OPENING OF THE RUSSIAN STAND (Y505)
Monday 20th April, 12:30pm
On the first day of the 2009 London Book Fair, Academia Rossica’s Russian stand will be officially opened at 2:30pm. The stand is situated next to the PEN literary cafe, plot number Y505.
Throughout the LBF, the Russian stand will be the base for Russian publishers, translators and the host of distinguished contemporary Russian writers who are in the UK as a part of Russian Literature Week. It will be a place where those interested in new Russian writing, the translation of great novels, short stories and poems being produced in Russia today and the Russian publishing scene will congregate.
Russian books, both in the original Russian and English translation, will be displayed at the main part of the Russian stand. Just across the aisle, however, visitors can also relax in the informal ‘Writers Lounge’ where you will always be able to find one or more influential figures from the Russian literary world.
As well as a showcase for the best examples and some of the brightest stars of Russian writing, Academia Rossica’s stand will be the base for the series of discussions and announcements taking place during the LBF. Here you will also be able to find out about the events of Russian Literature Week (20th-26th April) happening in London and across the UK.
A number of distinguished guests will be present for the official opening of the Russian stand. They include Mr Yuri Fedotov (ambassador of the Russian Federation to Britain), Mr Mikhail Seslavinsky (Head of the Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications) and the visiting Russian writers; Mikhail Shishkin, Dmitri Bykov, Olga Slavnikova, Alexander Terekhov and Vladimir Makanin.