And it is that idea, Being on the road, that’s been chosen as the unifying theme of the Brussels Book Fair, which is taking place at Tour et Taxis from the 22nd until the 25th of February. More than four hundred publishing houses, bookshops, creative writing and illustration workshops, academies, cultural institutions, have come to share their passion for literature and the printed page. From different parts of the globe, authors come to meet and engage with their readers, talk about their past and current projects, they want to share their passion and despair, the secret joy they find in writing.

“I’m not interested in simply denouncing that torture is bad,” said Asli Erdogan, Turkish journalist and fiction writer, guest of honour at the Brussels Book Fair. “Of course torture is bad, most of us will agree on that. But I prefer to write with ambivalence, to invite the reader to ask herself the questions that are pertinent. She has to reflect for herself; otherwise, society cannot change. And for that I need literature.”

On Thursday 22nd, at Bozar Centre for Fine Arts, Erdogan talked about freedom of speech in Turkey with Kurdish writer and lawyer, Burhan Sönmez, and journalist Kerenn Elkaïm. On Saturday she held a discussion with Paris-based, Morocco-born novelist Tahar Ben Jalloun, where they discussed the changes that have happened in Turkey since the creation of the Turkish Republic, the gradual erosion of secularism and women’s liberties, and the grim situation in the Kurdish region.

“I find Turkey fascinating, full of contradictions,” Erdogan said. “Women have been slowly losing liberties, and yet, the support for Erdogan among women is very high. Between 50 and 60% of women support Erdogan. And at the same time, women have been at the forefront of all the activist movements. This is Turkey. And despite all the terrible, painful things I have experienced and seen there, I am in love with my language, its musicality. I don’t ever want to lose it.”

On Friday night, the stand of Librebook bookshop hosted several writers who have made Brussels their home. Some of those present were: Damir Omeragić (BH), Veronika Valentová (CZ), Katarína Varsiková (SK), Mauricio Ruiz (MX), Loranne Vella (MT), Giuseppe Porcaro (IT/EN), Benito Martinez (CU), Aurelio Crespo (PT), Aile Alavee (EE), Pernilla Jourde (SE), Patrick Lowie (BE/FR) and Grażyna Plebanek (PL/EN). Librebook also invited EU Prize Winners: Carolina Schutti (AT), Gabriela Babnik (SLO), and Ioana Parvulescu (RO).

The fair has several forums and pavilions where discussions and panel debates are held. Europe’s square: dedicated to books and authors exploring themes of current interest in Europe; On the road: literature that takes its reader to enjoy other cultures and distant landscapes, past and present; Literary journey: popular and established writers; Words from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific: discovering the universe and voices from writers in other parts of the world; Thrillers and detectives; Destination teens and kids.

The book fair ends on Sunday evening, but not before some well-esteemed writers take the floor and greet their audiences. A few of them: Thomas Gunzing and Odile d’Oultremont, Myriam Leroy, Diane Ducret, Grégoire Delacourt, Olivier Guez, Viktor Lazlo, among many others.

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“We are very interested in promoting diversity. That’s one of our goals,” said Mr. Henrique Mota, president of the FEP. “Even if two writers from different countries talk about the same subject, they will bring different perspectives.”

“I want to thank the organizers for this,” said Osvalds Zebris, winner from Latvia. “These awards are crucial for artists in small countries like mine. This is a great opportunity to make our work known in Europe and abroad.”

The event was carried out in the main hall at the Concert Noble, where a screen behind the stage had been set up to watch the ceremony live, as well as video interviews with the twelve winners. On each side of the stage, large oil paintings of the Belgian Royal family hung on the walls, one showing an image of a young King Leopold II looking stern, long-bearded and in military uniform, the other of a young Queen Consort Marie Henriette of Austria in profile. Overhead, five nineteenth century flemish chandeliers lit up the room.

The twelve winners were:

1. Rudi Erebara (Albania)
2. Ina Vultchanova (Bulgaria)
3. Bianca Bellová (Czech Republic)
4. Kallia Papadaki (Greece)
5. Halldóra K. Thorodssen (Iceland)
6. Osvalds Zebris (Latvia)
7. Walid Nabhan (Malta)
8. Aleksandar Becanovic (Montenegro)
9. Jamal Ouariachi (The Netherlands)
10. Darko Tusevljakovic (Serbia)
11. Sine Ergün (Turkey)
12. Sunjeev Sahota (UK)

“I wrote this book so my kids could have a memory,” said Rudi Erabara, the first writer to come up on stage. “That is something very important for me and for my country.”

All twelve authors but one were awarded for a novel. The exception was Sine Ergün, whose short story collection “Baştankara,” has been acclaimed in Turkey. Some of her stories are one page long.

When asked on the reasons behind her interest in such compressed stories she said, “I’m the editor of a literary magazine in Turkey. I’ve read dozens and dozens of stories and I’ve developed an eye for what is essential and what’s not. My drafts are often several pages long. But then I cut things out. Things that are not needed for the story to move you.”

One of the authors, Walid Nabhan, has chosen to write in Maltese, a language that is not the author’s mother tongue. Born in Amman in 1966 to Palestinian parents, he moved to Malta when he was twenty four.

“When I moved to Malta in 1990, Malta embraced me,” said Nabhan. “I was able to make Malta my home.”

His novel, Exodus of Storks, tells the story of a Palestinian man called Nabil who has lived all his life outside his homeland. The events in the novel take place in Jordan, where Nabil was brought up and where his father continued to live until his death; and also Malta, where the protagonist ended up later in life.

“The character in the story is haunted by ghosts of the past. The novel is an attempt to understand many of the things that have happened since 1967. It’s an attempt to understand my own life, my family’s life. It’s not easy to put this in words, but I try.”

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