Victoria Sedova

In this interview, I am talking with Fraser Sutherland from Toronto about his experience with translation projects. He is the author of 17 books, several of them have been translated to French, Italian, Serbian, Turkish, and Ukrainian.

VICTORIA SEDOVA. Throughout your writing career you’ve had several books translated from English to various languages. How do you feel about having your work presented to readers across the world with different cultures and different languages?

This year the Scotiabank Giller Light Bash will take place on November 5 at CBC headquarters in Studio 40. It will be hosted by Kevin Sylvester, a writer and news broadcaster, who is most known for his book series "Neil Flambé Capers.” The event is sponsored by Kobo, Penguin Random House, Walrus Magazine, and Steam Whistle Brewery among others. This is an amazing literary event and a chance to meet best Canadian authors and even win an autographed set of the Giller Prize shortlisted books. I will make sure to attend.

The short list will be announced on October 8 and the long list looks very impressive:

- Dennis Bock for “Going Home Again”
- Joseph Boyden “The Orenda”
- Lynn Coady for “Hellgoing”
- Craig Davidson for “Cataract City”

In this interview, I am talking with Christina Kilbourne from Bracebridge, ON about her experience with translation projects. She is the author of five books, several of them have been translated into Ukrainian, Slovenian, and Portuguese.

VICTORIA SEDOVA. One of your previously published books has been recently translated into Ukrainian and launched in Ukraine. Please share your experience about this translation project.

Tomorrow is one of my most anticipated literary events of the year – The Word on the Street (www.thewordonthestreet.ca). For me it equals the Stanley Cup Final and the Super Bowl. I hope the weather will cooperate tomorrow and it won’t be raining all day as it was today. The Word on the Street is the place to be for the most exciting books and literary news of the year. It is also the place for authors and book lovers to gather, meet old friends, make new friends, chat with many prominent authors, talk to book publishers, buy a few great books, and have a lot of fun. There is something for everyone and it makes the Word on the Street a truly unique and exciting event! I will post my Word on the Street report tomorrow. I am sure there will be a lot to talk about!

The Ukrainian International Book Fair wrapped up yesterday after a week of book readings, award presentations, book launches, authors’ interviews, and many other exciting literary events. I have to say that this book fair does not really compare in size or attendance to the Frankfurt Book Fair or the London Book Fair, but is it the largest annual book fair in Ukraine and therefore people like myself, who make a living by translating literature from English to Ukrainian and Russian, really pay attention to this important annual event. I was particularly interested in the Translit Festival during the fair, which is the largest event in Ukraine promoting literary translations from and to Ukrainian.

I've just returned from an exciting trip to visit the Eden Mills Writers' Festival in Guelph. I believe today was the festival’s 25th anniversary. I was pleasantly surprised to see how many people were actually there and how engaging and enthusiastic the crowd was. As an author, I am always happy to see so many people of all ages and different backgrounds showing strong interest in books and literature in general. Who said the book publishing industry in Canada was in crisis? It did not appear to be that way at all at the Eden Mills Writers' Festival today.

Today is Friday the 13th and the fear of this unlucky day crawls into our minds whether we choose to accept it or not. Any month that begins on a Sunday will contain a Friday the 13th, and there is at least one Friday the 13th in every calendar year. While in 21st century it may seem like an outdated concept to fear this particular day, the superstition still exists. You may have noticed that many hospitals don’t have room 13, many buildings don’t have 13th floor, many airports don’t have gate 13, and fewer people are willing to get married on the 13th.

Canadian publishing industry went through significant transformation during the last few years and the process is still unfolding. Should Canadian authors worry? Let’s take a look at the facts. McArthur & Company publishing closed just a few months ago after almost 15 years in business. Thomas Allen Publishers was acquired by Dundurn in August. Key Porter had to shut down its doors about a year ago due to financial issues. Douglas & McIntyre had to file for bankruptcy after almost 40 years in business and was eventually sold to Harbour Publishing. The most troubling is of course sale of Canadian publishing legend, McClelland & Stewart, to Random House of Canada, which is owned by Bertelsmann from Germany. And last but not least, the mega-merger of Random House and Penguin.

Christina Kilbourne, a fellow writer from Muskoka, will launch her latest novel “The Flickering Light” on September 22, from 2 to 4 pm at Arts at the Albion, 100 Muskoka Road North, Gravenhurst, Ontario P1P 1S4. For additional information about the event please visit www.artsatthealbion.com or www.christinakilbourne.com.

The 26th Moscow International Book Fair opened this week in Russia featuring exhibitors and visitors from over 60 countries around the world. Participants include Russian and international publishers, book distributors, literary agents, translators, book printers, and librarians. The fair was established in 1977 and become one of the largest annual book fairs in Europe but virtually unknown to publishers in Canada. As a literary translator who mainly translates from English to Russian and Ukrainian, I visit the Moscow International Book Fair whenever I can but never see any Canadian publishers there or literary agents selling rights to Canadian books.

This year I spent Labour Day weekend with my family at the CNE. We used to go there all the time but missed it last two years for a variety of reasons. As always there was so much to do and so much to see at the CNE. Whether you are interested in arts and crafts, rides and games, exotic food, acrobatic shows, animals or music – it was all there scattered throughout the CNE grounds.

The Sand Sculpture competition impressed me the most. It was absolutely remarkable to see how the artists were able to make such creative, very detailed, and gigantic sculptures using just sand and water. Very talented sculptors from several countries participated in this competition, including Canada, US, Italy, Netherlands, and Russia.

September happens to be one of my most favourite times of the year and certainly perfect timing for me to blog for Open Book Toronto. I am very excited about this opportunity and look forward to sharing my thoughts and observations in my WIR blog.

By some reason I usually write the best of my poetry right after the end of the summer. Watching leaves turning red and summer slowly fading away bring a lot of inspiration to me, especially when I write about love, relationships, dreams, and hopes. I wonder if any other writers feel the same way? Is poetry writing a “seasonal” thing or is it just me?