Evaluation by...

Cornelia Travnicek

My impressions about Kikinda short:
Great texts, great writers, great atmosphere: Total European unification - absolutely successful in connecting people.

This festival was useful because...
... I did get to know friendly and totally nuts (in a good way) people from all over Europe and they did get the chance to know me.

Specific benefit from this festival for me is...
... selling my books to foreigners and getting advertisement in foreign press.


Vladimir Martinovski

1)Utisci:

- Odličan izbor autora! Autori koji su došli su pisci koji nastupaju na književnoj sceni i imaju šta da ponude.

- Kikinda short je jedan od najopušteniijih Festivaal na kojima sam učestvovao.

Prava umetnicka atmosfera: bez sterilnih protokola i "samosvojnih" hvalospeva.

- Sjajna organizacija. Mlada ekipa ima sve šta treba: znanje, upornost, spontanost i humor...

- Jedina (bukvalno jedina) primedba: previše klope! Bolje bi bilo da ne merimo holesterol.

2) Za mene je festival bio koristan jer...

- Festival je ponudio publici bogatu sliku aktuelne evropske prozne produkcije.

- Jako je bitno što svako izdanje Festivala polako gradi network mladih proznih autora. To je veliki potencijal.

- Veliki benifit za sve (i za autore i za čitatelje) bice i zajednička knjiga priča.

3) Konkretan značaj festivala za mene je u...

- Dobio sam divan feedback na jednu od mojih omilenih kratkih priča. To je odličan stimulans za nove priče!

- Čuo sam sjajne priče i upoznao lično njihove autore.

- Sad mogu da ih pozovem da pravimo zajedničke projekte!

Radu Pavel Gheo

1) My impressions about Kikinda short:

I have been to some festivals and writers’ conferences in my life, but Kikinda Short was one of the best organized and best managed of all. One could hardly believe that you can gather 25-30 persons from a lot of different countries, people who don’t know each other, and then to make them know each other, become friends, act and enjoy united, as a team. This is Kikinda Shorts’s greatest achievement of all.

2) This festival was useful because... First, Kikinda Short gives a series of writers from wholly different countries to know each other and to find a series of facts about the cultural and artistic life from other parts of Europe. Secondly, it offers the Serbian readers the chance to get in touch with the literature written all over the Europe (and the world). Finally – due to the organizers’ efforts –, it gives a sense of community between people and a scent of the artistic freedom we all dream about.

3) Specific benefit from this festival for me is... that I met people from our literary republic; I discovered Kikinda and Beograd (and I liked them); I had the chance to observe and study different artistic styles, different people, different mentalities – and the way all these different people interact with each other; I enjoyed four days of high-quality time.

I liked the guests and the hosts; I liked Kikinda; I liked the readings in the town and in the big city of Beograd: but, most of all, I liked my fellow writers and our generous hosts. Moreover, whatever people may say, I liked a lot the Kikinda mammoth – and Narvik Hotel.

Sanneke Van Hassel

At Kikinda Short I have met and exchanged short stories with about twenty other short story writers & lovers from all over Europa. It was great to hear everybody read in their own language. The combination and line-up of the stories each evening was carefully chosen. Once again I experienced how well a story can work on stage. From many of the writers I want to read more, for their style, for their special sensitivity, for their ideas, to see how they will develop. Craig Taylor made me rediscover the genre of the Short Play. And he and Rumanian Radu reminded me how much you can do with dialogue in a short story. During meals and on the bus to one of the interesting excursions new ideas about (international) short story publishing were shared as well as about finding each others work on internet and in magazines.

It was a fantastic experience to be with so many others who love short stories, a genre that is commercially having a hard time and not distributed so broadly as it deserves considering the quality of recent collections. In stories you can often feel the spirit of the time or place very well. As a writer you don’t need to give the bigger picture, you can respond 'on the spot' to what is around you. A small but sharp fragment which tells a lot.

It was interesting for me to be in Serbia and see how culture & arts are developed there, and I also got an impression of the social and political situation. If you look at the map of the world you could say we are pretty close neighbours. Normally I don’t think so much about being Dutch or European, but coming to Serbia once again made me conscious about the fragile European balance that still needs a lot of attention, care & and open attitude. Festivals like Kikinda are very important for that.

Christos Asteriou

1) My impressions about Kikinda short: A very special project, professionally organized with a balkan atmosphere that brought young authors for all over Europe together for a week.

2) This festival was useful because...we had the chance to capture a moment in Europe young literature. I presented a story and heard what other people write about at the moment.

3) Specific benefit from this festival for me is...a got to know some great authors, to see and study other people attitudes. Always like oxygen for the brain...