Georgia – Made by Characters The Guest of Honour of the 2018 Frankfurt Book Fair introduces itself Press kit for the press conference at the Frankfurt Book Fair, 12th October 2017

Contact

Press Guest of Honour Organisation

Mirjam Flender, Kirsten Lehnert Georgian National Book Center c/o projekt2508 GmbH 4 Sanapiro Str. Riesstraße 10 0105 Tbilisi, Georgia 53113 Bonn, Germany Tel: +49 228 184 967-24 Tel: +99 532 293 11 74 [email protected] [email protected]

Facebook: facebook.com/Georgia-made-by-characters Twitter: twitter.com/geo_characters Instagram: instagram.com/georgian_characters/ Youtube: youtube.com/channel/UCG_qppTnXWPZ4YsSvCR0N2g

The digital press kit and images can be found in the press section of our website.

#georgiancharacters www.georgia-characters.com

Content

Press release, 12th October 2017 Georgia – Made by Characters ...... 3 Statements, Speakers at the Press Conference, 12th October 2017 ...... 5 What is Georgia? An Attempt at an Explanation by the Georgian Author Nino Kharatishvili ...... 7 Georgian Authors at the Frankfurter Buchmesse 2017 ...... 9 Schedule Overview 2017 ...... 12 Authors and Books in the German Language ...... 15 Translation Programme of Georgian National Book Center ...... 17 Literature Programme – Made by Characters ...... 20 Cultural Programme – Made by Characters ...... 22 Facts and Figures ...... 28 The Guest of Honour Team ...... 29 Partners and Sponsors ...... 31

German-Georgian Year 2017 ...... 32

Background information

The Georgian Alphabet: Unique World Heritage………………………………………………………………………………...33

Georgian Literature in short ...... 35 The Book Market in Georgia ...... 37 About Georgia ...... 39

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Press release, 12th October 2017 Georgia – Made by Characters The Guest of Honour at the Frankfurter Buchmesse 2018 is as unique as the country’s alphabet

The Georgian ‘characters’ – the 33 artful, sweeping letters of this unique alphabet, which was recently added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List – date back to the 4th century AD. The country of Georgia, which will be presenting itself as the Guest of Honour at the Frankfurter Buchmesse in 2018, is just as rich in tradition, multifaceted and unique as the letters of its alphabet. Under the tagline ‘Georgia – Made by Characters’, the country intends to introduce not just the stories and works written in this script, but also the characters behind them: the authors, the artists and the Georgian people. Today, Georgia presented its concept for its appearance as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurter Buchmesse and gave first insights into the comprehensive literary and cultural programme of events.

“Georgia is one of the oldest cultural nations in the world, and has an incredible wealth of cultural treasures for such a small country,” said Mikheil Giorgadze, the Minister of Culture and Monument Protection for Georgia. “We are delighted to be able to present our unique cultural identity in Germany in 2018, as Georgia celebrates the centenary of its independence. We want to make ‘Georgia – Made by Characters’ a celebration of Georgian literature, culture and creativity.” An insight into this great cultural nation is already being conveyed by the events that are currently taking place as part of the German-Georgian Year 2017.

“Georgia is able to look back over a literary history spanning 15 decades and an exciting history. This cultural heritage provides a source of inspiration which contemporary writers still draw on today. At the Frankfurter Buchmesse 2018, visitors from around the world will, for the most part, encounter for the first time the agile and lively literary scene from this Caucasian country”, said Juergen Boos, President of the Frankfurter Buchmesse.

During the Soviet occupation from 1921 to 1991, Georgian literature was only translated sporadically. Since its independence, Georgian literature managed to resume its great literary tradition with its wealth of genres, while also establishing its own identity in a completely new and experimental manner. Since 2010, more than 65 Georgian books have been published in German-speaking countries with the aid of the Georgian National Book Center. A further 90 new translations are planned as part of Georgia’s appearance as Guest of Honour. The palette ranges from classical to contemporary authors and includes narratives, Georgian epics and anthologies of Georgian poetry, non-fiction, children’s and young adult literature, thrillers and a collection of critical essays.

Georgia has a literary tradition that dates back to the 5th century, a literature that is immensely varied and an exciting synthesis of oriental and western influences – open to innovation and yet, at the same time, autarkic. One of the most important literary works from Georgia is the epic The Knight in the Panther’s Skin by Shota Rustaveli (1172–1216). Modern Georgian literature is based on the experiences and trials of many centuries. “It developed step by step alongside modern world literature, and conveys a clear image of the character of the nation that produced it,” explains Medea Metreveli, Project Director Guest of Honour. “As the Guest of Honour, we want to present our response to the challenges of the modern world – the response of a country as small as ours, which wants to share its historic and cultural experiences with the whole world."

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One of the best-known authors at present is Aka Morchiladze, the most-read contemporary author from Georgia. Five of his books alone will be released onto the German market whilst Georgia is Guest of Honour. Zaza Burchuladze has already attracted attention in Germany with his book Touristenfrühstück (engl. translation: Tourist Breakfast), and German readers can also look forward to a new novel from this provocative writer. Probably the best-known female author here in Germany is Nino Kharatishvili. The Georgian national, who now lives in Hamburg and writes her books in German, provided interesting insights into the history of and life in Georgia in her highly acclaimed book Das achte Leben (Für Brilka) (engl. translation: The Eighth Life (For Brilka)). She sees Georgia's position as Guest of Honour as a major opportunity: “It could prove worthwhile expanding European literature to include Georgian literature, because diversity, the co-existence of the diverse as an idea, that, for me, is what defines Europe, and what, unfortunately, is frequently called into question nowadays,” she said at the presentation of the Georgian concept for its appearance as Guest of Honour.

Throughout next year, the Georgian literary scene, with all its diversity, will be presented in Frankfurt and exciting insights into Georgian literature, culture and its way of life will be provided through a range of readings, workshops and conferences. Georgia’s Guest of Honour appearance will be supplemented by a comprehensive supporting programme of exhibitions, musical events, theatrical performances and film screenings. This will bring together the best of its prehistory, antique and contemporary art, photography, architecture, design, typography and illustration, for example, in an exhibition on the human remains from Dmanisi, dating back 1.8 million years, or a display of archaeological finds and ancient works of art connected to the myth of the Argonauts. Cineastes will also have something to look forward to: For example at the Frankfurter Buchmesse in 2018, the Georgian National Film Centre will put on 15 screenings and discussions of films.

Around 500 readings and events in the German-speaking regions will coincide with Georgia's appearance as Guest of Honour. 70 authors from the Guest of Honour country will visit around 30 cities in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, including some 20 literary festivals, such as the lit.COLOGNE, the Harbour Front Literaturfestival Hamburg and the Literaturtage Zofingen.

To give us a taste of what’s to come during next year’s Guest of Honour appearance, Georgia will be launching its cultural marathon at this year's Frankfurter Buchmesse including the Guest of Honour handover ceremony with British-Georgian singer Katie Melua, discussions on the German-Georgian Year of Friendship 2017 and a series of events at which Georgian authors and critics, such as Lasha Bugadze, Zurab Karumidze, Salome Benidze, Nestan Nene Kvinikadze and Beka Adamashvili will talk about both classic Georgian literature and the latest modern publications with German presenters.

More information: www.georgia-characters.com

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Statements, Speakers at the Press Conference, 12th October 2017

“Georgia is able to look back over a literary history spanning 15 decades and an exciting history. This cultural heritage provides a source of inspiration which contemporary writers still draw on today – on which they reflect and from which they derive new perspectives. At the Frankfurter Buchmesse 2018, visitors from around the world will, for the most part, encounter for the first time the agile and lively literary scene from this Caucasian country. The presentation in October should thus be a prelude to the international networking of the Georgian publishing sector with other publishing houses, agents and readers.” Juergen Boos, President of the Frankfurter Buchmesse

“We are very proud that Georgia and Georgian literature are in focus among hundreds of countries as the Guest of Honour country at the Frankfurter Buchmesse 2018. Our country will have an opportunity for a whole year, in all German speaking countries, to promote Georgian culture in general and to show off all the merits and distinctions that it has. This way of doing things facilitates Georgia’s integration into the European space and the growth of its cultural recognition. 2018 is symbolic from the point of view of Georgian-German relations. 200 years ago, the first German settlements appeared in Georgia; 26 years ago, diplomatic relations were established between Georgia and Germany, and 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of German’s recognition of Georgia’s first republic’s independence. Germany was the first state to recognize Georgia’s independence in 1991, and it shared the Georgian people’s aspiration to become free. To this day, we continue to feel Germany’s firm support in the political, economic and cultural spheres.” Mikheil Giorgadze, Minister of Culture and Monuments Protection of Georgia

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“With the Guest of Honour appearance, for the first time, Georgian authors and their books have the opportunity to overcome the huge language barriers and find readers in different countries of the world. The fact that Georgian literature is scarcely known in other countries is due to many historical circumstances during our recent history. Under the Soviet occupation between 1921 and 1991, Georgian literature was translated only very sporadically. Since independence, Georgian literature has succeeded in regaining its great literary tradition, which is so rich in genres, while also establishing its own identity in an entirely different and experimental way. Our presentation shall be our response to the challenges set by the modern world. It is the response of a country as small as ours, a country that wants to share its historical and cultural experiences with the whole world.“ Medea Metreveli, Project Director Guest of Honour, Director of the Georgian National Book Center

“There is a word in Georgian, sautskhoo, which roughly means ‘the most wonderful’. Literally translated, however, it means ‘something meant for outsiders’. The fact that this word, when adjusted, reflects ‘the very best’, says something about Georgia’s predilection for embellishment. Personally, what I wish for myself is that Georgia shows itself in Frankfurt in all its contradictions and all its extremes, in all its mistakes and all its magnificence, and the scene must in no way be sautskhoo. For this is the only way that the country – together with its wealth of stories and its people – can be discovered, and the only way that Georgia can find out something new about itself, just as I did, through the eyes of foreign friends.“ Nino Kharatishvili, writer, playwright

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What is Georgia? An Attempt at an Explanation by the Georgian Author Nino Kharatishvili

Recently, a friend who had been to Georgia for the first time, mentioned Kartlis deda, ‘Mother Georgia’. This is, it must be said, a not particularly beautiful architectural pearl in Tbilisi, the city of my birth; it is a statue dating from 1958, the 1500th anniversary of the city’s foundation. The statue depicts a very socialist and diligent-looking woman who holds a chalice of wine in one hand and a sword in the other. I explained to my friend that this reflected Georgians’ symbolic attitude to foreigners: anyone who comes as a guest is received with wine, while enemies are met with just a sword. My friend then laughed and expressed the opinion that the country must have a strongly expressed preference for anything extreme, and not be very fond of nuances in between. I had to concede he was right.

