European Literature Night (ELN) returns to New York for its 7th annual edition, presenting an evening of voices from across Europe. One unforgettable night of inspiring discussions, readings, author encounters, book signings, and an after-party reception. Meet 13 guests from across Europe, discover new voices, and celebrate European literature in New York City.
Thursday, October 23, 2025 at 6:00 — 10:00 PM
Ukrainian Institute of America
2 East 79th Street New York, NY 10075
Free and open to the public. Space is limited. Registration via Eventbrite is required.
Polish Cultural Institute New York together with EUNIC New York, in cooperation with the Ukrainian Institute of America and PEN America, are proud to co-present 7th edition of the European Literature Night. Hosted by the Ukrainian Institute of America. This year’s program includes eleven award-winning authors from eleven countries celebrating English translations of their latest books through readings, dialogue, and performance.
European Literature Night 2025 sets out to explore three urgent themes. The Past’s Presence examines how seismic historical events shape characters’ present lives. Authoritarianism / Writing War focuses on the language of war and its moral, political, and social ramifications. Ties That Bind considers how love, desire, and community shape our stories.
The 2025 lineup represents a diverse and varied Europe, with participants include Alois Hotschnig (Austria), Marek Torčík (Czechia), Khuê Pham (Germany), Gabija Grušaitė (Lithuania), Tobi Lakmaker (Netherlands), Katherine Vaz (Portugal), Liliana Corobca (Romania), Ariane Koch (Switzerland), Jonas Hassen Khemiri (Sweden), and Artem Chapeye (Ukraine).
This year, the book by Joanna Olczak-Ronikier — Polish author, playwright, screenwriter, and recipient of the 2002 Nike Prize — will represent Poland at European Literature Night 2025. Her award-winning memoir In the Garden of Memory, newly published in the United States, will be presented to New York audience by Peter Osnos and translator Antonia Lloyd-Jones.
A decade-long tradition in many European countries, where readings and idea exchanges often take place in communal spaces like pubs and coffee shops, ELN brings the essence of European café culture to New York. Launched in 2017, ELN embodies a spirit of unity and the belief that literature serves as a unique medium for strengthening dialogue among diverse voices and cultures while breaking down communication barriers.
Read PEN America blog post about last year European Literature Night 2024
GUEST LINEUP:
Artem Chapeye Ordinary People Don’t Carry Machine Guns: Thoughts on War – UA
Alois Hotschnig My Mother’s Silver Fox – AT
Ariane Koch and translator Damion Searls Overstaying – CH
Gabija Grusaite The Mycelium Dream – LT
Jonas Hassen Khemiri The Sisters – SE
Katherine Vaz Above the Salt – PT
Khuê Pham Brothers and Ghosts – DE
Liliana Corobca Too Great a Sky – RO
Marek Torčík Memory Burn – CZ
Peter Osnos and translator Antonia Lloyd-Jones presenting: In The Garden of Memory by Joanna Olczak-Ronikier – PL
Tobi Lakmaker The History of My Sexuality – NL
TIME PROGRAM
- 5:30 PM Doors open
- 6:00 PM Opening remarks by Ukrainian Institute of America, EU Delegation and Czech Center New York
- 6:15 – 9:15 PM Main program, readings, panel discussions, Q&A, book signing, book sale
- 9:15 PM Wine and refreshments, DJ, networking
READINGS:
- 6:15 PM
Ariane Koch – Switzerland – Parlor
Artem Chapeye – Ukraine – Library
Peter Osnos – Poland – East Room
Gabija Grusaite – Lithuania – Park Room - 6:45 PM
Ariane Koch – Switzerland – Parlor
Artem Chapeye – Ukraine – Library
Antonia Lloyd-Jones – Poland – East Room
Gabija Grusaite – Lithuania – Park Room - 7:15 PM
Katherine Vaz – Portugal – Parlor Room
Tobi Lakmaker – Netherlands – Library
Marek Torčík – Czechia – East Room
Ariane Koch and Damion Searls – Switzerland – Park Room - 7:45 PM
Katherine Vaz – Portugal – Parlor Room
Tobi Lakmaker – Netherlands – Library
Marek Torčík – Czechia – East Room
Jonas Hassen Khemiri – Sweden – Park Room - 8:15 PM
Alois Hotschnig – Austria – Parlor
Liliana Corobca – Romania – Library
Khuê Pham – Germany – East Room
Jonas Hassen Khemiri – Sweden – Park Room - 8:45 PM
Alois Hotschnig – Austria – Parlor
Liliana Corobca – Romania – Library
Khuê Pham – Germany – East Room
Damion Searls – Switzerland – Park Room
PANEL DISCUSSIONS
- 6:15 PM The Past’s Presence
How does history echo through the lives of contemporary characters? Authors Alois Hotschnig (Austria), Khuê Pham (Germany), Liliana Corobca (Romania), Jonas Hassen Khemiri (Sweden) and Katherine Vaz (Portugal) dive into their powerful novels, exploring how war, occupation, and deportation continue to shape the present.
This lively conversation will be moderated by Sabir Sultan, Director of the World Voices Festival & Literary Programs at PEN America.
