A Postcard from Barcelona

Publishers are also tourists. Taking photographs of the never to be finished (?) Sagrada Família by Gaudí, which we came upon at the end of a street one evening, one of many pleasing surprises during the Schwob fellowship in Barcelona in June, hosted by Institut Ramon Llull. Publishers from France, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Romania, Finland, The Netherlands, Turkey and Wales were taken on a journey of discovery through the modern classics of their own countries and those of Spain and Catalonia. We returned home informed, having met publishers, agents, authors, translators and booksellers – could there really be over 30 bookshops in the Gracia district of Barcelona? – and inspired by the the city and its vibrant literary scene. MICK FELTON

A Postcard from the Flemish Parliament

In each delegate folder at the Goudfazant network meeting at the Flemish Parliament in May were four postcards by Ingrid Godon. This is Marie & Roos. I then discovered that the Dutch writer, Toon Tellegen, has written texts to accompany these unusal portraits and that these are gathered in a book for children and adults alike. On each page, there is a portrait and Tellegen imagines the thoughts going through the person's mind. The book has been translated into French and German. The French translation is by Maurice Lomré, published as J'aimerais by La Joie de Lire, Geneva in 2013. The original Dutch title is Ik wou (Uitgeverij Lannoo, 2011). The Goudfazant network gathers together European translation funding bodies twice a year to discuss best practice.

A Postcard from Berlin