The judges of the Rossica Young Translators Prize 2011 have announced a shortlist of 5 entries to go forward for the prize of £500.

In celebration of Yuri Gagrin’s momentous flight into space 50 years ago next week, we are running a competition that is out of this world!

Tatiana Bokova is a popular writer, poet and composer. She has been awarded the Venets Prize for her contribution to children’s literature and has won a number of international songwriting competitions.

Denis Osokin is an award winning author of the Debut Prize and the Star Ticket. His novella Yellowhammers was made into a well known and much acclaimed film, both in Russia and internationally, titled Silent Souls in English.

Alexei Maslov is one of the most renowned Russian non-fiction author and scholars, a TV and radio presenter and the author of more than twenty books and numerous essays on comparative culture, philosophy, Asian studies and East-West encounters.

Jonathan Derbyshire reports from Moscow on Russia's literary scene
I meet Andrei Scoch in the cafe of a smart Moscow hotel, ten minutes' walk from the Kremlin and Red Square. A fit-looking mann of 45 with startlingly blue eyes, Skoch is a member of the Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament, where he sits with Vladimir Putin's United Russia bloc.

It’s time to launch the third week of our competition! Same rules, just update your favorite Russian novel for the 21st Century in 25 words or less.

The first Russian stand at BookExpo America New York, 25 - 27 May 2010 This year the BOOKS FROM RUSSIA stand took part in BookExpo America, the main fair in the American book industry. The stand was organised by the Russian Federal agency for Press and Mass Communications and represented a range of Russian publishers. BookExpo America is currently undergoing major changes, transforming itself from a fair which focused primarily on the domestic market into an international book forum.

by Konstantin Milchin

The forthcoming London Book Fair will provide a special focus on the most talked-about talent in contemporary Russian literature. Russian literature has started to regain the spring in its step in the 21st century. The most interesting works on offer today will be presented at the London Book Fair – Russia Market Focus 2011, which will take place from April 11-13 at Earls Court.

by Fiona Kellagher The fortieth London Book Fair will see the cream of Russia’s publishers and authors converging on Earls Court for the Russian Market Focus. Liz Thomson talks to some of the players and assesses its likely impact

Leading Russian writers billed for the London Book Fair 2011. The London Book Fair with their strategic partner, the British Council, and The Russian Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communication with their official partner Academia Rossica announce the Russia Market Focus Cultural Programme

by Charlotte Williams

Leo Tolstoy's great-great-grandson Vladimir Tolstoy will be among the 49 authors, poets, critics and academics contributing to London Book Fair's Market Focus Cultural Programme this year.

This year, Russia will become the main participant in the international literary event in the UK. Some 50 Russian writers, poets, and literary critics, along with about 70 publishers, will take part in the Russian program at the annual London Book Fair in April."This is very symbolic, that in the 40th year of the London Book Fair, Russia has become its central party," says the head of the event, Alister Bertenshou.

by Catherine Neilan

The London Book Fair has selected Russia as the market focus and guest of honour for 2011's event, in conjunction with the Russian Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communication.

Find out the winning answers to our first New Russian Classics competition and see everyone's favourite Russian novels in 25 word, 21st Century versions!

Video poetry is a new phenomena in the contemporary Russian arts scene. In today’s world, media has no limits - information is mixed together with a myriad of fast, dynamic images, and punchy sounds. Video poetry has incorporated these elements that are all around us and used them to create a new art form which has become extremely popular in Russia during the last couple of years. Leading experimental poets and film directors, including Kirill Serebrennikov and Valeria Gai Germanika, amongst others, have come together to create films based on poems read by the poets themselves. The performances are also strongly influenced by European artists of the 70s and 80s, such as Gianni Toti, Richard Kostelanetz, Arnaldo Antunes and Caterina Davinio, whose experimental work was considered arthouse and cutting edge thirty years ago, but seems to strike a chord with the world we live in today. In our culture of multi-media, the merging of poetry, music and film feels only natural. ACADEMIA ROSSICA will be premiering three programmes of video poetry at SLOVO literature festival. The three programmes will offer a unique opportunity to see the works of fifteen of the most important names in Russian video poetry, including Andrei Rodionov, Inna Kabysh and Alina Butokhnovskaya. Programme 1 & 3 will be screened at the Apollo Cinema, Piccadilly at 18.30 on 20 & 22 April. To book tickets, call 0871 220 6000 or go to www.apollocinemas.com Programme 2 includes readings from cutting edge contemporary Russian and British poets and takes place at Calvert 22 art gallery at 18.30. Attendance is by invitation only. These events are part of the SLOVO festival and organised in collaboration with Tom Chivers and Penned in the Margins. These programmes are curated by Andrei Rodionov, one of the leading contemporary Russian poets and Ekaterina Troepolskaya, who also curates the Piataya Noga video poetry festival.