All through my life I have resisted these extremes. I have, again and again, worked myself up because we here are so lacking in a golden mean. I have been puzzled and annoyed that this could be so, that East and West, traditions and modernity, past and future, the endlessly loving and the corrosively nervous, the selflessly impulsive and the stubbornly determined, the soft and the hard, the limited and the searching, the social and the egocentric, the old-fashioned and the trendy, the reactionary and the futuristic, the patriarchal and the matriarchal, the blindly patriotic and the inquisitive cosmopolitan — all that can coexist in this small country, without pure chaos being the result. Quite often I have cursed the superstitions one minute, and the next minute been charmed by the logic of a person; I have been worked up by the reactionary structures of the Orthodox church and then stood delighted by the sight of a fifth-century church; or I have shaken my head at the wild, chaotic traffic and then blindly trusted myself to the hand of a mountain guide; I have scolded people for their unpunctuality and have enjoyed to allow so much time for myself to enjoy a meal, some wine, a single moment. Above all, I have fought against the glorification of the past and have seldom felt such overwhelming emotions as when I hear traditional polyphonic singing at a classic Georgian dinner-table.

And somewhere between all these extremes I have sought the identity of a country, an identity inseparable from my own. Yet I have never been able to give a clear answer when I am asked in Germany what Georgia is like, what is Georgian about me, whether my style is affected by Georgia. I have always wanted to say: yes, and no. For I have always wanted to peg myself down and filter certain qualities out, as though simplification were the only way to find words to describe this contradictory country. But every time I fail to do so, for it has appeared to me to be impossible. Just romanticising the country and saying that Georgia is simply wonderfully beautiful, sunny, a country that invites you to dream, full of music and enjoyment — that would fit the Soviet cliché, which places the country in a limited and, to some extent, false light. To criticise Georgia unflinchingly for everything that can’t be done or isn’t there, as most Georgians themselves do, would be just as false and would leave out an infinite number of things that can be done and are there. Just to stress the unique, as many blind patriots do, also seems to me to be no solution. So how do we explain this country? Is Georgia today Europe or Asia, or the often quoted ‘European balcony’? And what is the origin of this arbitrary language which people have managed to preserve for centuries despite all the occupiers, enemies greeted with swords and guests greeted with wine; what is the origin of those peculiar scrolling 33 letters of the Georgian alphabet, which came into use around 400 AD? Do we belong to the south or to the east? Are we modern or stuck in our traditions? And this bloody history involving endless wars and occupations, and in between those the countless idiosyncratic, humorous, human, touching, very comic and slanting faces of individual persons and their fates, preserved between the covers of books, and later on film. Yes, Georgian literature: what’s it like? Does it talk about Colchis, about Medea, the most famous Georgian woman, whom nobody anywhere in Georgia sees as a child-murderer, or about the unfortunately most notorious Georgian in the world, the mass murderer Stalin, who still has, as before, his own museum in the city where he was born and who spared his fellow countrymen no more than he did other nations, or about Shevardnadze, whom people in Germany are so happy to have

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good memories of, because he so enthusiastically worked for their reunification, or about all the famous footballers and musicians who have names ending in that funny –shvili, or the crazy singing and tasty cuisine and, of course, the wine: of course, don’t people also talk about Georgia as the oldest wine-producing country in the world? Yes, what do Georgian stories deal with nowadays? (And in the same breath we get the question: are those my stories, too?) Here too, it’s yes and no.

But perhaps there is one thing that can be said with certainty: many of the stories Georgians tell themselves are extreme. Extremely merry or extremely sad, they are absurd and paradoxical, rarely anything in between. This is where I recall a sentence said by another man, someone important to me, who, as a visitor coming to Georgia, noted that the country and the people who lived there were so extremely ‘wholly and very’. Plunged in thought, he explained to me that this must have a basis in history, in everything that people experience and have gone through, for they knew that the ‘very’ was just ‘round the corner’ and that was why people wanted to linger in the moment and feel the ‘very’. I remained silent, not uttering a word…

At the same time I felt a certain relief, and for the first time I thought that someone from outside could explain my own country in such a way that I could myself understand it better, could grasp it myself for the first time. I realised that Georgia is not explicable by ‘either-or’, that the country could only be experienced and described in this multiplicity and in these contradictions, and the conclusion might well be that only in these paradoxes and extremes and in this heterogeneity could it be shown. In the same breath I thought that it might be good that that was how it is, that Georgia is for me fundamentally a part of Europe, and that is fundamentally why it could be rewarding for European literature to be expanded by the inclusion of Georgian literature: perhaps the multiplicity, the coexistence of something different is, as an idea, precisely what completes Europe and what today is, unfortunately, so often put in question. One doesn’t have to make a decision. One mustn’t make a decision. Identity is not something that forbids multiplicity or demands clarity. The same applies to literature, too. Complexity is precisely what we like in good stories and good books, and Georgia is, if nothing else, complex.

There is a word in Georgian, sautskhoo, which roughly means ‘the most wonderful’. Literally translated, it means, however: ‘something meant for outsiders’. The fact that this word, when adjusted, reflects ‘the very best’ says something about Georgia’s predilection for embellishment.

Personally, what I wish for myself is that Georgia should show itself in Frankfurt in all its contradictions and all its extremes, in all its mistakes and all its magnificence, and the scene must in no way be sautskhoo. For this is the only way that the country together with its wealth of stories and people be discovered, and the only way that Georgia can find out something new about itself, just as I did, through the eyes of foreign friends.

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Georgian Authors at the Frankfurter Buchmesse 2017

Beka Adamashvili

Beka Adamashvili (born in 1990 in Tbilisi) is a promising young author. From 2009 to 2013, Beka constantly published satirical and humorous posts in his own blog (www.doin.ge), reflecting social issues from different areas of everyday life. His blog was very popular, especially among young people. In 2013, Beka Adamashvili participated in a literary contest for students Legend of the Fall, and his short story XVIII: Full Stop took first prize. In 2014 he published his first novel Bestseller, a ‘satiric-parodic-detective-fantasy- humorous-quest-and-what-we have-missed’ genre novel about a literary hell, where both famous and unknown writers are tormented in the same way as their books ‘torment’ readers. Bestseller, a parody of literary clichés, immediately became popular among Georgian readers, and was shortlisted as the best novel for the SABA and Tsinandali literary awards. Bestseller was translated and published in Germany by Voland & Quist in 2017.

Lasha Bugadze

Lasha Bugadze (born in 1977 in Tbilisi) is the author of numerous novels and plays that have been performed in Georgia, as well as in many European cities, over the last ten years. Together with two other well-known Georgian writers, Nestan Nene Kvinikadze and Dato Turashvili, he has broadcasted on Rustavi 2, and also co- presented a literary programme, Literary Triangle. As a playwright, he collaborates with the Royal Court Theatre of London and actively participates in international projects, one of which was Literature Express Europe 2000. Being ironical by nature, Bugadze focuses his critical attention on the relationships between the generations, and he describes situations in which people fall victim to their prejudices, fixed ideas or stereotypes. He also publishes satirical blog posts on the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty website. His works have been translated into English, German and Swedish. The author has received numerous literary awards, including the first prize of the BBC International Radio Playwriting Competition 2011 for The Navigator. Two of his books, Literatur Express (2016) and Lucrecia515 (2017), were translated and published in Germany by Frankfurter Verlagsanstalt. Well-known as an opera-lover and a talented cartoonist, he lives and works in Tbilisi.

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Salome Benidze

Salome Benidze (born in 1986 in Kutaisi) is a contemporary young author, already well-established on the Georgian literary scene. Salome Benidze studied journalism, public relations and political science at Tbilisi State University, Vilnius University and the Alexander Technological Institution of Thessaloniki. Georgian readers are familiar with her poetry, prose and translations. Her characters are mostly women struggling and fighting to overcome fear and be strong and happy. In 2012, Salome Benidze received the SABA literary award for the best debut of the year, which brought her nationwide recognition; she won the Tsinandali award for the best literary work of 2015. She has translated David Beckham’s My Side and Shirin Ebadi’s widely acclaimed The Golden Cage, Unique Item, as well as Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-eight Nights by her favourite writers Milorad Pavić and Salman Rushdie. Salome Benidze has worked in various governmental and non-governmental organizations; currently she works as a public relations specialist and is actively engaged in civil activities to defend women’s rights. Her book Die Stadt auf dem Wasser (engl. translation: The City on the Water) was translated and published by AvivA Verlag in 2017.

Davit Gabunia

Davit Gabunia (born in 1982 in Poti) is a playwright and translator. He started out as a translator from the English and Swedish languages; his translations include a range of authors from J.K. Rowling to Shakespeare (works of Strindberg, Ibsen and up to 20 contemporary British and Swedish theatre plays among them). He has been awarded the Duruki theatre award for the Best New Georgian plays twice (2013, 2014); and the most important Georgian literary prize, SABA, for the best plays of the year in 2015. Since 2008, he has been the head of the literary department at the Royal District Theatre, Tbilisi – the most acclaimed young Georgian theatre, which has attained international success in recent years. The main themes of his works are the rethinking of gender stereotypes in a transitional period; the painful deconstruction of masculinity in a patriarchal society. He is known for his dark and uncompromised sense of humour. Zerfall (english translation: Severance) is his first novel.

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Nestan (Nene) Kvinikadze

Nestan (Nene) Kvinikadze (born in 1980 in Tbilisi) is a Georgian writer, scriptwriter, film critic and journalist. Currently she works as the producer of a daily talk show The Other Noon on the TV channel Rustavi 2 and is co-presenter of the literary talk show The Literary Triangle together with two well-known Georgian writers, Lasha Bugadze and Dato Turashvili. In 1998, at the age of 18, she published the first volume of her short story collection Unanimously. Since then she has written a number of film scripts and plays. Nestan Kvinikadze has also published several collections of prose, and three novels. In 2012 an extract from her novel Techno of Jaguars was translated into German and included in an anthology of contemporary Georgian women authors, Techno der Jaguare, published by Frankfurter Verlagsanstalt. (The title of the anthology was that of Kvinikadze’s novel.) Her novel Nachtigallen von Isfahan (english title: The Nightingales of Isfahan) was translated and published in Germany by the publishing house Orlanda in 2017.

