An annual celebration of contemporary European literature, featuring author readings, panel discussions, book signings, and conversations on the power of stories to connect us across languages and borders.
Wensday, October 28, 2026 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, Czech Center New York and PEN America, are proud to co-present 7th edition of the European Literature Night. Presented by Czech Center New York and EUNIC New York. Hosted by the Ukrainian Institute of America.
For one evening, New York becomes a meeting place for some of Europe’s most compelling literary voices.
European Literature Night is an annual celebration of contemporary European literature, bringing together acclaimed authors, translators, publishers, and readers for an evening devoted to the power of storytelling across languages and borders. Through literature in translation, the program invites audiences to discover remarkable new works, encounter diverse perspectives, and experience the richness of Europe’s literary landscape.
Poland will be represented by Mikołaj Łoziński with My Name Is Stramer. The translator Antonia Lloyd-Jones will also be present.
Presented by Czech Center New York and EUNIC New York, the evening features live author readings, thought-provoking panel discussions moderated by PEN America, and conversations exploring how literature fosters dialogue across cultures. Guests will also have the opportunity to meet participating authors during book signings, browse a curated selection of featured titles, and conclude the evening with a reception celebrating European literature and cultural exchange.
Whether you are a passionate reader, a literary professional, or simply curious to discover new voices from across Europe, European Literature Night offers a unique opportunity to experience the stories that connect us across borders.
Participating authors and the full program will be announced soon.
A richly evocative and moving new novel following an ordinary Polish Jewish family in the years preceding the Second World War.
“Wise, world-weary and wry, and with an authenticity to its time that makes [this book] feel like a rediscovered classic.” —The Times
Though he returned from America penniless, Nathan Stramer still daydreams of a better life as he struggles to make ends meet back the small Polish town of Tarnów. Raising 6 children with his wife Rywka, he chases hare-brained schemes to make money while she fantasises about a trip to the seaside. Crammed into a 2-room apartment on down-at-heel Goldhammer Street, the family gets by on very little, and everyone has to pitch into Nathan’s latest ventures, including an ill-fated Stramer family café.
As the years pass, their children begin to take steps into a changing world. Rudek, the eldest, sets his passions aside for a practical job; Rena embarks on an affair with a married man, and Hesio and Salek become ever more involved with Communism.
While Nathan and Rywka try to hold the centre of their raucous family life together, national conflicts begin to escalate in Europe, and sinister forces creep into the Stramers’ world that they don’t yet understand.
Bursting with humour and pathos, My Name is Stramer is a beautiful, loving evocation of a vanished world. Internationally acclaimed as one of Poland’s foremost writers, Mikołaj Łoziński tells the tragic story of the interwar years through the ordinary triumhs and struggles of a sprawling Polish-Jewish family.
Mikołaj Łoziński is a Polish novelist, screenwriter, and photographer. He has received several awards for his writing, including the Polityka Passport and the Kościelski Foundation Award. His third novel, My Name Is Stramer, was shortlisted for the prestigious Nike Literary Award and has been translated into 16 languages. Łoziński lives in Warsaw.
Antonia Lloyd-Jones has translated works by many of Poland’s leading contemporary novelists and reportage authors, as well as classics, biographies, essays, crime fiction, poetry and children’s books. She is best known as a translator of Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk. For ten years she was a mentor for the Emerging Translators’ Mentorship Program and is a former co-chair of the UK Translators Association.
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 2026 is presented by members of EUNIC New York cluster in collaboration with PEN America, coordinated by Czech Center New York.
