Forum on crime fiction and society
Crime fiction’s impact on society will be the main subject of two international forums in Athens this week, both at the French Institute (31 Sina Street), where Greek and foreign writers will meet to exchange their views. The forum begins tomorrow with a round-table discussion on «Crime Fiction and the Foreigner – Immigration at the Heart of the Crime Novel.» The session will include a panel of leading writers: Algerian writer Yasmina Khadra, Turkey’s Esmahan Aykol, Germany’s Jacob Arjouni, as well as locals Andreas Apostolidis and Petros Markaris. Wednesday’s topic – «Crime Fiction in the Mediterranean – Does Mediterranean Crime Fiction Exist?» – will be examined by an international panel of writers comprising Spaniard Alfonso Salazar, Italian Carlo Lucarelli, Frenchman Thierry Jonquet and local writer Petros Martinidis. Simultaneous translation in Greek will be provided on both days. The two-day discussion will be followed by a screening of a Greek documentary, «Crime in the Ancient Agora,» by Angelos Abazoglou, with simultaneous translation in French and German, at the Psyrri cinema (44 Sarri, Psyrri). The documentary examines modern Greek reality and reveals, through the writing of novelist Petros Markaris, a society where hardship and humanity coexist. Preceding all the activity, the renowned Algerian writer Khadra, who writes in French, will be at the FNAC bookstore at The Mall in the northern Athenian suburb of Maroussi today at 7 p.m. to sign copies of his books and for discussion with journalists. Khadra, born Mohamed Moulessehoul, has appealed to readers in various parts of the world on the strength of his daring approach to painful subjects. Lucarelli, the Italian writer taking part in Wednesday’s discussion at the French Institute, will also hold a book-signing session at 6 p.m. tomorrow at the Ianos bookstore (24 Stadiou Street). The Kastaniotis publishing house has just released his latest Greek-language title, «Mera Me Ti Mera» (Day by Day). Co-organizers behind these events include the National Book Center, the European Center for the Translation of Literature and the Human Sciences (EKEMEL), the Cervantes Institute, and Kastaniotis.
