One of our favourite times of the year has almost arrived and we are happy to share some recommendations for that, so you could also have the pleasure of the written word heard out loud. The literature festival “HeadRead” will start tomorrow and here are five hints, where to go and what to do, but there are many more exciting things happening, so keep your eyes open and let the literature feast begin!

 

  • Jason Goodwin’s crime fiction workshop
    Saturday, 27 May at 13:00
    Tallinn Central Library
    International programme Workshop
    Original language: English

Must  be fast and register to get a spot there, but we can’t not recommend it, because it is such a gem. Let us imagine Sherlock Holmes at the HeadRead literary festival. He would probably become bored quickly, as he would be able to guess the topic of the talk based on the creases in the speakers’ clothes and the soles of their shoes, and would instead go to the Estonia Theatre to enjoy a violin concert. Let us imagine Kurt Wallander in the same position. He would probably not last long either, his secret wine stash would soon run out, his mobile would ring because his ex-wife has found a skull in her garden or has forgotten her medication. Mister Hercule Poirot would politely interrupt the event, gather everyone around him and after a brilliant monologue, identify the person who would love to be the first to get an autograph from the author. Since the appearance of these gentlemen in Tallinn in late spring is highly unlikely, everyone is free to fantasise about a crime novel plot that unfolds at a literary festival – actually, it would be best if it remained a fantasy. The best way to do that is to attend the crime fiction workshop on at the Tallinn Central Library, supervised by British historian and writer Jason Goodwin. The workshop by Goodwin (1964), whose five-book series on the Istanbul detective Yaşim has also appeared in Estonian, is a popular fixture on the festival schedule. Participation is subject to prior registration (from 10 May) by writing to info@headread.ee.

  • Jonas Khemiri
    Saturday, 27 May at 14:00
    Estonian Writers’ Union
    Programme and Format: Conversation with writer
    Original language: English
    Translated to: Estonian

Jonas Hassen Khemiri, born in Sweden in 1978, is the internationally acclaimed author of four novels and six plays. His work has been translated into more than twenty languages, and his plays have been performed by over 100 companies around the world and received accolades including a Village Voice Obie Award for best script. His first two novels, One Eye Red and Montecore, were awarded several prizes in Sweden including best literary debut and the Swedish Radio Award for best novel of the year. His most recent novel, Everything I Don’t Remember, was awarded the August Prize 2015, Sweden’s most important and prestigious literary award. He lives in Stockholm with his family. Khemiri will talk to Christer Haglund, the head of the Estonian branch of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

  • Louise O’Neill
    Saturday, 27 May at 13:00
    Estonian Writers’ Union
    Programme and Format: Conversation with writer
    Original language: English
    Translated to: Estonian

Louise O’Neill (1985) is an Irish writer. Her work is usually categorised as young adult, and The Guardian has named her as one of the best living young adult authors. O’Neill could also be considered a feminist writer because she candidly explores injustice against women and stereotypes about women. O’Neill’s debut novel Only Ever Yours (2014) is about today’s standards of beauty, which are often accompanied by subjecting women to patriarchal ideas. O’Neill’s second novel Asking for It focuses on an even more painful subject. It tells the story of a teenage girl living in a small Irish town, who becomes a victim of a gang rape. The novel has its roots in several prominent real-life rape cases and talks about the aftermath of such an act – the public humiliation and condemnation that can befall the victim. Louise O’Neill will talk to translator Kaisa Kaer.

  • Catherine Merridale
    Sunday, 28 May at 18:00
    Estonian Writers’ Union
    Programme and Format: Conversation with writer
    Original language: English
    Translated to: Estonian

Catherine Merridale (1959) is a British historian who specialises in Russian history. Her first book to be published in Estonian, Ivan’s War, takes an unusual look at the experience of the Second World War by focusing on the lives of ordinary soldiers. Merridale looks behind the streams and statistics of Big History, analysing why and how ordinary Red Army soldiers endured at the front. Her book Red Fortress researchers the history of the Kremlin. She has talked about the enduring impression left by the golden domes and powerful red-brick walls of the Kremlin on her 18-year-old self when she was visiting Moscow for the first time. The Red Fortress takes a look at the varied, grand and dark history behind those walls. Merridale’s latest book Lenin on the Train (2016), is, as the title indicates, a passionate study of the pivotal year 1917 when the instigator of the Russian revolution embarked on a personal odyssey from Zürich to St Petersburg to have a forceful impact on history. Catherine Merridale will talk to history professor Karsten Brüggemann.

  • Ann Cleeves
    Friday, 26 May at 15:00
    Estonian Writers’ Union
    Programme and Format: Conversation with writer
    Original language: English
    Translated to: Estonian

Ann Cleeves (1954) is a British crime author whose book sales are roughly the size of the entire population of Estonia. Her work features several thematic series; six murder mysteries from the 1990s comprise the Inspector Ramsay series – Inspector Stephen Ramsay is roaming the village landscape of Northumberland. The so-called Vera series stars detective Vera Stanhope. The Shetland series takes place on the rough islands between the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. The first book of the series, Raven Black, is perhaps her most famous and won the Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award for the best crime novel of the year in 2006. This year, the British Crime Writers’ Association awarded Cleeves the highest honour, their Diamond Dagger Award. Both the Shetland series and the Vera Stanhope series have been adapted for the small screen by the BBC as Shetland and Vera respectively. Ann Cleeves will talk about her work with British crime writer Jason Goodwin.