The British novelist, dramatist and poet, Deborah Levy, author of autobiographical books such as Real Estate ―where literary experience and a feminist point of view are intertwined with her experiences― presents this book and also the novel The Man Who Saw Everything, nominated for the Booker Prize in 2019, a story that mixes temporalities (East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall, London in the 1980s and today) to talk about love, our relationship with history and the tendency of human beings to repeat themselves. In conversation with Rosie Boycott.

Simultaneous interpreting from English to Spanish available

Unknown to many until he won the Nobel Literature Prize in 2021, Abdulrazak Gurnah (Tanzania/United Kingdom) uses fiction as a way of denouncing the effects of colonialism, telling the story of those who seek refuge between cultures and continents. This is the case of Paradise, his most acclaimed novel so far, which portrays the harshness and beauty of pre-colonial Africa through the eyes of a boy who is sold by his father to pay off a debt with a trader, which leads to a journey throughout Tanzania. His most recent book, Afterlife, tells the story of Ilyas, kidnapped by colonial German troops during his childhood, on his return to his hometown. Set during the beginning of the 20th century, when the African continent has been distributed among the colonial powers of Germany, the United Kingdom and France, these are getting involved in another great conflict that will devastate everything. A powerful novel that reflects on the deprivation and destruction that result from colonialism and war. Abdulrazak will talk about these books and much more in conversation with Juan Gabriel Vásquez.

Simultaneous interpreting from English to Spanish available

In this talk, we will discuss about the repercussions of the war in Ukraine in the world and, in particular, in Latin America; and about the possible bridges that could be built, both as the support that Latinamerican countries could give to a besieged country and as the lessons learned from this war. With the journalist and activist Lydia Cacho (Mexico), Sergio Jaramillo (Colombia) former Peace Comissioner in Colombia, Oleksandra Matviichuck (Ukraine) Director of the Human Rights Organization for Civil Liberties in Ukraine and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2022, and authors Andrey Kurkov (Ukraine) and Juan Gabriel Vásquez (Colombia). They will talk to the Colombian journalist Catalina Gómez Ángel, war correspondent in Ukraine.

The works of Canadian-British author Rachel Cusk have been published in over thirty languages. She is the author of works of fiction such as the iconic Outline trilogy (including the novels Outline, Transit and Kudos) and, most recently, Second Place, a story about bonds, the contradictions of motherhood, art, ageing, failure and the place of women, always determined by others. She has also published well-received non-fiction books, such as Aftermath: On Marriage and Separation and A Life's Work. Her work is critically acclaimed and popular around the world. Cusk has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and awards such as the Whitbread in the UK and the Prix Femina Etranger in France in 2022. The author will talk to Margarita Valencia.

Simultaneous interpreting from English to Spanish available

The singer, composer, musician and musical legend in the Spanish-speaking world, the Paisa artist Juan Esteban Aristizábal, or Juanes, comes to Cartagena to talk about his book of memoire, Juanes by Diego Londoño, written with the journalist Diego Londoño (Colombia), author of various books about musicians. In conversation with Juan Esteban Lewin Pinzón.

Why did humans live in stasis throughout most of their existence? What lit the touchpaper of the enormous transformation of our lifestyles just a few hundred years ago? And why has this progress resulted in a vast inequality gap in our world? Asking these questions, the economist and thinker Oded Galor (United States/Israel) reveals, in his influential book, The Journey of Humanity, the keys to understanding two of the great mysteries in the evolution of humanity: progress and inequality. Galor is a Professor at Brown University (United States) and has researched, in depth, processes of change and their impacts, linking them to the economy and social organization. In conversation with José Manuel Acevedo.

Simultaneous interpreting from English to Spanish available

Oded Galor will participate remotely