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Write creatively – come and join a workshop

Weekend workshops with Max Cegielski and Jerzy Franczak, classes with Duży Format reporters, along with a series of meetings with editors working for the leading Polish publishing houses – we announce the first details of this year’s creative writing workshops’ programme.

 

Weekend Writing Workshops

From February to December we encourage everyone to take part in classes, during which – together with our invited guests – we will give you some tips and pointers on how to write, how to do it well and how to get a shot at having your book published.

Our first guest will be Jerzy Franczak – writer, essayist and creative writing lecturer at the Jagiellonian University, who will take the participants on a journey through the world of writing about emotions and teach them how to convey them in text. We will also learn about how to lead the reader on and how to make the emotional message in the text non-obvious, and yet unforgettable.

The workshop will take place on February 25th at 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. You can find out more about how to sign up here.

The workshop in March, delivered by Max Cegielski will be about journeys. Max is a journalist, writer and traveller, radio and TV presenter, as well as author of the MAXMASALA blog.

In spring we will have an opportunity to take part in two-day creative writing workshop with the reporters of Duży Format. The classes will be held by Anna Śmigulec, Renata Radłowska and Konrad Oprzędek – book authors and renowned journalists, working for the most important magazines in Poland (including Duży Format and Wysokie Obcasy). In April they will tell us about finding a topic for a report, talking with the hero and learning how to write using someone else’s texts.

You can find out more about the upcoming workshop on the Creative Writing Course website.

 

Meetings (not only) with editors

This year we also have a series of meetings and lectures accompanying the Creative Writing Course, proposed and organised by Maria Kula – editor, founder of the Novel Writing School. It is her who will host the Meetings with Editors – ones working for the largest Polish publishing houses.

Before their literary debut, the authors most often than not have no idea about what they should expect from a publishing house, so they submit their texts blindly. When they do not get an answer, the manuscript – often along with the dream of publishing a book – gets put away. On the other hand, every day the publishers are flooded with dozens of book proposals, which are often not in line with their expectations. The meeting of free, open “Meetings” was created to try and change this situation – allow both sides to get to know each other and understand expectations. The first meeting as a part of the series will take place in March and will cover fiction. Future meetings will feature editors of children’s literature, non-fiction and fantasy / science fiction.

 

UNESCO City of Literature Creative Writing Course

All these classes announce yet another edition of the Creative Writing Course, initiated in 2015 as part of the Debut Support Programme (which also comprises the Conrad Award, handed out to the best literary debut of the previous year). During many intense months filled with workshops with writers, image experts, the most important editors from large Polish publishing houses and dozens of specialists, the participants learn the process of writing literature from scratch – starting with an idea and a first good sentence, through hard editing work, up to the ways of getting the attention of even the busiest publisher.

In order to make it easier for the participants, at the end of the course, an anthology of participants’ short stories is compiled and submitted to the largest publishing houses in Poland. Ahsan Ridha Hassan, who completed the first edition of the course – released his debut novel – Wieża (The Tower), dubbed a debut worthy of Neil Gaiman. In just few days, his latest book – Trupojad i dziewczyna – will be available on the market.

The second anthology summing up the 2016 edition of the Course will be published as e-book early in March. Using this opportunity, we will also reveal more about another edition of the Course. Stay sharp!

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The Conrad Festival was distinguished by the prestigious Penguin Random House – one of the most important English publishing houses in the world.  The festival, which is organised by the City of Krakow, Krakow Festival Office and Tygodnik Powszechny Foundation was named one of the 20 literary events worth visiting. The Academy of Writers appreciated the idea of the festival connected with the figure of Joseph Conrad, focusing on combining diverse traditions by the writer.

The group deemed the Conrad Festival to be one of the 20 most important festivals in the world and a must-see for every lover of literature. The Academy conducts creative writing courses for writers. The jury has selected the final 20 events from among hundreds of literary festivals and events organised even in the most remote places in the world. Conrad Festival was listed among such prestigious events as: Edinburgh International Book Festival, Hay Festival, Sydney Writers’ Festival and Berlin International Literature Festival. The Academy mentioned the value of the main idea of the festival, connected with Joseph Conrad. The writer combined various traditions, and yet he never fully erased the borderlines between them. He wrote in English, but he always emphasised that every text written in this language is a translation from a foreign language, a result of an endless translation of ideas into others. The literary work of Joseph Conrad, which symbolises international literary communication, was also appreciated. The writer created inspiring stories, which allow us to better understand people who lived somewhere else.

