Formentor Literary Conversations: The spirit of literature

Over the course of nine editions, the Formentor Literary Conversations have become a major event on the Spanish literature scene. Since 2008, more than three hundred writers, editors and critics have passed through the gardens of the Hotel Formentor in Mallorca to engage in a conversation that explores the vast universe of world literature. Here, a cultivated community of readers can hear writers discuss their favorite books and join them in an unhurried conversation on the art of interpreting the great literary, poetic and philosophical texts.

Organized by the Santillana Foundation, and sponsored by the Hotel Formentor, the Literary Conversations event is preparing to celebrate in 2017 its first ten years. Inspired by its historical forebears (The Week of Wisdom, organized by Count Keyserling in 1930, and the Poetic Conversations, organized by Camilo Jose Cela in 1959), the Formentor Literary Conversations echo the spirit of those initiatives and reaffirms their laudable commitment to the tradition of European high culture. Sergio Vila-Sanjuán explained in his column in La Vanguardia (September 24, 2016) that "the event in Formentor is a model of how to foster culture with sensitivity, love and excellent results."

On the same day as the Conversations, the Formentor Prize for Literature is awarded under the patronage of the Barcelo and Buadas families. The award continues the tradition of the original Formentor award, created by Carlos Barral and a reputed group of European publishers (Gallimard, Einaudi, Rowohlt...). The Formentor Prize for Literature honors the quality and integrity of the work of the winning authors and pays tribute to great literature. Former award winners include Jorge Luis Borges, Samuel Beckett, Saul Bellow and Jorge Semprún. And in this new phase of the award, relaunched in 2011, winners have included Carlos Fuentes, Juan Goytisolo, Javier Marías, Enrique Vila-Matas and Ricardo Piglia. The winner of this year’s award is Italian writer and publisher Roberto Calasso.

View information on the program and participants:

www.conversesformentor.com