Zurab Karumidze

Zurab Karumidze (born in 1957 in Tbilisi) graduated in English from Tbilisi State University and was awarded a PhD in 1984 for a dissertation on Wit and Conceit in the Poetry of John Donne. In 1994–95, he spent a period at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee as a visiting Fulbright Scholar, studying post-modernist American meta-fiction. His book Dagny or a Love Feast, a novel written in English, was longlisted for the Dublin International Literary Award in 2012 and later published by Dalkey Archive Press in the USA. Zurab Karumidze has also written two highly acclaimed novels, Caucasian Foxtrot and Jazzmine, which won instant success among Georgian readers. His book on the history of jazz music, The Life of Jazz, came out in 2009 and won Georgia’s top literary award SABA. Currently he is a foreign policy adviser to the Government of Georgia. Karumidze’s works have been translated into German, English and Turkish. The novel Dagny oder ein Fest der Liebe was published in Germany by Weidle Verlag in 2017.

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Schedule Overview 2017 Events at the Frankfurter Buchmesse and in the City of Frankfurt

At the Frankfurter Buchmesse 2017 you will find the Georgian National Book Center, many Georgian publishers and authors at the Georgian National Stand Hall 5.0, B100. Here, and at the following events, you can meet Georgian authors and discover their books.

Thursday, 12th October, 2017 16:00 Georgian Classics Nikolos Baratashvili and Grigol Robakidze Speaker: Alexander Kartozia, Publishing house: Arco Verlag, Moderator: Christoph Haacker Buchmesse, Georgian National Stand Hall 5.0, B100 Friday, 13th October 2017 16:30 German-Georgian Friendship Year 2017 Speaker: Lasha Bakradze, Moderator: Hans Grigoleit Discussion with reception Buchmesse, Georgian National Stand Hall 5.0, B100 Saturday, 14th October 2017 14:00 LUCRECIA515 Speaker: Lasha Bugadze, Publishing house: Frankfurter Verlagsanstalt, Moderator: Joachim Unseld Buchmesse, LeseInsel, Stage of Independent Publishers, Hall 4.1, D36 14:30 The City on the Water & The Nightingales of Isfahan Speaker: Salome Benidze und Nestan Nene Kvinikadze, Moderator: Barbara Weidle, Buchmesse, LeseInsel, Stage of Independent Publishers, Hall 4.1, D36 15:00 Dagny or a Love Feast Speaker: Zurab Karumidze, Publishing house: Weidle Verlag Moderator: Stefan Weidle, Buchmesse, LeseInsel, Stage of Independent Publishers, Hall 4.1, D36 15.30 Bestseller Speaker Beka Adamashvili, Publishing house: Voland & Quist Moderator: Claudius Nießen, Buchmesse, LeseInsel, Stage of Independent Publishers, Hall 4.1, D36 17:00 Dagny or a Love Feast Speaker Zurab Karumidze, Publishing house: Weidle Verlag Moderator: Barbara Weidle, Open Books Evangelische Akademie, Frankfurt, Römerberg 9

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Sunday, 15th October 2017 15:30 Guest of Honour Handover Ceremony Moderated talk with authors: Frédéric Boyer (GoH France 2017) and Davit Gabunia (GoH Georgia 2018) Official Handover Part: moderated talk with Paul de Sinety (GoH France 2017) and Medea Metreveli (GoH Georgia 2018) Juegen Boos (Director Frankfurter Buchmesse) Katie Melua and Gori Women Choir Frankfurter Buchmesse, Pavilion Guest of Honour France 2017 Monday, 16th October 2017 LUCRECIA515 20:00 Speaker: Lasha Bugadze, Publishing house: Frankfurter Verlagsanstalt, Moderator: Manana Tandashvili Romanfabrik, Frankfurt, Hanauer Landstr. 186

Lectures in other German Cities

Zurab Karumidze, Dagny oder Ein Fest des Liebe (engl. title: Dagny or a Love Feast) Publishing house: Weidle Verlag, Moderator: Barbara Weidle 16 October 2017, 20:00, Bonn, Buchhandlung Böttger 17 October 2017, 20:00, Berlin, Ocelot Buchhandlung

Beka Adamashvili, Bestseller 8 November 2017, Berlin, Literaturhaus

Zaza Burchuladze, Touristenfrühstück (engl. translation: Tourist’s Breakfast) Publishing house: Aufbau/Blumenbar, Moderator: Alexa Christ, Interpreter: Nino Ivanishvili 10 November 2017, 20:00, Unna, Nicolaihaus, Westfälisches Literaturbüro

Events in Austria and Switzerland

Vienna BuchQuartier Rezo Cheishvili, Blaue Berge Edition Monhardt, Moderator: Stefan Monhardt, Julia Dengg and Ekaterine Teti, 10 December 2017, Vienna, MuseumsQuartier

Vienna Book Fair Diana Anphimiadi, Sonntag der beleuchteten Fenster (engl. translation: Sunday of the lighted windows) Wahrsagen mit Marmelade (engl. translation: Divination with jam) Publishing house: Wieser Verlag 12 November 2017, Vienna, 16:00, Messe Wien, Hall D, Kochbühne

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Literaturtage Zofingen Finale of the Literaturtage, forecast on Georgia Guest of Honour 2018, Speakers: Nino Nadibaidze, Thomas Häusermann, Music performance: Giorgi Iuldashevi 22 October 2017, 17:00 Zofingen, Kunsthaus

Book presentation in Switzerland Tatia Nadareishvili, Schlaf Gut Publishing house: Baobab Books Presentations in Basel, Zurich and Bern (the detailed programme will soon be published).

Translation workshops A seminar for literary translators from Georgian into German supported by the German Translators' Fund and the Georgian National Book Center. The seminar is open to 6 or 7 translators whose projects are published in 2018. Direction: Rosemarie Tietze, Andrea Ott Expert: Alexander Kartozia, 18–24 November 2017, Looren (close to Zurich/Switzerland), Übersetzerhaus Looren, www.looren.net

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Authors and Books in the German Language (already translated, or about to be translated)

Thanks to the work of the Georgian National Book Center since 2010, more than 65 works of Georgian literature have been published in German-speaking countries. In 2018, we can expect this number to be doubled. Literature of various genres is being translated and published in German: novels by contemporary and by classic authors, several collections of short stories, Georgian epics, several anthologies of Georgian poetry and collections by individual poets, not to mention collections of plays, documentary prose and essay-writing, children’s literature and children’s picture books, ‘young adult’ literature, detective fiction, a collection of critical essays etc.

One of the most important literary monuments of the 12th century is, to this day, Shota Rustaveli’s epic The Man in the Panther’s Skin (1172–1216). Among the translations into German, the best is recognized to be Hugo Huppert’s translation, which, with the support of the Georgian National Book Center, has recently been re-published in Germany (Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, 2014). In 2018, Galiani Berlin plans to publish Rustaveli’s work in a prose version with new illustrations.

Among the specimens of Georgian literature that have been translated into German, naturally enough, the novel dominates. Of Georgia’s novelists, the first and foremost modern classic is considered to be Mikheil Javakhishvili (1880–1937), whose many novels and stories have not lost their relevance even today, and are a source of inspiration for many contemporary artists, theatre directors, playwrights and film scriptwriters. His novel Kvachi Kvachantiradze was published in German in Soviet times, but in 2016 a full version was published for the first time (Nora Verlag, 2016), this version containing fragments that the Soviet censor would not permit at the time. In recent years Mikheil Javakhishvili’s stories have been published in a number of collections. In 2018, the same author’s extremely famous novel Jaqo’s Refugees and his selected stories will be published by Arco Verlag.

In 2013, another extremely well-known novelist, poet and playwright, Otar Chiladze (1933–2009), had his famous novel A Man Was Going Down the Road published under the title of Dariachangi’s Garden (Matthes und Seitz Berlin, 2013); in 2018, his novels Avelum and The Basket will be published (Matthes und Seitz Berlin, 2013). Foreign critics compare Otar Chiladze to the great Latin American authors.

In 2018, Hanser Verlag will publish Guram Dochanashvili’s (born in 1939) most famous novel The First Raiment. Dochanashvili is acknowledged as a living classic, and, half a century after its first publication, this novel still excites the modern reader – especially younger readers – just as it did in the period of Soviet terror, when it was written.

In 2014, Wagenbach Verlag published a novel that has been translated into more languages than any other Georgian novel: Dato Turashvili’s (born in 1966) The Jeans Generation (in German, Westflug). Because of its subject matter, this novel leaves neither Georgian nor foreign readers unmoved. In 1983, a group of young Georgians tried to hi-jack an aircraft from Soviet Georgia and reach the West. The Soviet court sentenced most of them to death by shooting. These ‘aeroplane boys’ have had a number of different literary works devoted to them, among them, in particular, the Georgian rock star and poet Irakli Charkviani’s (1961–2006) autobiographical novel Calm Swim, which will now be published in Germany in 2018 by Dagyeli Verlag.

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The contemporary young female writer Tamta Melashvili (born in 1979) has had great success with her first short novel Counting Out (Unionsverlag, 2013), which won the 2013 Frankfurt prize for the best literary work by a young author. Set in a conflict zone, where only women and children have stayed, this story aims with a sniper’s accuracy at the heart of any citizen of the country. The recent Russo-Georgian war is the subject of Zaza Burchuladze’s (born in 1973) novel Adibas (Aufbau/Blumenbar, 2015), in which the novel shows us how some in Georgian society view the air raids and occupation carried out by Russia. His next novel, Touristenfrühstück (english title: A Tourist’s Breakfast, 2016), together with a number of other important questions, deals with modern themes of his experiences living in Tbilisi and Berlin and of emigration. Ullstein Verlag will publish the prose collection The Story of a Bird and a Man by Archil Kikodze (born 1972), a famous modern Georgian author who has won many awards; the collection will be followed by his new, urban novel The Southern Elephant, which tells us the story of Tbilisi and its redemptory historical reality, as well as examining contemporary life. The young Georgian writer Lasha Bugadze (born in 1972) caught the attention of the German- language press with his satirical novel Literature Express (Frankfurter Verlagsanstalt, 2016). The novel is the story of modern Georgian and world literary absurdities, ambitions, writers’ passions, idiocies and mistakes. In the novel, 100 European writers are taken by the organizers on a train journey; for one month they travel all over Europe. By the end of 2018, two more novels by the same author will be published (Lucrecia515, Kleines Land). In 2016 the famous writer and political activist Naira Gelashvili (born in 1947) presented her novel I am that One (Verbrecher Verlag) to a large audience at Das Blaue Sofa at the Leipzig Book Fair: the novel describes a thirteen-year-old girl’s love for a young student. Everybody and everything opposes the girl’s genuine feelings, the most genuine and substantial element for her at the time. Her mother, family, school, the school syllabus and so on are all involved, in universal opposition.

