PHOTOS: Hungarian literature at the New Delhi World Book Fair 2023!

Source: Gopalan Rajamani

For the first time, the Petőfi Literary Fund is representing Hungarian literature at the New Delhi World Book Fair 2023 (25 February to 5 March, 2023).

On February 26, 2023, Liszt Institute – Hungarian Cultural Centre Delhi in collaboration with Petőfi Literary Fund, co-organised a workshop titled “Kaleidoscope: Hungarian Contemporary Literature” at the New Delhi World Book Fair 2023 featuring authors Ms. Judit Berg and Mr. Péter Szűcs, Mr. Dániel Levente Pál, General Manager of Petőfi Literary Fund. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Marianne Erdő, Director of Liszt Institute – Hungarian Cultural Centre Delhi.

Ms. Judit Berg is one of Hungary’s most popular writers of children’s literature. She started working as a full-time writer in 2005 and till now, she has written 70 books. She writes for several age groups from toddlers to teens. Besides her activity in children’s literature, she writes short stories for adults. She said that last year her first novel for adults, a psycho-thriller, was published. Some of her books have become recommended readings in Hungarian elementary schools.

Péter Szűcs is an author, independent journalist, travel writer and photographer. Péter, who was born in 1976, studied literature as well as cultural anthropology at ELTE University, Budapest, where he earned a degree in Hungarian Literature and Linguistics. His stories, articles and photos were published by international magazines like Forbes, Elle, Marie Clare and National Geographic. One can find out more about him and his work at his website www.petersplanet.travel.

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Péter spoke about his first novel, titled ‘Dharma’, written in Hungarian and published in 2021 which was one of the best selling books of the year. The novel Dharma is a family fictional story, stretching from Tisza River, Hungary to the great river of India, Ganges. It is a saga that spans across three generations of an extended family. Péter said that his debut novel Dharma was inspired by his travel experiences and that his first trip to India has changed his life. He further said that his novel was also inspired by Indian people and Indian cities like Mumbai and Varanasi and he was truly happy to come back to feel inspired and meet with India again in 2023.

Dániel Levente Pál is the General Manager of Petőfi Literary Fund. He is a poet, writer, editor and circus dramaturge. He is the author of four poetry collections and a book of short stories. After a few years of freelancing, between 2012 and 2016, he was the editor-in-chief of one of the biggest university publishing houses, ELTE University Press. Since 2016, he has been working for the Capital Circus of Budapest as a playwright-dramaturge, he has created five circus shows in cooperation with world-famous circus artists, one of his shows (The Children of Atlantis) was the most successful circus performance of the last 25 years in Hungary. His latest book (Az Úr Nyolcadik Kerülete – The 8th District of God) was an instant success in Hungary.

The discussion among the panelists about the Hungarian Contemporary Literature was pretty interesting. The event was very well attended by a large number of visitors to the World Book Fair. Photos of the event and of the stall of the Petőfi Literary Fund can be seen below: