The presence of the Society of European Authors (SeA) in Brussels should be seen as part of the "nomadic conferences"

These conferences are caravans of authors, translators and literary mediators and are focused on the question of circulation of  books in Europe. Via these encounters and converstations, we would like to gradually help the emergence of a common, diverse and mutlilingual common culture, to create passageways and crossings. 

The SeA networks, which is being created, will jointly present its project and moderate an encounter between authors, translators and european editors, each of whom are working, given their own level and tools, within a concrete intellectual, literary and textual European space. 

"Translating Europe"

Beyond markets and their rules, beyond the competition between the big European publishing houses, the question of translation is firstly the very condition of possibility of discussion within the European space. While in its very functioning the European Commission is a place where languages and idioms circulate, in the case of literature and the humanities, the texts have a hard time leaving the obligatory path through the master language, English. How can we prevent discussion from becoming impoverished by passing through a language which most of the time we do not speak well? How can we make it possible for what we write here to be read elsewhere? How to transmit texts from one end of Europe to another? 
Europe has no common language but it can build a common culture is we multiply circulation, privilege encounters, translate as much as possible and embrace the idea that multilingualism really is European culture.
Programme of the evening

Welcome and introduction by the members of the SeA office

19h-19h15: Introduction

19h14-20h30: Translating Europe

Discussion lead by Leyla Dakhli (SeA), with:
- Timour Muhidine (translator and teacher at INALCO): "Translating Europe in Turkey"

- Lionel Ruffel (Maitre de conferences in comparative literature, Universite Paris VIII-Saint Denis): "Comparing literatures in translation: a heresy or a way towards a more natural dialogue"

- Jean Mattern (Editor at Gallimard "Le monde entier"): "What is "the foreign domain" for the publishers?"

- Olivier Mannoni, translator, president of the ATLF and a sponsor of the SeA: "Circulation of texts in Europe and the vocation of the translator"
20h30-21h15: Towards a Society of European Authors?

Presentation of the project with some of the SeA members:

- Maren Sell (publisher)
- Camille de Toledo (author, director)
- Mathias Enard (author, translator)
- Gilles Collard (director of the revue Pylone)
- Jefferson Selve (literary critic)
- Leyla Dakhli (historian)

The evening will finish with a discussion with the public over drinks.