Italian writer Alessandro Baricco is due to visit Colombia from Jan. 28 to Feb. 6. He will attend the Hay Festival in Cartagena from his arrival until Jan. 31. The Festival will conclude with a conference with journalist and editor Marcel Ventura at the Adolfo Mejia theatre. The festival, now at its 10th edition, is one of the most important literature events in the Spanish-speaking world. This year, besides Baricco, the event will be attended by Nobel prizewinning economist Joseph Stiglitz in addition to numerous writers such as Hanif Kureishi, Lionel Shriver, Gonçalo Tavares, Peter Stamm, Johann Hari, Julian Herbert, Piedad Bonnett, Mario Mendoza and Takashi Hiraide.
One of the most important literature events in the Spanish-speaking world
After the festival, from Feb. 1 to 5 Baricco will hold a Holden School writing workshop, in conjunction with the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University in Cartagena and the Technological University of Bolivar. Mr Baricco will be assisted by two colleagues from the Holden School, Silvia Schiavo and Alessandro Mari. Baricco’s trip to Colombia has been organised by the Italian Cultural Institute (IIC) of Bogota, in partnership with the festival and with the two universities involved in the workshop.