Simultaneously, several publishing houses, among them Weidle Verlag and Mitteldeutscher Verlag, will publish in German both novels and selected documentary prose by today’s best-known and most prolific Georgian writer, Aka Morchiladze (born in 1966). Aka Morchiladze is a very versatile writer: his reader could be either a deeply erudite intellectual, or someone who values love stories and historical novels, but might also be a fan of detective stories and mysteries, or just an ordinary reader who likes literature of good taste. For short pieces of prose, the work of the modern Georgian writer Kote Jandieri (born in 1958) Globalisierung (english translation: Globalisation) is particularly noteworthy. The book will be published by Klak Verlag in 2018. These stories have justifiably been singled out as a masterpiece of short 21st century Georgian prose. In his work, an elderly peasant tells us the story of his life, which has taken place against the background of historical events developing in Georgia: from the Sovietisation of Georgia to the 1990s, a life that is completely interlinked with these events.

Among the poetry collections, one work should be singled out: the complete works of Nikoloz Baratashvili (1817– 1844) Thoughts of the Banks of the Mtkvari River (Arco Verlag, 2017). The publication in Germany of the great Georgian romantic poet under the auspices of UNESCO marks the 200th anniversary of his birth; in 2017 this anniversary was listed as a cultural event of international significance. In general, poetry is particularly difficult to translate, but from time immemorial Georgia has been considered a land of poetry, which is why it is important for us to have Georgian poetry represented in German translation. Consequently, we are finally able to give the German-speaking reader an opportunity to get to know over 40 modern Georgian poets as well as the work of a poet of the classical period, all published by various publishing houses. In 2018, the publisher Corvinus Presse Berlin Art Book will publish yet another collection, this time the collection Lifting the Potatoes, which consists of the work of seven modern poets: the title is taken from a poem by Besik Kharanauli (born in 1939). Besik Kharanauli is a distinguished poet in modern Georgia, the founder, one may say, of a new means of expression in Georgia. As a result, his poems are represented in this collection.

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Translation Programme of Georgian National Book Center

The translation programmes of the Georgian National Book Center (GNBC) are designed for foreign and local publishing houses, willing to translate and publish Georgian and Foreign literature in translation. The programme Georgian Literature in Translation aims to issue subsidies to foreign publishing houses that are interested in translating and publishing Georgian literature. The budget allocated for the translation programmes by the state increases on a yearly basis to match the growing interest and demand from the international publishing sector.

To recapitulate how it all began, we can say that the path that is being followed for the promotion of contemporary Georgian literature, as well as its centuries-old heritage, has really not been an easy one. It was in 2010 that the Ministry of Culture of Georgia first announced its programme for the support of Georgian literature in translation. Since 2014, after the Georgian National Book Center was founded, within the framework of a translation programme Georgian Literature in Translation, every year more than a hundred applications have been received from various countries. Consequently, each year has seen significant growth in the budget for the translation programme. The Centre offers any foreign publisher a well-developed system of translation subsidies, the aim being to support the publication in the translation of different genres of Georgian literature. The centre offers subsidies to cover the literary translation and printing costs, and this gives tangible support to the interest of foreign publishers in the growth of Georgian literature.

Between 2011 and 2017, a number of translations of Georgian authors have been financed within the framework of the Georgian National Book Center, covering the main genres of modern and classical Georgian literature: prose, poetry, essays, plays, cookbooks, children’s and young adults’ literature, etc.

Figures for 2011–2017

. 200 Georgian titles in more than 26 foreign languages; . 65 editions in the German language; . 40 foreign titles in the Georgian language.

The funding conditions set out by the Georgian National Book Center are largely oriented towards raising the interest of foreign publishing houses, who can request the following categories of subsidies:

. translation cost up to 100 % . printing cost up to 100 %

Application forms and further information on translation subsidies are available on the GNBC website: www.book.gov.ge

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Translation Seminars

The Georgian National Book Center, in collaboration with the Goethe Institute and British Council, annually supports the organization of workshops for Georgian, German and English translators, with a special interest in literary genres. The participants, under the leadership of professional translators, work for five days on translations of fiction which they themselves have chosen. Seminars are held in Tbilisi, Straelen and Frankfurt. Thanks to the organization of seminars on a systematic basis, a powerful school of translators of Georgian literature into foreign languages has arisen and this is crucial to the development of the translation process.

In general, it can be said that the prospect of the programme Georgian Literature in Translation and, in itself, the status of Georgia as the Guest of Honour country at the Frankfurter Buchmesse in 2018, has made literary processes in Georgia more intensive. The number of authors making their debut has continually been increasing. In 2017, Georgia was the Guest of Honour country at the Authors’ Reading Month (ARM), the largest literary festival in Central Europe, taking place in Brno, Ostrava, Wrocław, Košice and Lviv. A total of 31 modern Georgian authors attended the festival and participated in various events over 31 days. The festival also covers a number of other activities and projects: new translations are published through the ARM Library book series; an audio-visual series of documentary films introduces the writers of the visiting country, etc.

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German, Austrian and Swiss publishing houses with which the Georgian National Book Center is collaborating until now:

Alfred Kröner Verlag Leopold Stocker Verlag Anthea Verlag Löcker Verlag Arche Literatur Verlag Mitteldeutscher Verlag Arco Verlag NordSüd Verlag Aufbau/Blumenbar Orlanda Verlag AvivA Verlag Paramon Verlag Baobab Books Passanten Verlag Btb Verlag Pop Verlag Ludwigsburg Corvinus Presse Residenz Verlag Dagyeli Verlag Rowohlt Verlag Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag Septime Verlag Drava Verlag Shaker Verlag Edition Fünf Suhrkamp/Insel Verlag Edition Monhardt Theater der Zeit Edition Orient Ullstein Buchverlage Edition Virgines Unionsverlag Edition.fotoTAPETA Verbrecher Verlag Frankfurter Verlagsanstalt Verlag Hans Schiler Verlag Galiani Berlin Verlag Klaus Wagenbach Größenwahn Verlag Verlag Matthes und Seitz Berlin Carl Hanser Verlag Voland und Quist Harrassowitz Verlag Wallstein Verlag Helmut Buske Verlag Weidle Verlag Kulturverlag Kadmos Wieser Verlag KLAK Verlag Wolke Verlag Albrecht Knaus Verlag Verlag das Wunderhorn Leipziger Literaturverlag

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Literature Programme – Made by Characters

What is Georgian literature? The literature of a small people who have accumulated a lot of things to say to the world. A literature with a strong tradition, very varied, an interesting synthesis of oriental and occidental influences, open to innovations and at the same time self-sufficient. Its first written monument, The Martyrdom of Shushanik, was composed in the fifth century. Although a modern reader can read old Georgian without having to resort to a dictionary and, what is most interesting, this monument of the hagiographical genre bears the characteristic and essential marks of a novel.

What are the distinguishing features of modern Georgian literature? It is a literature based on the experiences and trials of many centuries, and which is developing step by step alongside modern world literature. In other words, this literature gives us a clear picture of the character of the nation that is producing it.

As Guest of Honour, Georgia wants to show the world how interesting the processes currently at work in Georgia have turned out to be. Over an entire year, therefore, in the pages of the Guest of Honour country programme, which we will announce in March 2018 at the Leipzig Book Fair, a wide range of initiatives is planned: classic public readings, book presentations, series of discussions and professional programmes for translators, such as conferences, seminars, round tables. There will be literary events accompanied by music, film and theatre elements. The programme of young Georgian illustrators is just as interesting: travelling exhibitions in Berlin and Frankfurt, workshops, discussions and various other sorts of event.

Throughout a whole year, almost 500 literary events of all sorts will be held in different literary and cultural venues in up to 30 cities across Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Almost 20 literary festivals in German-speaking Europe will be welcoming Georgian authors. With the collaboration of German publishing houses, discussions are taking place with the organizers of lit.COLOGNE, the internationalen literaturfestival berlin, STADT LAND BUCH, poesiefestival berlin, Berliner Bücherinsel, Harbour Front Literaturfestival, Poetry On The Road, Open Books Frankfurt, Berleburger Literaturpflaster, Göttinger Literaturherbst and Schamrock – Festival der Dichterinnen, BuchBasel, Erich Fried Tage and Literaturtage Zofingen. An intensive, highly diverse programme is planned for Berlin, Hamburg and Frankfurt, while Georgian literary weeks will be organized in Saarbrucken and Freiburg.

It should be noted that the literary programme of the Guest of Honour country will have an interestingly presented scholarly and educational aspect to it. In cooperation with SOVLAB, the Soviet Past Research Laboratory, there are plans to hold a series of discussions seeking to interpret the Soviet past all over Germany. We offer interesting cycles of discussions for foreign audiences about the history of Georgian philosophy, in which Georgian and German philosophers will take part. Well-known Georgian scholars will talk about the achievements of the modern Georgian scientific scene.

Nino Kharatishvili’s authoring project, realised in 2017 by the Goethe Institute and involving tandems of German and Georgian writers – Fatma Aydemir and Nestan (Nene) Kvinikadze; Katja Petrowskaja and Abo Iashaghashvili; Tilman Rammstedt and Archil Kikodze; Ulla Lenze and Tamta Melashvili; Stephan Reich and Ana Kordzaia-Samadashvili; Volker Schmidt and Irma Tavelidze – travelling to various regions of Georgia and creating short stories based on the traveller’s impressions, will continue in 2018. The project’s presentation is also planned to take place under the auspices of Germany’s literary festivals, with the publication of stories by Georgian and German authors.

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Over the year, up to 70 writers from the Guest of Honour country will travel with their books to German cities and hold meetings with interested German readers and societies. The programme aims to offer interesting events to readers of all ages and interests.

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Cultural Programme – Made by Characters

As the Guest of Honour country at the Frankfurter Buchmesse in 2018, Georgia gets the unique opportunity to present the country in all its essence and with its unique history, culture and literature, to reveal a country which, thanks to its geo- political development, over the course of many centuries of history, has been involved at different periods in spheres of influence of eastern and western civilisation, has been nourished by their achievements and – in a synthesis with its own centuries-old traditions – has created a self-sufficient national culture. Apart from a presentation of its own individual cultural past, which reinforces the country’s image, this demonstration meets an essential requirement, showing contemporary art, oriented towards the present day, in an international context – showing a culture that has always been a powerful means for the world to acquire knowledge. In the period of Soviet occupation, in conditions of harsh isolation, it was Georgian culture that informed the progressive world about Georgia.

