Eurovision isn’t just about music anymore.
The authors in contention for the special Eurovision Book Contest were announced Friday. The competition is a project between the Eurovision Song Contest and the Hay Festival, the annual literary festival based in Wales.
The Eurovision Song Contest, established in 1956, has become a wildly popular phenomenon with viewers drawn in by its ornate sets and often flamboyant performances. The current contest is ongoing, with the final taking place Saturday in Liverpool, England.
Its literary counterpart will see the 37 countries participating in the song contest offer one work of fiction each to compete for “most dazzling European literature.” (Australia is also participating in both contests.)
The first volume of Alice Oseman’s graphic novel Heartstopper is the United Kingdom’s entry in the book contest. France is represented by Persepolis, written by Marjane Satrapi and translated by Anjali Singh, while Germany’s entry is Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, written by Patrick Süskind and translated by John E. Woods.
Representing Italy is My Brilliant Friend, written by Elena Ferrante and translated by Ann Goldstein, and Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, written by Olga Tokarczuk and translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones, is Poland’s pick.
The winner will be announced at a special event at the Hay Festival on June 2. A full list of books in the running is available at the festival’s website.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
