Latvian Literature

08/08/2025

📣 We almost missed sharing this wonderful news - another incredible success for Latvian literature in translation! 🇱🇻👏

🇵🇱 Literacka Nagroda Europy Środkowej Angelus The Literary Prize of Central Europe Angelus 2025 (Poland) has announced its longlist - out of 137 submitted books, 14 novels made it through… and YES, one of them is from Latvia! 🙌

Enormous congratulations 🎉🎉🎉 to:
📖 Inga Gaile for her novel "Skarbeniek" (Jaukumiņš)
🖋️ Translated by Dans Lubinskis
🏢 Published by Wydawnictwo Marpress

The Angelus Award, presented annually by the city of Wrocław, Poland, honours the best Central European prose published in Polish. It highlights works that speak of today’s urgent themes and deepen cultural understanding. 🌍💬

📅 In September, 7 books will be chosen for the finals.
🏆 On October 18, the winner will be revealed!

Fingers crossed for Latvian literature! 🤞❤️📘
Originally published by Dienas Grāmata.
More information: www.angelus.com.pl
Wrocławski Dom Literatury Wroclaw [Wroclove] Ambasada Łotwy w Polsce - Latvijas vēstniecība Polijā

Do września, kiedy ogłoszona zostanie finałowa siódemka Literackiej Nagrody Europy Środkowej Angelus 2025, pozostało jeszcze trochę czasu, dlatego przez okres wakacyjny przybliżamy tytuły z długiej listy. Po Macedonii Północnej oraz Bośni i Hercegowinie tym razem kierujemy się na północ, do Łotwy.

📚 „Skarbeniek” Ingi Gaile, w przekładzie Daniela Łubińskiego (Wydawnictwo Marpress), to szczera i przewrotna opowieść o samotnym macierzyństwie, kobiecych pragnieniach i presji bycia „matką idealną”. Bohaterka książki, Sarma, zostaje sama z dwójką dzieci i codziennością, która potrafi być bezlitosna. W jej życiu pojawia się Skarbeniek – głos, przyjaciel i alter ego, który pozwala jej przetrwać i nazwać to, co zwykle nie znajduje miejsca w języku. Gaile, współtwórczyni łotewskiego „Stand-upu kobiet”, tworzy literaturę, która daje głos tym, którzy rzadko są słyszani.

Więcej o książce, autorce i tłumaczu przeczytacie na stronie: www.angelus.com.pl

08/08/2025

📚🌍 We’re happy and grateful that there are translators who often do quiet work of making sure the world hears the most powerful voices of Latvian poetry. 💫✍️

This time it is about the legendary Uldis Bērziņš (1944–2021) - poet and translator. His life and work are introduced in the USA based online magazine Jacket2, which offers commentary on modern and contemporary poetry 🇱🇻🇺🇸

📝 The feature is written by Kevin M. F. Platt and Sintija Ozoliņa, along with a selection of Uldis Bērziņš’s poems in English translation.
Thank you, translators, for helping Latvian poetry travel across the world. 💛🖋️

Uldis Bērziņš, translated by Kevin M. F. Platt and Sintija Ozoliņa Uldis Bērziņš (second from left) with three unidentified students of the translation institute at the Latvian State University sometime in the 1980s. Photo from the personal archive of Elena Staburova. In 2011, Uldis Bērziņ....

07/08/2025

🇱🇻 🇫🇮 New translation out in Finland!
Not to say that summer is over... but as the school season approaches, this story is for the young readers to get excited about the new school year! ✏️🎒

📘 "Rasan päiväkirja" (“Rasa’s Diary”) by Juris Zvirgzdiņš and Inguna Cepite is now available in Finnish. Published by Paperiporo publishing house. 🖌️Illustrated by Gundega Muzikante. Congratulations!!!!

In this story follow Rasa - a bright and curious girl starting her first school year. Enjoy her new adventures, her loyal animal friends Tobias and Zorro and her sometimes-annoying (but always surprising) cousins. 🐶🐱👧

Originally published by Pētergailis.

