The 5th EU-China Int’l Literary Festivalto take place

The delegation of the European Union to China has announced that the 5th EU-China International Literary Festival will take place from Nov.12 to Dec.6.

Building on the success of the previous four festivals where top authors from China and Europe came together in a wide range of public discussions to present their work and share ideas, the festival’s fifth edition welcomes a host of exciting literary talent from China and across the 27 Member States of the European Union.

The festival, which will be held online this year because of the COVID-19, will comprise 27 events, each one featuring a European writer to represent their country and a leading Chinese author.

Its theme ‘Recovery/Reflection’ examines through the eyes of the writers how the world is responding to the global issues of the day and celebrates the role of literature and thoughtful debate across our societies.

The 5th EU-China International Literary Festival boasts an amazing line-up of leading writers and thinkers from Europe and China who will engage in three weeks of lively literary discussion.

Some of the European authors selected to participate include David Wagner from Germany, Colm Toibin from Ireland, Andres Barba from Spain, Stina Jackson from Sweden, Christophe Ono-Dit-Biot from France, Dorthe Nors from Denmark, Daan Heerma van Voss from The Netherlandsand many more.

Representing China the festival is delighted to welcome a host of legendary literary talents including Liu Zhenyun, Bi Feiyu, Liang Hong, Xi Zhou, A Yi, Zhang Yueran, Cai Jun, Stanley Chen, Lu Min, Xiong Liang, etc.

Speaking before the opening of the festival, H.E. Nicolas Chapuis, Ambassador of the European Union to China, said: “I am delighted to welcome you to the 5th – but very first online – edition of the EU-China International Literary Festival. We all have to live through these extraordinary times. We have had to leave our comfort zones and find creative and innovative ways to keep connected with each other. This has also been the case of the EU-China International Literary Festival. Moving this annual festival online does not only allow us to reach to listeners and readers all over China, it also demonstrates how highly we believe that culture can help to strengthen resilience during a crisis.”

Speaking of the theme of the festival this year, ‘Recovery/Reflection,’ Chapuis added that literature can indeed help us to better understand the world around us. “Books can remind us not to forget our values when times are getting rough. Reading can enable us to reflect how to turn a crisis into an opportunity, to steer the ship safely through stormy weathers into a brighter future,” he said.