Who are the young prose writers in Novi Sad, where is their place within contemporary prose tendencies and how are they influenced by the literary heritage of earlier epochs – those are the topics of the literary evening that will be held today, 29 July in the OPENS Cultural Station, while the audience can follow it online on the official Facebook page of cultural stations from 7 p.m. within the ‘Artists. Now!’ project.

Dragan Babić, literary critic, essayist and jury member with several awards, has been following contemporary prose for several years, with special reference to the work of his generation, i.e. authors belonging to the corpus of the new young scene, presenting them in relevant media, literary magazines, literary evenings and festivals. He initiated a literary evening with a focus on young authors and the current tendencies of today’s prose at the Public Call within the ‘Artists. Now!’ project.

‘The Novi Sad prose has always had high aspirations, which was evident throughout the 20th century, and similar aspirations are present today. The prose writers in Novi Sad have something to say to today’s readers and can reach them, and it is precisely this mutually stimulating relationship that is the key to the progress of contemporary literary production. Today, the young Novi Sad scene is very lively, creative and, above all, of high quality,’ claims Babić.

Dušan Vejnović and Andrea Popov Miletić, the young writers, will take part in the conversation, and they will share their experiences of writing, publishing, awarding and collaborating with various magazines and publishing houses. In addition to this, we will talk about prose created by other representatives of the young Novi Sad prose scene, such as Bojan Krivokapić, Sonja Veselinović, Đorđe Majstorović, Milan Kovačević, Goran Segedinac and others.

‘Unfortunately, a certain number of writers who deserve the opportunity to present themselves to the public are still left without the possibility of presentation, and that is why it is important to enable as many creators as possible to reach their audience, and vice versa. During the literary evening, the audience will be able to get involved and express their vision of the young Novi Sad prose today, as well as to talk to the authors about all the issues that they consider important,’ explains Dragan.

The project is conceived as the beginning of future organised appearances of the mentioned authors and other Novi Sad writers of the younger generation, as well as their connection in a new and stronger context.

‘The ‘Artists. Now!’ project is, above all, stimulating for individuals who create in the area of Novi Sad and perform individually or in small groups, giving them the opportunity to make their work public and present themselves to the public. Therefore, it is important for the development of the Novi Sad prose scene because it could connect separate artists and creators into one informal but coherent artistic group,’ says Babić, emphasizing the importance of the title of the European Capital of Culture for the Novi Sad authors.

‘The title can present the Novi Sad literary scene to a wider audience on a national and global level, proving the value and literary relevance of authors who work in Novi Sad. Furthermore, the programmes within the European Capital of Culture will remind the Novi Sad audience of the artistic capacity and potential of local authors encouraging them to get involved in the programmes themselves.’

This literary evening is one of 22 projects that received funding in the ‘Artists. Now!’ public call of the ‘Novi Sad 2021 – European Capital of Culture’ Foundation that aims to strengthen the Novi Sad cultural scene through a network of cultural stations, raising its capacities, decentralisation of culture and audience development.

Partner in the ‘Artists. Now!’ project is Mercator S.

Photo Credit: V. Veličković