elena medel and beatriz serrano
This year, EUROPALIA is dedicated to Spain, something that has not gone unnoticed at Passa Porta. Elena Medel will be our writer-in-residence in November. She made her international breakthrough with her first novel, The Wonders. Her compatriot Beatriz Serrano, who made a name for herself in Spain and abroad with her novel Discontent, will visit her in Brussels. Together they will be interviewed by Jana Antonissen, who made a welcome entry into the literary world this year with Ludwig.
In collaboration with EUROPALIA and Instituto Cervantes Brussels
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the wonders
Elena Medel is the author of three poetry collections and two books of essays which all won her awards and prestige in her home country. But it was her debut novel that gave her a reputation in our country too. The Wonders follows a grandmother and her granddaughter in Madrid between 1969 and 2018, two women who never met but who share the same experiences of hard work, inequality and loneliness.
“a vivid and painfully intimate account of two easily overlooked lives”
discontent
One of the stand-out books of the summer came from Madrid-based Beatriz Serrano. Her debut novel, Discontent, introduced readers to Marisa, head of ‘creative strategy’ at an advertising agency, a job she performs with hilarious reluctance. Her worst nightmare is a team-building trip during which she has to give a speech to her colleagues – the trip turns into an unforgettable weekend. The novel was translated into Dutch by Lies Doms, the Belgian translator selected by Passa Porta for the European talent development programme CELA.
“a tremendously entertaining debut novel”
europalia
We are organizing this meeting as part of EUROPALIA España and with the support of Instituto Cervantes, but Medel and Serrano share much more than a nationality. They are contemporaries and the important themes in their work – such as feminism, social inequality, the daily grind of an unsatisfying job and life in the big city – will undoubtedly provide plenty of topics for discussion, especially since interviewer Jana Antonissen has already shown a great affinity for these themes in her own literary and journalistic work.
about the authors
Elena Medel (b. 1985, Córdoba) is a writer based in Madrid. She has received several literary awards for both her poetry collections and her debut novel, The Wonders, translated into fifteen languages.
Beatriz Serrano (b. 1989, Madrid) is a journalist and presenter. She has written for magazines such as Vanity Fair and Vogue and currently works for El País. Discontent was her debut novel, and her second novel was shortlisted for the Premio Planeta 2024.
about the moderator
Jana Antonissen (b. 1992) is a Belgian journalist and columnist who writes essays and stories. She has a column in De Morgen and her debut novel Ludwig was recently published by De Bezige Bij. She lives alternately in Brussels and Berlin.
Elena Medel’s residency at Passa Porta is supported by Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) through PICE (Programme for the Internationalization of Spanish Culture).
pictures: elena medel © laura c. vela, beatriz serrano © arduino vannucchi, jana antonissen © marianne hommersom
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