zoom Éditions
Moderation: Béatrice Kneip (RTL)
15:00/16:00 – Bookbloggers : new experiences
– Florian Valerius, (@literarischernerd), Germany
– Jérôme Jaminet, (@derkritischeblick), Luxembourg
Moderation: Valerija Berdi (Radio 100.7)
Black Fountain Press is an English-language publishing house based in Luxembourg. Our focus lies on literary works: novels, short stories, poetry, plays and essays. Writers of all nationalities with a connection to Luxembourg will find us interested in their work. Founded in 2017, Black Fountain Press is open to translation projects and wishes to promote Luxembourg’s writers in Luxembourg and abroad.
blackfountain.lu
The capybara or cabiai, which originally comes from South America, loves to sit in a fresh body of water while keeping its nose in the sun. Because of this wonderful way of life, the founders of the publishing house took on this friendly little animal as a heraldic symbol. Since then, it has appeared on all publications, covering literature, non-fiction and travel books.
capybarabooks.com
Éditions Guy Binsfeld, founded in 1979, has 40 years of experience, know-how and love of the field. Our objective is to keep stories alive.
Our references are multilingual and reflect the essence of Luxembourg nowadays. The fostering of young writers is just as important to us as the promotion of well-known authors. We are active in all fields: literature, illustrated books, travel guides, children’s books and corporate books. Versatility is our credo.
editionsguybinsfeld.lu
For the past 40 years, the publication house Éditions Phi has been actively at play. As a major figure in Luxembourg literature, Phi has launched an internationally renowned collection of poetry, the Graphiti collection. Today, Phi is one of the best known publishers of poetry. The most important names in international poetry are included in their catalogue. Phi publishes an average of 30 books a year and its portfolio includes almost 800 publications.
editionsphi.lu
Schortgen is one of the oldest and largest publishing houses in Luxembourg and exists since 1949. On the first of January 2020 it took over a large part of the book publishing activities of the publishing house Éditions Saint Paul, thus expanding its range of publications. More than 70 years of experience, competence and passion have resulted in a diversified publishing repertoire.
editions-schortgen.lu
Hydre Éditions, which takes its name from the mythological multi-headed snake, is a bilingual (French-German) literary publishing house, founded in Luxembourg in 2012, with an ambitious literary agenda, which publishes contemporary Luxembourg authors of a dense style and whose themes offer an unusual vision of our world.
HydreEditions.eu
KIWI E.L.G. is a publishing house for comics and illustrated books for young readers covering a wide range of subjects, some of them amusing, some of them instructive. The majority of our books contain a section related to the story in question, allowing the reader to learn while being entertained.
editionskiwi.fr
Kremart Edition was established in 2013 with the sole ambition of publishing books that are a pleasure to read. The publishing house features children’s books (creations and translations), small-format series with short stories in Luxembourgish (Smart, Timba, Bucktugou) as well as literary works in Luxembourgish, German and French (Kremart Kanephora).
kremart.lu
Founded in 1993 by Robert Gollo Steffen and Renée Weber, the Op der Lay publishing house is currently under the leadership of Doris Bintner and Eric Steffen. Its main focus is on publishing literary texts in Luxembourgish, German, French and English, as well as monographs and books for children and young adults.
opderlay.lu
Zoom éditions is a children’s publishing house from Luxembourg founded in 2001. Their children’s books cover current social issues, all sorts and types of readings, beautiful stories and contain unique and original illustrations. The only requirement for selection is the pleasure of reading, of discovering and of having fun.
zoomeditions.com