Paperiporo uutuus - Rasan päiväkirja

07/08/2025

🇱🇻 🇳🇱 Congratulations to the Dutch translation of the "Het bed met de gouden p**t" (Gulta ar zelta kāju)!!!

In its first month of publishing, it's already winning hearts in the press with the article "Zigmund Skujin's 'The Bed with the Golden Leg: 500 pages of excellent literature"! 📚
Translated by Brenda Lelie, the novel by Zigmunds Skujiņš has received a 4‑star review by De Standaard newspaper.
It’s praised as an “family chornicle”, a “timeless allegory” and “ideal introduction to Latvian culture”.
Published in Netherland by Uitgeverij Prometheus.

It is a story of Vējagals family, five generations that navigates love, revolution and empires across 150 years of Latvian history, told with warmth, humour and grace.

Huge congratulations to Brenda Lelie for bringing this epic novel to life in Dutch and to the publisher for introducing Skujiņš’s legacy to a new audiences in Netherlands! 🇳🇱❤️

Read the review here: https://shorturl.at/kkbqU

Embassy of Latvia in the Netherlands

Eindelijk is er een Nederlandse vertaling van Zigmunds Skujins’ Het bed met de gouden p**t. De imposante familiekroniek is tegelijk een ideale introductie tot de Letse cultuur en een tijdloze allegorie.

06/08/2025

🐾 Who are people’s best friends? Aren’t they often the animals who understand and feel us more deeply than anyone else? ❤️
Here’s a brand new translation of this beautiful comic about exactly that!

🇱🇻🇸🇮 Čakala sem te (Es tevi gaidīju!) by Maira Dobele, illustrated by Rebeka Lukošus is now out in Slovenia, published by Založba Hart publishing house, translated by Klemen Pisk ! 📘
Congratulations!!!

The comic tells the story of the deep bond between a person and their beloved pet in simple, everyday moments that will be familiar to every dog owner. A beautiful story of love, loyalty and everyday companionship. 🐶 🐶 🐶

Order here: https://www.hartpublishing.si/izdelek/cakala-sem-te/

Originally published by liels un mazs

Slikanica pripoveduje o posebni vezi med človekom in njegovim ljubljenčkom. V toplih prizorih iz vsakdanjega življenja, ki so znani vsakemu pasjemu lastniku, spremljamo psičko Seto – zvesto spremljevalko, ki vedno potrpežljivo čaka na svojo gospodarico.

06/08/2025

🇱🇻 🇦🇹 While we were resting, some authors were working — and we would like to share some moments with you from Vienna, Austria, where the Orbīta group performed their performance "Echo Echo" during the Kultursommer Wien festival! 🎤🔊

This performance blended poetry, technology and sound, offering the audience an unforgettable poetic soundscape. 🎶

👥 Poetry translations by Lil Reif & Sven Otto
📸 Photo credits: Suna films, Kultursommer Wien

Thank you for inviting Latvian literature to be part of this wonderful celebration — we hope to return next year with even more poems from Latvia! 📚

Lettische Botschaft in Österreich/ Latvijas vēstniecība Austrijā Tino Schlench

05/08/2025

📣 The River (Upe) flows now also in Macedonia! 🌊🇲🇰
We’re happy to learn that the Macedonian translation of "The River" - "Реката" by Laura Vinogradova is now out, published by АНТОЛОГ - Книжевен центар and translated by Darin Angelovski
Congratulations!!! 📚

👉Buy the book here: https://antolog.mk/product/rekata/

Winner of the 2021 European Union Prize for Literature.
Originally published by Zvaigzne ABC.

🏞️ КОГА ТИ НЕДОСТАСУВА НЕКОЈ, ЦЕЛИОТ СВЕТ СТАНУВА ЕХО.

Руте живее удобно, но не и мирно — срцето ѝ е празно од денот кога ѝ исчезнала сестрата. Додека ѝ пишува писма што никој не ги чита, таа се обидува да разбере каде престанува болката, а каде почнува прифаќањето. Во еден миг, реката станува нејзин доверлив слушател, метафора за сестринството што не исчезнува. Ова е тивка, но длабока приказна за љубовта, загубата и храброста да продолжиш со животот кога минатото не пушта.