In the framework of the very diverse cultural presentations planned for 2018, a rich programme of theatrical, musical, visual arts and film events will be held in various German cities. The theatre in Georgia goes back to the second half of the 18th century and today is making itself heard on the world’s contemporary stage-art scene, developing as it integrates with international cultural processes.

Georgia is a land of very ancient musical culture. In 2001, UNESCO proclaimed Georgian polyphonic singing in the “List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”. Georgian musical performance, which has steadily and unstoppably developed from the end of the 19th century to this day, has achieved international recognition. Georgian opera and ballet, too, have achieved particular success. Proof of this is that the doors of the world’s musical centres are wide open to Georgian singers, pianists and violinists today, and Georgian musicians are an asset to the best-known opera stages and concert halls.

An important part of the presentation of the cultural programme belongs to the visual arts and a rich programme of exhibitions. One of the exhibits will be the unique 1.8 million-year-old Dmanisi remains, as well as exemplary artefacts from the Bronze and Pre-Classical ages. It is equally important for us to exhibit contemporary Georgian art, exhibitions of leading contemporary artists, among them photographers, video art, performance artists, designers and architects. Georgian cinema, which dates back to 1908, will be widely represented by masterpieces of classic Georgian films and by Georgian films that have already been recognized in modern times, successful films that have received nominations and prizes in international film forums and festivals.

It is symbolic that 2018 is also the year that Georgian celebrates the 100th anniversary of its independence. For the Guest of Honour 2018, this significant date imposes even greater responsibility for ensuring that Georgia shows its unique cultural identity to its fullest extent in Germany, Europe’s heartland, so that “Georgia – Made by Characters” will be a celebration of Georgian literature, culture and rich creative capabilities.

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Georgian Films – Made by Characters

“Georgian film is a completely unique phenomenon, vivid, philosophically inspiring, very wise, childlike. There is everything that can make me cry and I ought to say that it (my crying) is not an easy thing.” Federico Fellini

In the framework of Georgia as the Guest of Honour country at the 2018 Frankfurter Buchmesse, the Georgian National Film Centre is presenting a varied film programme in Frankfurt and at the Berlinale in Berlin. Georgian will be in the focus of the co-production fair, at which up to 600 leading directors and producers from a variety of the world’s countries have been present every year. At the Frankfurter Buchmesse the guests will have an opportunity to experience all sorts of events put on by the Georgian National Film Centre, and they will also access to information about Georgian film production.

The Pocket Man The animated film The Pocket Man, which won first prize at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, will be shown at the Höchst Library in Frankfurt; there will also be an exhibition of the props and illustrations used in the film. This animated film by the young illustrator Ana Chubinidze has gained recognition from a number of international and youth festivals: in France it won the prize for Best Script from the youth jury of L’Ombre d’un court, as well as a prize for the spectators’ response in the auditorium.

Georgian Film Series 2018 In October 2018, at the forthcoming Frankfurter Buchmesse, the Georgian National Film Centre, together with the Deutsches Filmmuseum, and the Arsenal Institute for Film and Video Art, will hold showings of Georgian films and a series of discussions: these will range from the classical period of silent film to 1991, when Georgia won independence. Fifteen films will be shown, among them examples of avant-garde silent film, such as Kote Mikaberidze’s film My Grandmother (1929) and Mikheil Kalatozishvili’s film Jim Shvante (Salt to Svanetia, 1930.) Particular attention will be paid to the so-called formalism established in the Soviet period and also to the effect of censorship on Georgian film. Discussions on the works will be held by the directors Mikheil Chiaureli, Mikheil Kalatozishvili and Nikoloz Shengelaia.

In 1950, Georgian film was revived and once again reached creative heights, thanks to such directors as Tengiz Abuladze, Rezo Chkheidze, Eldar Shengelaia, Otar Ioseliani, Giorgi Shengelaia and Lana Ghoghoberidze. In this programme, successful modern Georgian films will also be shown, including full-length films, documentary and short features. Lectures about specific films are planned, as well as conversations with film directors.

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Georgian Theatre – Made by Characters

By attending one of the performances from the Georgian Theatre Programme in a specific theatrical venue in Frankfurt, the audience will probably acquire an idea of not only one particular performance, but the whole narrative of the Programme. The theatre programme is made up of theatre companies and performances with a varied profile and artistic imagination — it is a kind of adventure, a voyage through modern Georgian theatre and not only theatre, for this is a voyage to Georgia, concentrating on the artistic faith and intelligence of the country today.

The programme includes theatrical works based only on Georgian modern and classical drama: the Rustaveli State Drama Theatre, the Marjanishvili State Drama Theatre, the Music and Drama Theatre; the Royal district and Tumanishvili Film Actors’ Theatres; Rezo Gabriadze’s puppet performances, the free theatre and independent projects, as well as theatre companies from cities other than the capital. In Frankfurt, at the Mousonturm and Schauspiel Frankfurt, in Berlin at the Schaubühne, at the Badisches Staatstheater, Karlsruhe, the Hessisches Staatstheater, Wiesbaden and Theater Dortmund, already established and well-known artists with a rich international career, as well as young artists at the beginning of their life in the theatre will be presented. Georgian drama will be shown as a discourse, a narrative that leads the spectator to new discoveries. The works can be seen not only as an expression of the individuals, but as the overall outward expression of a particular society and country.

The theatre programme will reflect the recent history and culture of Georgia, a country still unknown to Europe, a country where the theatre is a basic starting point for an update. This is a theatre that has always played a great role in social processes in Georgia; artists whose ideas and courage are crucial in a global context.

Georgian Music – Made by Characters

Georgia is a land with a very ancient musical culture. It can boldly be said that this is its predominant feature. The Georgian people have, in the course of their development over many centuries, created sophisticated artistic examples of folk and religious music. Georgian folk music is recognized as a unique phenomenon. It is a revelation of the Georgian people’s creative energy and inventiveness, its musical genius. In 1977, the American spaceship Voyager sent into the cosmos an unparalleled example of Georgia folk polyphony, Chakrulo. In 2001, UNESCO recognized Georgian folk music culture as a “masterpiece of the world’s intangible spiritual treasure”. The significance and the traditions of music in the Georgian genres exploded in a completely new way in the musical space of the 21st century world. A number of Georgian singers and musicians are making their mark in several countries all over the world.

At the 2017 Frankfurter Buchmesse, during the ceremony marking the transfer of one Guest of Honour country to the next, Katie Melua, together with the Gori Women’s Chamber Choir, will proudly announce the 2018 cultural programme for Georgia’s future appearance as the Guest of Honour country.

What is the essence of Georgian musicality? It is the Georgian prima ballerina Nina Ananiashvili; the world renowned Georgian musicians, the violinist Liza Batiashvili and the pianist Khatia Buniatishvili; the Georgian national ‘Sukhishvilis’ ballet, the first and, so far, the only folk group that has given a concert on the stage of La Scala; the Georgian Philharmonic Orchestra led by Nikoloz Rachveli; the Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra led by Vakhtang Kakhidze, not to mention many other leading Georgian musicians, singers, creative groups. All will be trying, together with Georgian writers, to embellish the programme of the Guest of Honour country with musical events reflecting a wide variety of genres and themes.

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Exhibitions – Made by Characters

As the 2018 Guest of Honour country at the Frankfurter Buchmesse, Georgia aims to present its cultural diversity to the fullest. In compiling the programme of exhibitions, Georgia has cooperated with 14 partner institutions to present the best of its pre-historic discoveries, of antique and contemporary art, photography, architecture, design, typography and illustration.

The Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung will host an unprecedented antique art exhibition, Medea’s Love and Quest for the Golden Fleece, consisting of archaeological objects and antique art representing the myth of the Argonauts. The exhibition is made up of masterpieces lent by the Georgian National Museum and by leading worldwide museums. The exhibition demonstrates the historical background of the myth, and is based on the rich archaeological material discovered in Georgia. Representing the wealth of the Georgian kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia, the exhibition aims to demonstrate how Georgia, as a country with a rich tradition of gold working, is connected to the Golden Fleece.

The Senckenberg Natural History Museum will host the Discoveries from Dmanisi exhibition, together with a series of lectures. Dmanisi, a town in south-eastern Georgia, has been an important archaeological site since 1936. However, in 1991, it became the focus of a sensational discovery: the jaw-bone of an ancient hominid. In 2000, skulls were also discovered. Today, the Dmanisi collection enables scientists to study human beings from 1.8 million years ago. These discoveries are acknowledged as the oldest human remnants to be found outside of Africa.

The Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK) will present a show exclusively devoted to the renowned Georgian-born and currently Berlin-based artist, Andro Vekua. The artist is known for creating dense imagery that hovers between abstraction and figurative art: he explores his personal experiences as well as broader socio-political realities. The exhibition will consist of Vekua’s older work as well as a new body of work — painting, sculpture and collage.

The Klingspor Museum will host the first-ever show dedicated to the Georgian alphabet. With its origins dating back as early as 5th century A.D., in 2016 the Georgian alphabet was acknowledged by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The exhibition will present the alphabet’s history in print, with a showcase of 16th to 18th century manuscripts and books, revealing the many ways in which the alphabet has been employed in art, advertising, and vernacular culture in general.

The Deutsches Architekturmuseum will dedicate an exhibition to the unique architecture of the capital city, Tbilisi. The exhibition will be a survey of political and historical events as reflected in architecture and of the foreign influences which found their way into local architecture.

The partnering German institutions are: Archäologisches Museum Frankfurt, Atelierfrankfurt, Blaues Haus Frankfurt, Produktions- und Ausstellungsplattform basis, Fotografie Forum Frankfurt, Museum Angewandte Kunst, Portikus, Städel Museum and the Struwwelpeter-Museum.

