Learn how to become a Nobel Laureate

Among the distinguished visitors to the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2014 (ADIBF) will be Professor Kjell Espmark, member of the Swedish Academy of Letters and one of the five members of the Noble Prize Committee that selects the winner of the most coveted literary prize in the world.

Prof. Espmark was chairman of the Literary Nobel Committee when the Swedish Academy gave the Nobel Prize in Literature to a writer in Arabic for the first time in 1998 to Naguib Mahfouz of Egypt. No Arab author has won a Nobel Prize for Literature since then.

The UAE’s publishing industry will get a chance to hear from the horse’s mouth about the inside story of selecting the winner of the annual Noble Prize for Literature. The Noble Prize for Literature carries a monetary value depending on the income of the foundation, a gold medal, and a diploma with a citation. The richest literary award in the world carried Swedish kronor 8 million ($1.2 million) in 2012.

Readers will also get a chance to meet him and get signed copies of his books. Espmark, 84, is an eminent poet, writer, literary historian and professor emeritus of literature.

Speaking to Emirates 24|7, Max Bjhur, Sweden’s Ambassador to the UAE, said his country is happy to be the guest of honour for ADIBF 2014. The diplomatic mission is making all efforts to make it an eventful week with a line up of literary figures, publishers, translators and e-publishers from Sweden, who will enlighten the Middle East’s literary world.

“The UAE is trying to learn from how a small European country like Sweden has attained such a high position in world literature. We are also bringing in a member of authors and publishers who are keen to get their works translated into Arabic,” said Bjhur.

“Swedish literarture enjoys a considerable status in the world. Its unique and bold approach in appraisal of contemporary society has made it one of the ten most translated languages globally. Between 2006 and 2010, more than 3,300 titles were translated into other languages,” the Ambassador said.

Sweden’s association with quality literature is fostered by the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature, one of the five categories for which the annual Noble Prize is awarded. Hundreds of literary figures visit Stockholm every year for the annual Noble Prize distribution event.

During a session on ‘Whys and Why Nots of the Nobel Prizes’, Prof Espmark will enlighten the audience about the inner workings of the most prestigious literary award in the world. Professor Espmark is author of “The Noble Prize in Literature: A Study of the Criteria Behind the Choices”. He has also got his own novels translated into 10 languages and poetry into 20 languages (including Arabic).

The Ambassador said the UAE is a country that shares many commonalities with Sweden. “Sweden is a small country of less than 10 million people, matching the size of the UAE in population. Literary people and authors here are eager to know how such a small country could produce well known international authors and develop a flourishing publishing industry. The president of the Swedish publishing association will also be attending the book fair,” he said.

“Swedish literature has strong roots in crime fiction and children’s stories. Of the nearly fifty languages Swedish literature has been translated into, half of the books belong to the popular “Nordic Noir” or Scandinavian crime fiction. Children’s fiction is equally popular in Sweden, with every one in 10 books published being a children’s book,” Bjhur said.

The Nobel Prize in Literature is derived from a fund created from the fortune left by inventor and industrialist Alfred Nobel (1833–96). The fund is managed by the Nobel Foundation and the task of selecting the recipient of the annual literary prize was entrusted to the Swedish Academy by Nobel in his will. The first Nobel Prize was awarded in 1901 and more than 100 awards have been distributed so far.

Those entitled to nominate candidates for the prize are the members of the Swedish Academy, members of academies and societies similar to it in membership and aims, professors of literature and language, former Nobel laureates in literature, and the presidents of writers’ organisations which are representative of their country’s literary production.

Visitors to ADIBF will also get a chance to get signed copies from Swedish authors flown in for the book fair.

“This is the most prestigious book fair in the region and Sweden and other Nordic countries are curious about Arabic literature. We hope more Arabic books will be translated into Swedish and popular Swedish books will be translated into Arabic,” said the ambassador.

Children’s writing and illustration workshops, detective workshops, special kitchen shows, translation training, science fiction writing seminars, poetry and music sessions, electronic publishing are among the list of interactive programmes at the Swedish Pavilion during the ADIBF from April 30 to May 5.

There will be a discussion sofa, e-zone, creativity and illustrator’s corners, featuring Swedish authors and illustrators, Swedish chefs, musicians and artists. There will be interactive sessions for children, with games, film clips, books and traditional Swedish dishes.

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