We would like to remind that every year almost 15000 participants visit the Conrad Festival.

Penguin Random House is a British publishing house, founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane. It took over the market by publishing books at prices affordable for the wide audience. As of now, Penguin is one of the most influential British publishing houses, as it significantly influenced British culture, as well as politics, education and social awareness. Currently, the publishing house offers books for children and adults, including fiction books, guides and popular science books in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, South America, Africa and Asia. It employs 10 000 workers and publishes 15 000 titles every single year. The list of authors published by Penguin comprises over 70 Nobel Prize laureates, as well as the most popular writers from all over the world.

56000 e-books downloaded by the participants of Read.PL campaign, 19 editions of the Second Life of a Book, successful literary festivals, dozens of hours of hard work during the UNESCO Creative Writing Course and over 200 events in book stores, organised as part of the first edition of the municipal readership support programme. 2016 – the fourth year with the UNESCO City of Literature title – proved how important are the activities planned years in advance by Krakow Festival Office in close cooperation with literary scene. The electronic version of the report is available at www.raport.miastoliteratury.pl.

The literary season was inaugurated in a symbolic way during an open-air book sale on Pl. Św. Marii Magdaleny, which attracted crowds of literature lovers. At the same time, the Internet users could stumble upon our #TLDRxP campaign, transforming the popular slogan “Too Long, Didn’t Read” into “This Literature Deserves Reading. By doing so together with a group of campaign supporters, including Krystyna Janda, AKURAT and Bartek Chaciński we declared war against not reading being a fashion statement.

fot. Wojciech Wandzel, www.wandzelphoto.com

fot. Inga Szeligaunspecified1fot. Inga Szeliga

Yet again, the monthly literary walks and the Second Life of a Book exchanges enjoyed great popularity among the readers. The August edition of the book exchange at MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow saw over 600 visitors and participants! In February, Krakow adopted the municipal strategy for developing literary life and readership. The resolution, adopted by the city councillors empowered the Mayor to secure funds in the existing cultural budget for activities aimed at developing readership culture and strengthening the activities of literary circles. The document also comprises a strategy of library modernisation, development of grants and scholarships for writers, support for literary festivals, as well as programmes for local publishers and independent book stores. We also welcomed Félix Kaputu – our new beneficiary of the ICORN Cities of Refuge Network – to the capital of Małopolska.

During the last year’s Miłosz Festival – widely considered to be the largest poetry event in Poland – the most important Polish poetrty award, the Wisława Szymborska Award was handed out. Among the guests of the festival was the Syrian poet Adonis, considered to be one of the contenders for the Nobel Prize, as well as Stefan Hertmans, author of the famous War and Turpentine. During the festival, we also saw another edition of the Children Literature Festival in Krakow, which – as always – attracted crowds of the youngest readers, who participated in many meetings, shows and workshops. At the turn of spring and summer, we experienced a true culmination of poetry with the Poetry Night taking place right then.

fot. Tomasz Wiech

5. Festiwal Miłosza, fot. Michał Ramus 5. Festiwal Miłosza, fot. Michał Ramus 5. Festiwal Miłosza, fot. Tomasz Wiech

Supporting novice writers is among the most important elements of literary education programme, implemented as part of the UNESCO City of Literature. The especially rich and diverse programme of the Creative Writing Courses organised by Krakow UNESCO City of Literature covered a Mystery Book Writing Course spanning six months, featuring the leading authors of the genre – Katarzyna Bonda, Mariusz Czubaj – as well as numerous valued industry experts. We also saw many workshops devoted to selected issues, such as a series of three meetings with authors of literary portraits of the Kazimierz district as part of the O_KAZ project, carried out together with Cheder café. For the second time we were also present at the Jewish Culture Festival with a special literary programme. Additionally, last year we created a programme for supporting cultural activities at book stores, thus also creating the first competition in Poland for foundations and associations planning to organise literary events in brick and mortar book stores.

Autumn started with a celebration of the 95th birthday of Stanisław Lem – the most popular Polish writer of all times, who spent his entire adult life connected to Krakow. In September and October we carried on with a series of open-air book sales, significantly complementing their programmes with educational events. Thanks to the “Shelves with Culture” campaign we were also present in 17 hospitals and social care agencies, where we installed our shelves with newly released books.

 

fot. Wojciech Wandzel, www.wandzelphoto.com

fot. Wojciech Wandzel, www.wandzelphoto.comfot. Wojciech Wandzel, www.wandzelphoto.com fot. Hasenien Dousery | www.blackshadowstudio.com

The key element of the Krakow UNESCO City of Literature programme is the Conrad Festival, the 8th edition of which attracted over 100 guests from all over the world to Krakow. The newly opened space for culture in Czeczotka House was filled with the sound of over a dozen languages from all over the world. Among the writers and authors who met with their readers were the Booker Prize laureates – Richard Flanagan and Eleanor Catton, Andrzej Stasiuk and Mikołaj Trzaska, Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours and the star of the Academy Award-winning Son of Saul, Géza Röhrig. The festival was concluded by the second Conrad Award Gala, during which we handed out the prize for the literary debut of the year. By the decision of the readers and guests of the Festival, the statuette went to Żanna Słoniowska for Dom z witrażem.

2016 ended with second edition of Read.PL campaign – the largest campaign for promoting readership in Poland. This year we were present in 16 cities in Poland. Read.PL is one of the most innovative campaigns, combining literature with new technologies, inspiring numerous similar initiatives. The ever-expanding character of the campaign, as well as widely welcomed initiatives such as “Reader Friendly Employer” show that positive example in our immediate environment is the best way to encourage reading.

This year will be marked by great literary events – the year of Joseph Conrad-Korzeniowski, the year of the Krakow Avant-Garde and the year of Stanisław Wyspiański. We will inform about the details soon.

 


We also prepared an electronic version of this report, available at www.raport.miastoliteratury.pl. Feel free to visit, read, remember and plan another great literary year in Krakow with us!

 

We invite everyone to an open meeting with Felix Kaputu – a writer from Congo, scientist, literary scholar and social activist, who spend last year in Krakow as part of the ICORN Cities of Refuge Network. The meeting will take place tomorrow (February 10th) at 2:00 p.m. at De Revolutionibus Books&Cafe (Bracka 14). The meeting will be hosted by the journalist of the Polish Radio, Dariusz Rosiak.

Born in 1959, Felix Kaputu is an expert in African Studies, art and philosophy. In the course of his scientific career, he also researched gender, mythology and African literature. He carried out scientific research and taught students in the US, Japan and Belgium. In 2003 he received scholarships from the Fulbright Foundation and the University of California. An author of 6 books and almost 60 articles on the difficult situation of women in Africa, as well as the issues of HIV and AIDS.

 

Felix Kaputu

 

Felix Kaputu spent the last year in Krakow, and his stay in the city was organised by: the City of Krakow, Krakow Festival Office and Villa Decius Association. During that time he discovered and participated in the literary life in our city, created and gave lectures. The residents also had an opportunity to meet him in person during many organised meetings.

Krakow joined the ICORN Network in 2011 (Year of Czesław Miłosz) as the first member city of the network from Central and Eastern Europe. The ICORN Network, which offers asylum to writers and human rights activists, who cannot create and live in their own countries due to persecution was founded in Norway in 2005. Among its originators was one of the most persecuted writers of the 20th century – Salman Rushdie, whose Satanic Verses  sparked violent protests in the Islamic world and caused Ayatollah Khomeini to issue the famous fatwa urging any true Muslim to kill the writer. When Krakow joined ICORN, the organisation pointed out the Polish city as an important and valuable candidate, which will serve as a role model for other cities in this region of Europe. Helge Lunde, ICORN director pointed out that thanks to the cultural traditions, as well as rich artistic and literary life in the city, Krakow will be a perfect place for the persecuted authors to find refuge and inspiration.