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Education – Made by Characters

For a whole year, not only in Germany, but also in every German-speaking country, we plan to put on a variety of major events that emphasize German-Georgian scientific and scholarly collaboration and prospects for the future. Well-known Georgian and German scholars will take part in a series of lectures, discussions and presentations. As part of this programme, we propose a lecture and discussion led by Professors Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht and Rüdiger Safranski on the subject of Georgian literature and culture. The oldest Georgian manuscripts and books will be exhibited in a digital installation: these will include illustrations from the most treasured work of the Georgian intellect, The Man in the Panther Skin. A joint lecture by famous Georgian scholars and scientists, Gia Dvali, Davit Lortkipanidze and Zaza Kokaia, is also planned. Scholarly conferences will be held at Jena and Bremen universities. The Frankfurter Buchmesse will give tertiary education institutions the opportunity to establish international links, share their experience, study and instigate the practices of foreign programmes, with a view to building up study resources.

Innovations – Made by Characters

At the Frankfurter Buchmesse in October 2018 there will, for the first time, be a stand devoted to the Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency. This will give foreign visitors an opportunity to see a presentation of the innovatory ideas presented by the agency. Exhibition space will be allotted to Georgian start-ups: virtual reality, a set-up that will allow visitors to view notable places of interest in the Guest of Honour country, and thus allow a European tourist to plan a tour of the country. At the fair there will be a special innovatory corner devoted to a web platform for those studying foreign languages. Anyone using this platform will be able to study Georgian on their own by using web technology.

Tourism – Made by Characters

Over recent years, the tourist industry in Georgia has experienced rapid growth. The Georgian National Tourism administration is constantly carrying out various forms of marketing campaigns, with the aim of raising awareness of the country in designated markets. The main task is to demonstrate and disseminate information about Georgia’s tourist potential, the country’s historical and cultural treasures, as well as its rich natural resources.

Germany comes in among the top 10 countries for the number of visitors to Georgia, and Georgian-German relations have a long and remarkable history, so Georgia is very pleased to take its place at the Frankfurter Buchmesse as the Guest of Honour 2018. For its part, the Georgian National Tourist Administration will mainly emphasize raising awareness about Georgia as a land with a rich culture, a unique alphabet, with its history, its ancient wine-making tradition, its rich natural variety, which can be demonstrated through its fundamental tourist attractions. We want to advertise the country’s tourist destinations: heritage monuments recognized by UNESCO, the shores of the Black Sea, the winter recreation centres, spas and balneological resorts.

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Cuisine – Made by Characters

Georgian cuisine is just as varied as the country itself. It has strong regional features, which makes these relationships even more interesting. Georgian cuisine bears the traces of many other influences, from the Mediterranean region to India. Over the centuries, its receptiveness has been truly enviable, and the consequences have been remarkable. Cuisine is probably the quickest way to get to know Georgia and its taste.

Up to 500 varieties of wine-making grapevines are known in Georgia, which are referred to with Georgian names: they are usually specific to a particular micro-climatic zone that favours the growth of one or two particular types of vine, so varieties are generally named after their locality.

The kvevri itself is immortal: in 2013, UNESCO listed the traditional Georgian kvevri method of wine-making as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity. One of the important components in the 2018 programme for Georgia as the Guest of Honour country happens to be Georgian cuisine. Leading Georgian chefs are planning to take part in several interesting events or performances, whose main aim is to induce guests to visit Georgia, after they have tried Georgian wine and renowned traditional dishes. These events include the Guest of Honour Pavilion opening ceremony and happy hours at the Frankfurter Buchmesse, books on wines, Georgia as Guest of Honour in Frankfurt’s Restaurants and cooking demonstrations in the Gourmet Gallery.

The plan for the culinary programme involves Tekuna Gachechiladze, a well-known professional Georgian chef, working in conjunction with German colleagues. Gachechiladze’s name is associated with such bold terms as ‘New Georgian Cuisine’ and ‘Queen of Georgian Fusion’. Tekuna was singled out for her fusion cooking by the famous culinary web- page finedininglovers.com.

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Facts and Figures

“Georgia – Made by Characters” organisation Website www.georgia-characters.com Contact [email protected] Project Director Medea Metreveli Literary Programme Manager Maia Danelia Curator Manana Berikashvili, Deputy Minister of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia Artistic Director David Doiashvili Graphic design BRID Agency, www.brid.me Design pavilion MUA Multiverse Architecture and Tamara Kvesitadze Press contact Mirjam Flender, Kirsten Lehnert c/o projekt2508 GmbH, Bonn, Germany [email protected] Head of Guest of Honour Programme of Simone Bühler, [email protected] Frankfurter Buchmesse The book market in Georgia Population 3.7 million Area about 70,000 km2 Gross domestic product 2016: US$ 14.22 billion Gross domestic product per person 2016: US$ 3,842.4 Published books in Georgia 2015: 4,173 2014: 2,964 2013: 3,745 Sales per year 2015: 12,974,198 Lari (about €4.3 m*) Average book price 2015: 11.75 Lari (€4.42*) Translated titles in Georgia 45% of all published titles are translations mostly from Germany, France, UK, USA, Poland, Hungary, Italy, Turkey, Canada, Mexico, Greece, Estonia and Ukraine Publishing houses 2015: about 100 Biggest publishers in Georgia Palitra L 27 Bakur Sulakauri Publishing Intelekti Publishers Number of book stores 50, including 41 small ones Share of book sales via internet 2015: 19% 2013: 6% Translation GNBC 2011-2017 200 Georgian titles have been translated into more than 28 languages 60 published titles in German 40 foreign titles in the Georgian language * Figures in Euro according to the conversion rate October 2017

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The Guest of Honour Team

Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia together with the Georgian National Book Center, are the main coordinating structures for the programme of Georgia Guest of Honour at the Frankfurter Buchmesse 2018. The organizing committee is being led by Mikheil Giorgadze, the Minister of Culture and Monument Protection.

Medea Metreveli Project Director, Director of Georgian National Book Center, [email protected]

Medea Metreveli was born in 1978 and graduate in 2002 from Tbilisi State University in Hellenistics. In 2006 she was awarded a doctorate in philology. Since 2002 she has been giving lectures at Tbilisi State University in the Modern Greek Language and Literature in the Institute for Classical Philology, Byzantine and Modern Greek studies. She is author of number of scientific works and publications in the field of Modern Greek studies. From 2010 to 2014 she was leading the translations support programme by the Ministry of Culture of Georgia. In 2014 Medea Metreveli was appointed as director of the Georgian National Book Center. In 2015 the Georgian Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection designated her as the director of the project for Georgia as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurter Buchmesse.

Manana Berikashvili Project Curator, Deputy Minister of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia, [email protected]

Manana Berikashvili was born in 1958 in Tbilisi. In 1979 she graduated from the Georgian Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film State University, specializing in acting, and in 2002 from the same university as a Drama Director. In 2002 she did her postgraduate studies in Moscow, at the Russian University of Theatre Arts. Since 1980 she is a full professor at the Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film State University, with a PhD in Arts Sciences. In 2001-2003 she worked as a Director at Merab Kostava Tbilisi Municipal Theatre. Since 2007 she has been working as a Director at the Vaso Abashidze State Music and Drama State Theatre. Since 2013 she has been Deputy Minister of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia. In her capacity she has organized numerous large-scale cultural events.

David Doiashvili Artistic Director, [email protected]

David Doiashvili was born in 1971 in Tbilisi. He is the most innovative and sensational Georgian theatre director. In 1996, after graduating from the Shota Rustaveli State Institute of Cinema and Theatre, he worked as an assistant director at Piccolo Teatro in Milan. In 1998 at the age of 23 Doiashvili became the chief director of the Kote Marjanishvili Drama Theatre. Since 2004, David Doiashvili has been an artistic and managing director at Tbilisi Music and Drama State Theatre, which has become a laboratory for new progressive ideas, taking Georgian theatre to the next level. He has staged many performances throughout the world for example at Mariinsky Theatre (Saint Petersburg), Hungarian National Theatre (Budapest) and Bucharest National Theatre. David Doiashvili has been awarded many prizes for his creative work in Georgia as well as outside its borders.

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Further Contacts:

Literature Programme Manager: Maia Danelia [email protected] Coordinator: Nino Nadibaidze [email protected]

Translation Programme Manager: Irine Chogoshvili [email protected]

Cultural Programme Coordinators Elene Kapanadze [email protected] Salome Sepashvili [email protected]

Exhibition Programme David Lortkipanidze Giorgi Kalandia Ana Riaboshenko

Head of Theatre Programme Ekaterina Mazmishvili, Tbilisi International Festival Of Theatre

Head of Film Programme Zurab Maghalashvili, Direktor Georgian National Film Center

Head of Music & Performance Programme Nino Nakhutsrishvili, Geschäftsführerin National Music Center

Social Relations and Marketing Tornike Guruli [email protected]

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Partners and Sponsors

Partners

Georgian Publishers and Booksellers Association The Writers’ House The Centre for Cultural Relations Caucasian House The National Parliamentary Library of Georgia Museum of Georgian Literature Georgian National Museum Georgian State Museum of Theatre, Music, Cinema and Choreography - Art Palace Georgian National Film Centre Kote Marjanishvili State Drama Theatre National Musical Center of Georgia Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia Tbilisi State University Ilia State University Georgian National Center of Manuscripts Georgia's Innovation and Technology Agency Georgian National Tourism Administration Ministry of Agiculture of Georgia National Wine Agency of Georgia SOVLAB - Soviet past research laboratory Expo Georgia Embassy of Georgia in the Federal Republic of Germany Consulate General of Georgia in Frankfurt am Main, Germany Creative Georgia National Bank Of Georgia The Goethe Institute in Tbilisi Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung / Regional Programme Political Dialogue South Caucasus Literary award SABA Frankfurter Literatursalon Euterpe DVV International Regional Office for Caucasus and Turkey

Sponsors

International Charity Foundation Cartu weinland-georgien.de Buneburi Winery Khareba Winery Marani Winery M Squared TBC Bank

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German-Georgian Year 2017

Under the tagline ‘Future Heritage’ and the patronage of the Foreign Affairs Ministries of Germany and Georgia, 2017 sees these two countries joining together to celebrate important milestones in their relationship: the arrival of the first German settlers in Georgia 200 years ago and the start of diplomatic relations between Germany and Georgia 25 years ago. Georgia will also be celebrating the centenary of the recognition of the first Georgian Republic in 2018.

The German-Georgian Year is a special year of culture in many respects because it is being celebrated concurrently in both Germany and Georgia. The Georgian version is being organised and funded jointly by the German Embassy, the Goethe-Institut in Georgia, the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Georgian Ministry for Culture and Monument Protection and numerous social organisations and individuals from the host country. The programme of events was determined by a series of extensive discussions in various working groups and an open call to the citizens of Georgia. The Goethe-Institut and the Federal Foreign Office have provided extensive special funding.