#антологџики #антологџии #новаКнига

05/08/2025

Wonderful news from France! 📘💛
Two books from our lovely French publisher Les Éditions Bleu & Jaune are among the four finalists for the prestigious Pierre‐François Caillé Prize for Translation 2025 🏆— and one of them is a Latvian novel! 🇱🇻
📖 The River (Upe) by Laura Vinogradova, beautifully translated from Latvian by Louise de Brisson, is one of the finalists.

👏 Huge congratulations!!! to Louise for her remarkable translation and this nomination ❤️📚

Each year, the Pierre‐François Caillé Prize honours a translator at the beginning of their literary translation career, and we’re so pleased to see translators getting the recognition they deserve! 🙌

Ambassade de Lettonie en France/ Latvijas vēstniecība Francijā

04/08/2025

☀️ While summer is in full bloom and many are enjoying vacations, some people have been still working — including publishers around the world! 🌍📚

We’re very happy to share the news that the Korean publisher "Sorry Tree" has published the bestselling Latvian novel "Doom 94" (Jelgava 94) by Jānis Joņevs 🇱🇻🇰🇷 Congratulations!
Translated by Seong Hyeon- jun

More information: https://www.sorrytree.net/Books/

Now readers in Korea can enjoy the wild 90s youth culture of Latvia and experience this unique coming-of-age story!

Embassy of Latvia in Korea 주한라트비아 대사관

                    온라인 구매처지은이 | 야니스 요녜브스Jānis Joņevs옮긴이 | 성현준출간일 | 2025. 6.26정가 | 18,000원판형 | 152mm*225mm쪽수 | 370쪽ISBN | 979-11-958826-27-0저자소개야니스 요녜브스 Jānis Joņevs1980년 라트비아 옐가바.....

04/07/2025

☀️ It's time to relax!☀️
This July, the Latvian Literature office is taking a break — stepping away from our emails and social media accounts to enjoy a well-deserved summer rest. 🌿💤

We’ll be back in August recharged, just in time for a busy and exciting autumn season. 🍁📚

📩 If something urgent comes up, feel free to email [email protected] — we’ll try to respond as soon as possible.

🌞 Let the summer begin — happy holidays to all! 🌴🌸🌊
Comic by Anete Konste and Reinis Petersons.

04/07/2025

📣 Already TOMORROW!
Saturday 5th July 2025 from 18:30–19:30
📍 21., Football Club 1210, Vienna, Austria 🇦🇹

🎭 Join the Vienna Cultural Summer 2025 Kultursommer Wien and
do not miss "Echo Echo" – a powerful poetry performance by Latvian artist group Orbīta 🇱🇻 combining poetry, technology & sound art in German & English languages! 🔊📡

Invisible signals like Wi-Fi, GSM and infrasound have become a poetic soundscape – even the voice of legendary Latvian poet Knuts Skujenieks will return. 📻

👥 Poetry translations by Lil Reif & Sven Otto
📖 Readings by Anna Eble, Christoph Haacker, Maria Schubarth & Konstantin Schmidtbauer

01/07/2025

🎨❤️ Last weekend two wonderful Latvian authors went to Lithuania to meet their new readers at the Nuotykiai tęsiasi Festival 🇱🇹
Agnese Vanaga Maziem latvjiem and Anna Vaivare shared their love through the story of ❤️ “Širdukai” (Sirdslietas)❤️

Kids got to know the book's characters, played games and created comics with their own made-up heroes — a sad triangle wasn’t allowed into the botanical garden 🌿🔺, three friends went to the cinema and fell asleep 🎬😴, and a cloud played so hard with the sun that they both fell to the ground ☁️🌞💥.
Yes, fun was had! Here are some pictures!

Published in Lithuania by Misteris Pinkmanas, translated by Laura Laurušaitė. Originally published by liels un mazs.