In cooperation with the Embassy of Ireland in Greece, for two days in a row at the Puppet Theatre, children from the National Cultural Centre for Children invented characters, created new worlds and wrote stories together with the authors of Fighting Words.

These creations will be gathered in a special publication and will be presented on Saturday, during the closing night of the European Literature Festival in Tirana

During their visit, Fighting Words also met with Suad Arrilla and Antonio Çikollari, two young writers from Albania, for an open conversation about beginnings in literature, the emotion of seeing a first text published, and the moments when a story leads you somewhere completely different from what you had imagined.

They spoke about the writing process, about the rejections and doubts that often accompany this path, and about the joy of a published text, showing the young writers in the audience that behind every book there is a lot of work, patience, and challenges.

Second edition of FELT 2025 kicked off two days ago and it brings 12 authors, representing 13 EU member states, and takes place on 2-6 December.

Aiming to highlight the diversity of European voices, promote contemporary literature, and engage Albanian public with authors and creatives from all over Europe, the festival offers a platform for dialogue, understanding, and storytelling through dynamic formats.

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The Embassy of France and the National Books and Reading Centre invited local publishers in Albania to participate in the 2025 Publication Support Program call for projects.

The Embassy announced that applications can be submitted until midnight of May at the following two addresses: scac.tirana-amba@diplomatie.gouv.fr dhe info@qkll.gov.al.

Priority for selection will be given to: books for children and young people, books that have won awards, as well as essays in the field of social sciences and humanities on the environment and European issues.

The announcement published on the French Embassy’s website states that this activity represents one of the strong axes of the partnership with the National Books and Reading Centre.

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Director of the National Center Alda Bardhyli and President of the Association of Writers of Serbia Miloš Janković signed the relevant agreement today.

The National Center for Book and Reading and the Association of Writers of Serbia will promote the translation and publication of literary works in both languages.

Both parties will mediate to connect with publishing houses, literary and professional magazines and other expert organizations from the field of literature and culture.

The parties also undertake to work actively for the extension of cultural cooperation in all fields, projects, exhibitions and visits of possible delegations, etc.

After signing of the agreement, President Janković presented to Director Bardhyli a bilingual Albanian-Serbian dictionary compiled in 1935 by Luk Lukaj, an Albanian personality, who was connected to Serbia by love for a woman.

The dictionary contains old Albanian words dating from 1935. /r.e/p.s./

Attending the event was Minister of Culture Elva Margariti.

“The national awards for literature brought us together again on the eve of the holidays. Among friends, we announced the winners in 6 categories, with the best wishes for more creativity and satisfactory initiatives in support of people of letters”, said Margariti in a post on social media.

Agron Tufa received the national literature award, for the category “Best novel of the year”, with the book “Immaculated Conception”, a masterful narrative and a rich gallery of characters, where history, the fantastic and the grotesque are woven together.

Anila Kadija was awarded the national literature award for the category “Best children’s book of the year” with the book “Lullaby of the heart”, for a work with rich imagery and discourse, which conveys the love for the Albanian language and the world.

Visar Zhiti was awarded with the national literature award, for the category “The best poetic volume of the year”, with his book “Prison Manuscripts”, for a work written under dramatic circumstances, which radiates humanity and high artistic values.

Saverina Pasho was awarded the national literature award for the “Best Translation of the Year” category, for the masterful translation of a work with complicated discourse and conveying the universal dimension of Kamy’s art, “The First Man”.

The national literature award for the category “Best literary study of the year” was awarded to Persida Asllani and Dhurata Shehri for the book “A comparative history of Albanian literature”, carrying a different approach to literary development through the application of the comparative method in the reconceptualization of the history of Albanian literature.

Durim Taçi received the national literature award, for the category “The best volume of stories of the year” with the book “From another door”, evaluated especially for his techniques of modern storytelling and the outline of the literary chronicle of our time, focusing on philosophy of facing the other person. /k.s/p.s./

Translators Bajram Karabolli, Flavia Kaba and scholars Vjollca Osja and Anxhela Lepuri were present at the COD for the meeting entitled “Spanish Literature in Albanian”.

They discussed, in the presence of the public, about Spanish literature translated into Albanian, translation issues, censorship of translated works, negotiations and losses suffered by the translated text, translation from second languages, magical realism and the Latin American boom.

A special place in this meeting was occupied by those Spanish authors who have recently been published in the Albanian language.

During the week of Spanish culture, the public of Tirana had the opportunity to get acquainted with various aspects of Spanish culture as part of the “International Cultural Weeks”. On the last day of Spanish culture, i.e. today, there are 2 are scheduled two events: The inauguration of the mural realized by painter Carlos Alvarez at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, as well as a concert with electronic music from Delaporte at the New Bazaar area./p.s./