He also emphasised the geopolitical position of the city, calling Krakow “the gate to the East”, which is important from the standpoint of helping many persecuted writers in countries east of Poland. Since that year, Krakow hosted five authors: Maria Amelie (a.k.a. Madina Salamowa from Northern Osetia, currently in Norway), Kareem Amer (Egypt, currently in Norway), Mostafa Zamaninija (Iran), Lawon Barczewski (Belarus) and Asli Erdogan (Turkey). ICORN is constantly expanding – currently the network comprises over 50 cities, and its activities are one of the most important voices in the world, calling for the freedom of speech and expression, as well as for international solidarity. Over the course of a decade, ICORN has found temporary refuge for hundreds of writers, scholars, bloggers and human rights activists. The network coordinates the shelter cities programme, as well as collaborates with the governments in the hosting countries and numerous organisations around the world, fighting for freedom of speech and human rights.

Felix Kaputu is a beneficiary of a grant from the City of Krakow as part of the ICORN Cities of Refuge Network. The ICORN programme in Krakow is coordinated by Krakow Festival Office and operated by Villa Decius Association.

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ICORN

The international collaboration as part of the ICORN Network holds a strategic position in the Krakow UNESCO City of Literature Programme, which encompasses a development strategy comprising 10 main thematic areas, including development of links between literature and human rights. Felix Kaputu is a beneficiary of a grant from the City of Krakow as part of the ICORN Cities of Refuge Network. The ICORN programme in Krakow is coordinated by Krakow Festival Office and operated by Villa Decius Association.

Find out more about ICORN at www.icorn.org

In 2018, two UNESCO Creative Cities in Poland – Krakow and Katowice – will join forces to host the prestigious Annual Meeting of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN). Delegates from nearly 200 cities and 6 continents will arrive in Poland to take part in debates, plenary sessions, workshops, cultural activities and more! The conference theme “Creative Crossroads” will explore opportunities for innovations that are born from cross-sectoral cooperation and collaboration.

Till today, the UCCN Annual Meeting has been held in cities such as Chengdu (China), Kanazawa (Japan), or Östersund (Sweden). What distinguishes the upcoming summit are the combined efforts of Krakow UNESCO City of Literature and Katowice UNESCO City of Music to organize this prestigious gathering. This will be the first instance that two cities in the network co-organize the event.

During the nearly week-long itinerary, the delegates will participate in formal plenary sessions, which will tackle issues like the strategic development of the Network, and sub-group meetings and workshops in each creative field (film, music, literature, media arts, design, gastronomy, crafts and folk art). Official meetings for the UCCN Steering Committee are also planned. This is especially key, as Krakow has served as the Coordinator of the Cities of Literature and one of seven members of the UCCN Steering Committee since 2014. The delegates will also have a platform to present international projects and to share best practices.

It is not by accident that the Annual Meeting will take place in June. Two important cultural events in the festival calendars of the two Host Cities will coincide with the Annual Meeting — the Miłosz Poetry Festival and the Garden of Sounds World Music Festival.  Both cities will be officially presented as the 2018 hosts during the 2017 Annual Meeting, which takes place this year in the French city of  Enghiens-les-Bains in June.

The Creative Cities Network is a UNESCO program launched in 2004 with the aim to promote cooperation between cities that base their sustainable development strategies on the creative economy. Cities may hold titles in 1 of 7 fields: literature, music, film, media arts, design, crafts and folk art, and gastronomy. Membership not only brings prestige but also the opportunity and responsibility to develop strategic programs that strengthen local creative centres and the exchange of knowledge and best practices between cities around the world.

The first Creative City in Poland was Krakow, which earned the titled of UNESCO City of Literature in 2013 as the first Slavic and second non-native English-speaking city in the literature sub-group. Since the days of Wisława Szymborska, Czesław Miłosz, Stanisław Lem and Joseph Conrad, Krakow has created the first municipal strategy for the development of the literary sector and book market, implementing pioneering programs that support literary debuts and emerging writers, develop the cultural life of bookstores, nurture cooperation with publishers, expand the scope and influence of the leading regional and national literature festivals — Conrad Literature Festival and Miłosz Poetry Festival, strengthen the largest International Book Fair in Poland and create innovative projects that utilize new technologies in the promotion of reading and literature, such as ReadPL!. The Annual Meeting will be a significant milestone in the year-long celebrations of Krakow’s 5th anniversary in the Creative Cities Network.