The programme in both Germany and Georgia includes contributions from many partners and spectacularly demonstrates the diversity of German-Georgian relations. Whether it be cultural events such as theatrical performances, concerts, exhibitions and readings; business fora; projects from the fields of development collaboration, science and education or sports, the festival year emphasises the extensive links between the two countries, and in particular between their societies, in their many forms.

The exhibition ‘Zukunft erben – Geschichten und Spuren aus 200 deutsch-georgischen Jahren’ (Future Heritage – Tales and Traces from 200 Years of German-Georgian Relations) has been on show since 21 April 2017. The exhibition illustrates the content of a new web archive on German-Georgian relations, which is currently being developed by the Georgian organisation ‘Sovlab’ with the financial support of the German Federal Foreign Office and the Georgian Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection. The aim of the web archive is to maintain and popularise the documentary and historic sources on German-Georgian relations. The official opening of the German-Georgian Year 2017 was held in Germany at the Federal Foreign Office on 26 April 2017 and was attended by the Foreign Ministers of both countries.

Further information: www.facebook.com/DeuGeo2017

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Background information

The Georgian Alphabet: Unique World Heritage From the book Georgian Script & Typography History, Modern Age, Tbilisi, 2016

The Georgian alphabet is old and is used for Georgian alone. The long and interesting history of the modern Georgian alphabet lies in the obscure depths of many centuries. This alphabet evolved in three stages: asomtavruli (5th-9th or 10th centuries), nuskhuri (9th-11th) and mkhedruli (9th/10th until today). When a new version of the alphabet appeared, the older ones were not forgotten: All three forms co-existed. The most ancient samples of Georgian writing are in asomtavruli. The form of 5th century asomtavruli inscriptions found in Palestine and Georgia show that this writing system was even then long-established. The layout of the asomtavruli alphabet is simple and plain. It is based on shapes such as the circle, the semicircle and the straight line. Each letter is perfectly proportioned and fills up an imaginary square either fully or halfway. Asomtavruli is also known as mrgvlovani (rounded) alphabet. Studying Georgian written language, Ivane Javakhishvili pointed out the resemblances between the letters and presumed that they were based on Semitic scripts. He also pointed out traces of Phoenician script.

Other Georgian and foreign scholars have also written about the Semitic origins of Georgian Alphabet. The theory of its Aramaic roots has had more advocates. In 1940, a bilingual gravestone was found in Armaziskhevi. The gravestone dates back to the 2nd century AD and confirms the fact that Greek and Aramaic were both used in that period in Georgia. The majority of scholars tend to believe that Greek alphabet served as the basis for the Georgian one. Since the 19th century, Georgian and foreign scholars had been trying to determine when Georgian script first appeared. Some scholars thought that it developed back in the Hellenic era in West Georgia. Others believed that it appeared even earlier.

According to Ivane Javakhishvili, the Georgian writing system has been used since the 7th century BC. Some scholars lean towards the idea that the first alphabet appeared in Georgia after the declaration of Christianity as the state religion. Their opponents suppose that pre-Christian specimens of writing were destroyed, as were pagan idols and numerous household and cultural elements. There are also scholars who share the views of Ramaz Pataridze, who, on the basis of mathematical and astronomical analysis, presumes that Georgia alphabet was created by the priests of ancient Kolkheti- Iberia in accordance with the calendar.

The next Georgian writing system, which evolved from asomtavruli, is nuskhuri (Nuskha-Khutsuri, ‘cursive-ecclesiastic’). The oldest known inscription in nuskhuri is the Sinai Homiliary, dated 864 AD. Starting from the 10th century nuskhuri was used in many texts. Nuskhuri developed as a writing style because of the need for faster writing and an increased demand for books. Its use saved materials and time.

Mkhedruli first appeared in the 10th century and is a result of the complicated development of nuskhuri, though in a way it preserves the rounded nature of asomtavruli. Mkhedruli letters, like nuskhuri ones, are written without lifting the writing utensil, with a few exceptions. Like nuskhuri, mkhedruli letters can also be connected. In the early stages of mkhedruli, the system of connecting the letters was so complicated that it is often difficult to distinguish one letter from another, particularly in ornamental texts.

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The earliest inscriptions discovered in Georgia and beyond the borders of the country make it obvious that the Georgian alphabet had already had quite a long history of development by the 5th century. Judging from the relevant archaeological layers, the scholars Levan Chilashvili, Zaza Aleksidze and Ramaz Pataridze think that inscriptions found in Nekresi at the end of the 20th century date back to the 1st‒3rd centuries BC, the pre-Christian period. The Italian archaeologist Virgilio Corbo discovered ancient Georgian inlaid inscriptions in the ruins of a Georgian monastery in the Judean Desert near Jerusalem in 1952. One of the inscriptions dates back to the 430s AD. It is unlikely that the Georgian alphabet first appeared as late as the 5th century, as the traditions and the writing culture of that time appear to be highly developed. The Martyrdom of St. Shushanik written by Iakob Khutsesi (Tsurtaveli) in 476‒483 confirms the high artistic and literary standard which already existed in Georgia in that period. Inscriptions and manuscripts are very different things but these sources, once combined, can reveal many details of our history from ancient folios and texts inscribed on church walls and floors. Thousands of ancient manuscripts of ecclesiastical and secular literature have been preserved through numerous wars and times of misfortune and today bring to life ancient literature as well as the history of the Georgian alphabet.

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Georgian Literature in short Zaal Andronikashvili, Literary scollar

Despite being a small country situated to the south of the Caucasus mountains and on the east coast of the Black Sea, Georgia can still boast the literature that looks back on a long tradition. Georgian is a South-Caucasian language, which is not related to any other language family. The original alphabet and the literature in its own language contribute to Georgia’s unique identity and determines its cultural footprint. The first written examples of the Georgian language (4th century AD) are associated with the translation of the Bible. Therefore, Georgian literature, from its origins, has been blessed with external contacts by means of translation. An interest in other cultures has been retained — both the West and the East have an equal share as the sources of inspiration for its culture. With about five million readers Georgian literature can indeed be referred to as a small literature. However, it shines out on the world literary horizon and has a rich uninterrupted history. Within more than 1500 years it has accumulated a treasury of poetic and prosaic forms, styles, rhetoric figures, motifs, which still supply Georgian writers with abundant repertoire of expressive means and devices.

In the 5th century Iakob Tsurtaveli wrote the first original work of hagiography in Georgian: The Martyrdom of the Holy Queen Shushanik. The next 500 years passed under the banner of Christianity: we have lives and passions of Georgian saints; family dramas and love stories, historical narration, as well as descriptions of nature that mark their literary debuts in Georgia primarily in Christian clothing. Georgian poetry, too, derives from the liturgy.

When centres of education moved from monasteries to the palaces of kings and princes in the 10th century the demand for secular literature emerged. It was Shota Rustaveli who revolutionized Georgia’s literature and culture in the 12th century. The Knight in the Panther Skin, a moving story of love and friendship performed in the geographical context that stretches from China to Italy, placed monogamous love on the same level with the love of God in what was once a fully charged Christian environment thus canonizing secular literature. Rustaveli’s work, which to date is considered the culmination of Georgian literature, introduced a new literary canon: the epical became more important than the lyrical, poetry was valued higher than prose, fiction ousted realism. Later developments in Georgian literature are either direct or indirect references to Rustaveli’s literary revolution.

It was not until the 17th century that experiments with new forms and genres began: historical poems lay the foundation for realistic literary trends. Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani (1658‒1725), a great lexicographer and translator, brought prose back from exile with his elegant and laconic collection of fables A Book of Wisdom and Lies.

Davit Guramishvili (1702‒1792) revived lyrical poetry and enriched it with many new forms. In his main work, the Davitiani, an amalgam of autobiography and political history, it is love, lamentation, nostalgia and the pastoral which define his lyrical spectrum.

The epicurean trend in Georgian literature is linked to the capital city, Tbilisi, and goes back to Besiki (1750‒1791) and Sayat-Nova (1712‒1801). They are the pioneers of Tbilisi’s decadent popular and multi-ethnic city culture, which sustained through romanticism up to the 1920s, and strongly informed the contemporary Georgian novel. In the 1920s Tbilisi would grow into the centre of a supra-regional, multilingual and international avant-garde. This development was interrupted by the Bolshevik conquest of Georgia in 1921 and ultimately destroyed by Stalin’s terror machinery.

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The end of the Georgian monarchy and the country’s incorporation into the Russian empire in 1801 gave Georgian literature an additional, political, status. Over the next 200 years it would deal with political and social issues. The nation had redeemed its cultural identity from the literature in the 19th century. Romanticism both mourned the disappearance of the state and contoured the development for new Georgia, bringing Georgian literature closer to European literature in terms of themes and forms, however without interrupting its dialogue with Persian poetry. Georgian romanticism would be hard to imagine without its relationship with Russian romanticism, which takes on an important role intertextually and which, later, through translations and original poetry radiates back into Russian literature. Nikoloz Baratashvili (1817‒1845) wrote a poem Merani (Pegasus) about a rider who defies fate by riding off to his own destruction, the apogee of Georgian romantic poetry.

National and social are the two great sets of themes: they engage in polemic in Georgia, in the form of controversy between Romanticism and Realism. Georgian literature discovers its own folk and finds, under the influence of Russian romanticism, a paradigmatic, unspoiled and true Georgian personality in the Caucasian mountains. Georgian literature of the 19th century has two great stars. Alexander Kazbegi (1848‒1893), an impoverished aristocratic eccentric who spent seven years as a shepherd in the Caucasian mountains, not only revealed to Georgian readers the unknown world of the highlands, but made it the centre of his political plots, which opposed Russian colonialism. He made novel canonical genre of Georgian literature. Vazha Pshavela (1865‒1915) discovered the folk language and dialect of the eastern Georgian province of Pshavi and made it a part of Georgian high literature. He re-animated archaic myths and bestowed tragic magnitude upon the conflict between Christians and Muslims.

Georgian literature has a striking deficit of drama, which originated only in the 19th century and first acquired national importance in comedies.

The beginning of the 20th century is another time when Georgian poetry flourished. The symbolist poets’ group The Blue Horns dominated Tbilisi’s literary life. Galaktion Tabidze, the last great poet and, given the 130 metrical forms he used, the richest poet of Georgia, carried this tradition, uninterrupted by Stalin’s terror right to his suicide in 1959. Otherwise, the 20th century is the century of novel for Georgia. Unlike the first Georgian social novels of the 19th century, the great novels of the 20th century (Mikheil Javakhishvili, Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, Grigol Robakidze, Chabua Amirejibi) deal with the loss of political independence to Soviet Russia. The question of Georgianness remains crucial to them and is often sought in the mythologized past. This leads to a sort of Georgian magical realism (above all in the work of Otar Chiladze).