- 7:15 PM Authoritarianism, War, and Writing
From the World Wars to today’s Russian invasion of Ukraine, conflict has shaped Europe’s cultures, politics, and language. Author Artem Chapeye (Ukraine), Peter Osnos (Poland) and Antonia Lloyd-Jones (Poland) explore how war transforms personal destinies and collective memory through their novels and memoirs.
The discussion will be moderated by Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, Interim Co-CEO and Chief Program Officer of Literary Programs at PEN America.
- 8:15 PM Ties That Bind
How do intimate, familial, and imagined relationships shape who we are? Authors Ariane Koch (Switzerland), Gabija Grusaite (Lithuania), Tobi Lakmaker (Netherlands), and Marek Torčík (Czechia) explore how love, desire, and connection intertwine in their novels—and what happens when boundaries are set, crossed, or redefined.
Moderated by Sarah Dillard, World Voices Festival & Literary Programs Manager at PEN America.
A “stunning family memoir . . . that reads less like a conventional memoir and more like an intimate cultural history. . . . This is a triumph of remarkable breadth and capacity, and those drawn to history and lived memory will be enthralled.”— Publishers Weekly BookLife (Editor’s Pick)
“Like a great Russian novel bursting with colorful, wildly different characters, In the Garden of Memory presents the human side of the long, rich, poignant, story of Poland from the late 19th century through partition and two world wars. Olczak-Ronikier’s relatives are impassioned rebels and patriots; poets, translators, psychiatrists and writers; women struggling to nurture their professional ambitions despite the burdens of gender; and entrepreneurs in publishing and bookselling. We get to know each of them as they navigate the precarious dissonance of being proudly Polish and Jewish. It’s a masterful, multi-generational portrait of a family that endures even as their world descends into chaos.”— Annik LaFarge, author of Chasing Chopin: A Musical Journey Across Three Centuries, Four Countries, and a Half-Dozen Revolutions
“Powerful memories from a masterful chronicler of a sprawling family living through the glories and tragedies of Poland over the 19th and 20th centuries.”—John Darnton, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting for his reporting on Poland
Olczak-Ronikier “tells the story with a tender matter-of-factness that makes it come alive . . . Indeed, nothing in this wonderful tale is obvious, nothing is predictable.”—The Spectator
“The saga of their lives and the four generations who followed them reads like an epic novel . . . a coherent, moving, and fascinating story.”— Marcia Weiss Posner, Jewish Book Council
In the Garden of Memory, Joanna Olczak-Ronikier’s most acclaimed work, traces the lives of four generations of her own family—Polish Jews who were members of one of the country’s most illustrious clans, noted for its achievements in business, politics, and culture—as they lived, struggled, and (mostly) survived through the turbulent twentieth century.
Rich with tales of bravery as well as poignant, sometimes comic anecdotes of everyday life, the book follows the family members as they scattered around the world to European spas, tsarist prisons, Soviet war camps, and the Royal Air Force. Tracing their roots to a renowned Austrian rabbi, the family members included an array of amazing characters. One became an industrial magnate who founded the Citroën automobile company in France; another was a Communist revolutionary who ended up being arrested, tortured, and executed by Stalin’s police. One worked as an undercover agent, another as a zoologist in France. One became a notable Polish publisher, another a leading Freudian psychiatrist.
Inevitably, the tragic history of the Second World War and its catastrophic impact on European Jews looms darkly over the narrative, yet remarkably enough only two members of the clan were killed in the Holocaust. Today the survivors have continued the family journey around the world, including in the United States. Beautifully translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones, In the Garden of Memory is ultimately the uplifting account of a family that never gave up hope and never gave in.
Joanna Olczak-Ronikier is one of Poland’s most admired dramatists, screenwriters, and authors. In the Garden of Memory, her most acclaimed work, traces the lives of four generations of her own family—Polish Jews who were members of one of the country’s most illustrious clans, noted for its achievements in business, politics, and culture—as they lived, struggled, and (mostly) survived through the turbulent twentieth century. The book won the 2002 Nike Prize, Poland’s most prestigious literary award, and now is published in the United States for the first time.
This special evening is organized by the Czech Center New York and EUNIC New York with the collaboration of partnering cultural institutions and consulates: Austrian Cultural Forum New York, Camōes Institute, Goethe Institut New York, Lithuanian Cultural Institute, Polish Cultural Institute in New York, Romanian Cultural Institute, Consulate General of Portugal in New York, Ukrainian Institute of America, and the support of the European Union Delegation to the United Nations.
About EUNIC New York
EUNIC – European Union National Institutes for Culture – is the European network of organizations working in 90 countries worldwide through a network of 125 clusters and acting as a platform for promoting European values, sharing knowledge, building capacity amongst its members and partners, and engaging local partners in dialogue and common cultural projects. Created in 2007, the New York cluster of EUNIC, bringing together around 40 cultural missions from the European Union, is working in partnership to strengthen the transatlantic dialogue and cultural cooperation and showcase European values and creativity.
ELN 2025 is presented by members of EUNIC New York cluster in collaboration with PEN America, coordinated by Czech Center New York.
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