Present-day Krakow is an IFEA recognized International Festival City, as well as a member of the Festival Cities Network, the International Cities of Refuge Netowrk (ICORN), which offers shelter for persecuted writers, and the Network for Innovation in Culture and Creativity in Europe (N.I.C.E.). It is also a dynamic Central European centre for educational excellence with 250 000 students and a flourishing business hub of 150 companies registered in the BPO sector. Krakow is a city which effectively connects its rich tradition and heritage with its vibrant and magnetic contemporary reality.  The 2018 Annual Meeting will follow the 41st Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, which will be held  in Krakow in July of this year. This only further accentuates the balance and productive partnership between heritage and modern creativity that exists in the city and informs its development.

I welcomed the news of Krakow and Katowice’s success with great pride and joy. It is an honour for us to host the UCCN Annual Meeting – said Jacek Majchrowski, President of the City of Krakow. The presence of such distinguished delegates from around the world in our two cities is not only an opportunity to better integrate the network or the exchange best practices, but also to underscore the value and contribution of knowledge and creativity in the sustainable development of cities.

Konferecja prasowa Kongresu Sieci Miast Kreatywnych UNESCO Kraków - Katowice 2018, materiały KBF

Konferecja prasowa Kongresu Sieci Miast Kreatywnych UNESCO Kraków – Katowice 2018, materiały KBF

Katowice, a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network since 2015, is the first UNESCO City of Music in Central-Eastern Europe. It is a city with impressive tradition: composition schools with Henryk Mikołaj Górecki and Wojciech Kilar at their head, the amateur music movement reaching as far back as 100 years ago, or the unquestionable contribution to Polish jazz (Department of Jazz and Popular Music at the Music Academy) and blues (Rawa Blues Festival — the largest indoor blues festival in the world). Today’s Katowice draw millions of music fans for its summer music festivals (Off Festival, New Music Festival) and symphony concerts held at its exquisite halls of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR) in Katowice. Katowice have implemented a unique municipal program for the development of the music sector, supporting emerging artists on their path to professionalisation, creating an incubator for music production, and carrying out a grant system for music projects. The international scope of Katowice’s work was confirmed by the decision to host the 2017 edition of the WOMEX World Music Expo (25-29 October). It will be the first edition of this significant world music event in Poland.

In our third year of membership in the Creative Cities Network, Katowice will be a co-organizer of the most important annual event of the Network. It is a great honour for our city. I treat it as recognition of the innovative and ambitious municipal programme for the development of the music and creative industries in Katowice. I am delighted that our partner is Krakow, which has supported us continually over the years on our path from a post-industrial city to a city of the creative industries. – said Marcin Krupa, President of the City of Katowice.

Located in close proximity to one another, Krakow and Katowice have for years enjoyed a unique and symbiotic economic, cultural and academic relationship as well as a mutually strengthening labour market. Krakow — once the capital of Poland and among the first objects inscribed to the World Heritage List, a leading academic hub of 23 higher education institutions and the cultural capital of Poland — and Katowice — the young and dynamic city with an industrial past, undergoing intense transformation — differ greatly in terms of history, and yet they are connected by their bold focus on the future and consistent strategies to develop their respective economies and communities by investing in creativity and culture. Since 2014, both cities award the prestigious Wojciech Kilar Award for Film Music and exchange knowledge and best practices as part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. With each passing year, „Krakowice” – an ambitious vision for a creative megapolis in Southern Poland — transforms from the daring vision of urban planners and cultural managers to a vibrant reality.

Read  The Official UNESCO letter 

You can now find it in on-line stores, and soon it will also be available in the best book stores in Poland! Życie literackie w Krakowie, an inspiring journey back in time starting with the cafés in the period of Young Poland, through the legendary venues of the Polish People’s Republic to the alternative cyber-culture of the 21st century, with Jacek Olczyk discussing literature created in Krakow over the course of the last 120 years. This is yet another book published under patronage of Krakow – UNESCO City of Literature.