The literature of transition re-discovers private spaces. It distances itself from the writer’s pathos and the semi- intellectual claims to leadership of the previous generations. Contemporary Georgian literature is concerned with the problems of freedom, challenges the ancestral values and authority, questions the patriarchal social order, discovers geographical and social peripheries, researches the obscure and yet to be analysed Soviet past, reflects upon civil wars and ethnic conflicts, projects violence in everyday life as well as wartime violence, deals with refugees and social outcasts. All of the above is undertaken in the light of its own tradition, as well as that of the entire literary spectrum from South America to Japan.

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The Book Market in Georgia

In 2015, approximately 100 publishing houses were registered in Georgia. For the purpose of this research, 55 active publishing houses were singled out, most of which are small publishers, while only a small number of major or medium- size publishers are represented in the Georgian publishing market. Most publishing activity is centred in Tbilisi. Of 55 publishing houses most are registered in Tbilisi. 34 publishers took part in the research.

The tendency shows that since 2013, the number of publications has been increasing each year: the total number of books published in 2013 was 1,363 titles, whereas in 2015 the number reached 1,491, which amounts to an approximate increase of 9%.

Between 2013 and 2015, on average, the print runs published were 1,000. It can be said that this number has not changed since 2013. It is interesting that in the Georgian book market there are some large publishers, too, whose print runs have reached a maximum of 7,500 in 2013 and 2015. In Georgia the minimum print run for any particular title has been 100 copies.

In 2015, the total sales by the publishing houses included in the research amounted to 10,707,203 lari. By analysing the information on income, it has become possible to establish the total income, not only of the 34 publishing houses taking part, but also of those which refused to take part in the research. For 2015, therefore, the data amounted to a minimum addition of 2,266,995 lari, which makes a total of 12974198 lari.

Of the publishing houses taking part in the research for 2015, 47% had their main source of income (over 50%) from fiction and poetry. The other 53% obtained their income basically from a number of types: academic and professional literature, or from school textbooks, from reference books and, in a number of cases, from children’s literature.

In the publishing market for 2015, Georgian literature titles formed a relatively high proportion: of the titles published 55% were basically in the field of Georgian literature, and 45% were translated texts.

The Use of Distribution Channels 2013 ‒ 2015 The distribution and sale of books published by book publishers was mostly through companies involved in distribution. In 2013‒2015 most publishers (69% in 2015, 63% in 2014, 59% in 2013) used distributors or similar companies to sell their books. It should be noted that each year there is an increase in the practice of selling books by direct contact with shops.

As for the internet, 19% of orders for printed books are directed through that channel, which is a threefold increase for the number of users of the same channel in 2013 (6%).

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Book Publishing 2013 ‒ 2015 In Georgia it is the Georgian National Parliamentary Library which assigns ISBN numbers to register all books published in the country. This data base is also supplemented by obligatory deposits of copies. On the basis of this data base, 4,173 titles were published in Georgia in 2015. This number includes books published by any publisher, individual producer, physical person or institute or company. From 2013 to 2015 there has been a growth in the number of titles published, and it is in 2015 that the greatest number of titles was published (2013: 3.745; 2014: 2.964; 2015: 4.173).

Top 10 Publishing Houses by the Percentage of Published Titles for 2015 (Semi-structured interviews with 34 publishing houses)

Palitra L 27% Bakur Sulakauri Publishing 19% Intelekti Publishers 13% Newspaper Sakartvelos Matsne 7% Books in Batumi Publishing 4% Arete 4% Griffon 3% Artanuji 2% Nekeri 2% Adjara 2% andere Verlage 17%

Average Book Price The research has revealed that by 2015 the average selling price of the book in Georgia was 11.75 GEL (4.42 Euro). Between 2013 and 2015 we observe an increase in book-selling prices on the book market.

Book Stores According to 2014 data of the National Statistics Office of Georgia, in 2014 around 50 book stores were registered, most of them small-sized companies. Specifically, the number of small stores is 41; only “Biblus” is in the category of large companies. Nowadays there are two large and relatively long-standing e-book stores operating in the e-book market: saba.com.ge and lit.ge. Apart from those shops, there are several new websites operating in the e-book market: www.ebooks.ge, www.ibooks.ge, www.readerwill.com.

In 2013 – 2016 years, the majority, namely 60%, of titles presented on websites of e-book stores, was Georgian literature; 39% was translated literature. E-book stores offer their customers foreign-language literature in a very small number, the share being only 1%.

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About Georgia

Georgia is a small country situated on the crossroads of Europe and Asia. The capital of Georgia is Tbilisi, founded in the fifth century. Amazing natural beauty and the country’s diversity have been the source of inspiration for many writers and poets. Here we have everything that the traveller can dream about: mountains of eternal snow, mountain lakes, alpine meadows, canyon rivers full of flowers and fruit, palm-tree coasts, natural canyons, ancient caves, mineral waters and sulphur water pools: this country is indeed heaven on Earth! As one of the first countries in the world to convert to Christianity (as early as the 4th century AD), today Georgia is distinguished by its full religious freedom and tolerance. Here for centuries people of different faiths and religions have coexisted peacefully. Georgia has a diverse culture, rich history and unique artefacts. This is an ancient country at the crossroads of the Eastern and Western civilizations, where the European and Asian ways of life and traditions have fused together over thousands of years.

Georgian polyphonic music is globally famous for its special harmonious sonority, which is the part of Georgians’ DNA and best expresses the character of this nation. Since 2001, Georgian polyphonic music has been placed on UNESCO’s world intangible cultural heritage list. The polyphonic structure of this music has not changed over the centuries and still can be heard all over the country. Rhythm, dynamics, geometric order, discipline, wild energy, beautifully timed teamwork and individualism is what constitutes Georgian folk dance. To a foreign eye, Georgian dances remind one of action scenes from Hollywood, saturated with special effects.

Hectares of vineyards, the rtveli (Georgian harvesting), accompanied with polyphonic singing and clay vessels (Kvevri) full of wine – this is Georgia. 2013 the kvevri wine making method was included in UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list. In Georgia there are more than 500 different endemic species of grape, from which the best quality wine is made. Georgian national dishes are amongst the best in the world for their diversity and taste. Each historical province of the country has its own distinct culinary tradition that has been refining for centuries. The secret of this taste is Georgian soil, the natural extension of a fertile, mineral-rich landscape fed by the pure waters of the Caucasus Mountains. It seems that the nature lives on harmoniously in these products and creates unique, delicious, and organic Georgian dishes.

Festivals In almost every region of Georgia various kinds of festivals are held. Among them the most important are literary, theatrical, musical, cinema and contemporary art festivals, as well as photographic, literary, choreographical, and fashion festivals, which have all taken on a traditional shape and add to the development of their subject sphere, as well as reviving the cultural life of the region and, in general, popularising the country. Each year from 2015, in May, Tbilisi hosts Tbilisi International Festival of Literature (TIFL) with an exciting programme, fascinating speakers and guests, and high audience participation. The TIFL is hosted and organized by the Writers’ House of Georgia in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia and a number of international organizations based in Tbilisi.

The festival shares the platform between Georgian and international authors and humanists, continuing the great literary and cultural traditions of Georgia. Among the active theatrical festivals in Georgia the most prominent are the Tbilisi International Theatrical festival, the Mikheil Tumanishvili international festival of the arts (Sachukari), the international regional theatre festival in Poti, the Gori comedy festival, as well as others which bring together the world’s most loved theatre companies and the leading theatrical collectives. We should note the participation of the world-famous actor John Malkovich in the festival programme which is being put on by the Tbilisi Theatre Festival. Also noteworthy is the fact that

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Georgian spectators have, at various times, have been able to see at this festival famous stagings by Peter Brooks and Eimuntas Nekrošius.

One important fact is that cinema and animation festivals have long been traditionally held in the country: Tbilisi’s International Film Festival, the International CineDoc Festival of Documentary Films, television cameramen’s international festival The Golden Eye, the Tofuzi international animated film festival, the Nikozi Episcopal Palace’s international festival of animated films, Batumi’s Biaff authored film festival, and so on all play an important part, not only in the nation’s, but in the whole Caucasus region’s development.

Several major music festivals of various kinds are being held in Georgia: Tbilisi’s chamber music festival, the international Baroque music festival, the Telavi music festival, the Art-Geni festival, the international Night Serenade festival, the Caucasus-Jazz festival, the Black Sea and Tbilisi jazz festival, and so on. As part of the festivals, over the years a number of world-famous performers have been guest performers at these festivals. A number of festivals of electronic music have been established in Georgia and have become a tradition, the most important among them being GemFest, in which, over the years, many leading musicians in the field of Georgian electronic music have been a guest. In 2016, at the initiative of the Georgian government, a significant project, Check-In Georgia was launched: it has now become a traditional event and it unites almost every existing undertaking in the country. Under this project several major concerts have been put on, where world-famous stars perform.

Invest in Georgia Georgia is located in the Caucasus region and is a gateway between Europe and Asia. The country borders the Black Sea from the west, Russia from north, Turkey and Armenia from the south and Azerbaijan from the southeast. Georgia, or, as we call it, “Sakartvelo”, is located at the eastern shores of the Black Sea and on the southern flanks of the main crest of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. As a bridge between Europe and Asia, the economy of Georgia is highly integrated with international markets. Georgia offers access to a market of 900 million people without customs duty (provided by Free Trade Agreements and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with the EU) and a young, skilled and competitively priced labour force. This low tax rates country (9th among the low tax rate economies, according to Global Competitiveness Report) is considered to be a politically stable investment destination with low business costs, pro-business legislation and various investment opportunities, for instance in the energy sector, in hospitality and real estate, business process outsourcing, manufacturing, logistics, agriculture and food processing. Georgia has undergone a significant transformation throughout the last decade, rapidly moving towards a more liberal, free market economy, with one of the lowest rates of corruption (Transparency International’s, Global Corruption Barometer) and of bureaucracy in the world (16th in Ease of Doing Business Rank). Georgia signed the Association Agreement with the European Union in 2014, which is a recognition of the reforms the country has implemented over the years to adopt European values and further ensures the predictability of the political and investment climate of the country.

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