As of September 2019, CELA #2 has officially started. We are looking for new participants and are now starting the selection process. If you are a Dutch writer or literary professional, please click here for more information.
CELA (Connecting Emerging Literary Artists) offers a European context to a new generation of literary creators. The first edition of CELA started in 2017 and ran for two years. From September 2019 onward, the second edition of CELA will unfold. Again supported by Creative Europe of the European Union, CELA #2 grows significantly with new partners and more countries.
The only one of its kind in Europe, it brings together 30 emerging authors, 80 emerging translators and 6 emerging literary professionals to show the potential of literature to connect people, to offer a bigger opportunity to small languages and to drive change. Together the participants tackle some of the challenging realities of our age – from increasingly sharp divisions within Europe to a changing book publishing industry – and place them in perspective, share their work, and bridge the gaps between each other, the publishing industry and the European public.
For more information and updates, please visit cela-europe.com.
Literature tells the story of time and people. Although it seems timeless, it is based in the present. It makes us understand each other, it enhances our empathy. It shows the possibility of what it is like to be someone else. As philosopher Martha Nussbaum puts it: ‘As we tell stories about the lives of others, we learn how to imagine what another creature might feel in response to various events. At the same time, we identify with the other creature and learn something about ourselves.’
European countries are rich and diverse in cultural expressions and it is through stories that we can understand our identity and the identity of others. Within Europe, we have to read, to tell and to translate each other’s stories. Literature is one of the strongest, most powerful and resilient forms of art to maintain and share cultural identities. Europe is also very dense with different languages. Sharing literature across European borders therefore requires the translation and promotion of literary works in non-native languages to European audiences.