The publication is a result of Jacek Olczyk’s research, spanning several years. He went through diaries, letters, as well as good and bad press in order to create this panorama, the first of its kind in the long history of the city. A panorama comprising tasty gossip, colourful speculations, denunciations, discussions and arguments, ups and downs, fighting for freedom and for a table in a fashionable venue – everything that you would never find in a scientific article or a school book. This is a story of a great and not-so-great literature created by the residents, lovers and enemies of Krakow across over 120 years.

The book can successfully serve as a literary guide to the cultural capital of Poland, which leads the reader through the trail of not only the most important aspects of Polish literature, while also allowing them to take a sneak peek behind the scenes.

Jacek Olczyk is a literature historian, obtained a post-graduate degree at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow and at INALCO in Paris. In 2008-2012 he worked as a Polish teacher at the Blaise Pascal University in Clermont-Ferrand (France). Laureate of the Scholarship of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage in 2013. Author of Reading Małopolska (Krakow, 2012). Translator of works by Georges Perec.

zycie_literackie_w_krakowie

 

An excerpt from Życie literackie w Krakowie:
“Although it is an often forgotten fact, literary life is a part of the literary history, comprising not only the most outstanding works and giant volumes containing literary works ordered with encyclopaedic diligence by professionals and scholars; literary history is not only about the awards, distinctions or privileges awarded to the writers – it is also about everyday events, about everything that happens behind the scenes in the moments of greatness, turbulent times and sometimes even decay. The history of literature also includes a diverse world of writers’ biographies, the diversity and clarity of which makes for a unique atmosphere of a given place. Krakow stands out from among other cities with its remarkably rich history of literary life, from its birth in the times of the Renaissance, through the decades of apathy during the Saxon rule to the end of the 19th century, when the cultural life in the city started flourishing and developing, which continues to the present day. Literary life is like a lens presenting the zeitgeist of an era, and it is thanks to the detailed descriptions of the places, people, events and anecdotes that we can learn more about the rhythm of the cultural heart of Krakow.”

 

You can find the book at the Art Bunker Gallery Bookstore, the Korporacja Ha!art publishing house on-line store and on Allegro.pl. The book will be also available soon in the best book stores in Poland.

This is the sixth year with the Second Life of a Book campaign! During last year’s campaign, 19 editions of the event attracted 20 000 people, whoexchanged more than 5000 books, and shelves with newly published books were installed in many of Krakow’s hospitals and social care agencies. The fact that the culture of book exchanges in Krakow and Małopolska region is getting better can be proven by the exchanges inspired by our campaign, which took place last year in Nowy Sącz and Tarnów.

The programme of free exchanges planned for this year is as intense as it always has been – we are going to meet 16 times in many interesting locations. Responding to the requests of the participants, we are going to prepare two special editions with children’s literature and English literature: the first one will take place at the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology during the Children Literature Festival, and English books will be exchanged on the European Day of Languages at the Arteteka – Voivodeship Public Library in Krakow. We will also come to various other places, such as Netia OFF Camera campus, Vintage and Retro “Kogel-Mogel” fairs, MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art and Księgarnia Podróżnicza Bo-no-bo bookstore.

As always, the self-serve shelves of the Second Life of a Book will also be installed during the Miłosz and Conrad Festivals. When using these shelves, you should remember about the 1:1 rule – for every book you take, leave one in exchange.

The rules of participation in the Second Life of a Book campaign are simple – just bring a book, you can also bring more – up to ten. You should also pay attention to the state of your books – remember that you are bringing them so that others may use them! Books published before 1995 will be exchanged only for other books published before 1995. Those who bring new books (published after 1995) can select anything from newer and older books.

The books live as long as they are read. Give them a second life and get other interesting titles! Join us during the exchanges!

kwadrat-dzk-2017-1

 

 

You can find the full schedule and the rules here.

The Second Life of a Book campaign is organised by: The City of Krakow and Krakow Festival Office – operator of the Kraków – UNESCO City of Literature programme

 

 

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