This story was contributed by Efrat Lev, Foreign Rights Director at the Harris/Elon Literary Agency in Jerusalem. She participated in this year’s Editorial Fellows Program at the Jerusalem International Book Fair.
Those of us living in this country and region know that everything in our lives is political; and those attending this year’s lively Jerusalem International Book Fair experienced first-hand that even a book fair can be influenced by the complicated situation in the Middle East. It was obvious that the increase in the number of attendees at the Fair should be attributed to the relative calm and the current cautious optimism felt here after the change of the Palestinian leadership. The opening ceremony of the Fair was a good indication of this, when the head of Israel’s Publishers’ Association discussed in his address the recent cease-fire negotiations. He was followed by the esteemed novelist David Grossman, who talked about a writer’s life in Israel during these difficult years, and the hopes for change in light of recent developments.
Politics proved dominant in many events at the Fair, from a panel discussion with foreign journalists who have written books about the Middle East, to the most exciting event of all–the literary exchange between Israeli, Arab and Middle Eastern writers, which took place at the Sheikh Hussein Bridge connecting Israel and Jordan. The 48 fellows of the twentieth Editorial Fellows Program, editors and agents from fourteen countries, were also greatly exposed to the politics in Israeli life, in listening to the guest speakers or in their tour of Jerusalem’s Old City.
The Bridge event, sponsored mainly by the von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, was planned and organized by Deborah Harris of Israel’s Harris/Elon Agency, who realized over the years that there has been no dialogue between Israeli and Arab authors at the Fair. Over 300 participants, including the fellows and other international publishing professionals, local and foreign press and writers and poets gathered on a beautiful sunny day to discuss literature together, trying to leave behind-if not forgetting–political differences. The atmosphere was relaxed and the discussions were held in good spirit, moderated by Michael Naumann, former German Minister of Culture. The topics of discussion were “How Does Language and Place Affect Your Identity as a Writer” and “Can Writers Change the World”. The authors and poets who participated in the discussions and readings were speakers of Hebrew, Arabic, French, English, Dutch & Turkish. To an inquiry about whether there are any real political benefits to such a meeting, noted Israeli author A.B. Yehoshua replied, “This is another drop of engine oil in the wheels of peace…for me, this may be yet another meeting of many that took place already and will continue to take place–but I will never tire of such events.” The happy faces and the extraordinary human connections made that day indicated that indeed there can, and should be a link between literature and politics.
A more industry-oriented event at the Fair was the International Buzz Forum, moderated by PW‘s Daisy Maryles, at which editors and agents presented current projects. Some of the titles discussed were Charles Lambert‘s Fern Seed (Isobel Dixon at Blake Friedmann, UK), The Lost Thoughts of Soldiers by Delia Falconer (Fran Bryson, Australia), Chosen: The History of An Idea, An Anatomy of An Obsession by Avi Beker (Scott Mendel, U.S.), and Julie and Julia: 365 days/524 recipes/One crappy apartment kitchen by Julie Powell (Wylie). The Israeli authors who created interest among the editors this year were Sayed Kashua (Harris/Elon), Etgar Keret (The Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature), and newcomers Alon Hilu (Harris/Elon) and Maya Arad (Xargol Publishers).
