The collaboration will launch on March 26 when the new stage at the School will be visited by author Jennifer Clement (Mexico), Chairman of PEN International. She will talk with Jesper Bengtsson, Chairman of Swedish PEN. The discussion is being arranged in collaboration with Swedish PEN. On May 28, Mircea Cartarescu (Romania) will then take the stage at the Stockholm School of Economics – conversing with Swedish author colleague Aris Fioretos. Tickets will be released today, March 7.

“A few years ago, I joined the Stockholm School of Economics with an idea bubbling in my head. Why not start a collaboration that would encourage students to be enriched, intoxicated and educated by our guests at the International Writers’ Stage? That was then. The time is now right, and the conditions are firmly in place for collaboration over several years. Within the framework of the SSE Literary Agenda project, we are joining forces to throw open the impressive doors of the Stockholm School of Economics, welcoming audiences to a new stage. A new location for magical discussion before a mix of students and the general public interested in literature,” says Ingemar Fasth, Artistic Director of the literary stage at Kulturhuset Stadsteatern (Stockholm House of Culture & City Theatre).

The SSE Literary Agenda initiative is backed by the Natur & Kultur foundation, which will be financing the venture for the next three years. The initiative is open to all students at the Stockholm School of Education, regardless of what program they are pursuing. Within the framework of the SSE Literary Agenda, researchers and other faculty from the School will lead literary discussions with students and invite current authors to participate in public discussions. Approved students will receive a certificate from the Stockholm School of Economics in collaboration with McKinsey & Co.

The SSE Literary Agenda is led by Doctor of Economics Erik Wikberg, who is currently researching the effects of digitization on the Swedish book market.

“The Stockholm School of Economics is the most international university in Stockholm, and this is reflected in the SSE Literary Agenda. Through the collaboration with the International Writers’ Stage, we are taking a new step in the development of the literary initiative. To date, students have read Swedish and foreign authors, in the original language or in translation, and have then discussed the works in groups of both Swedish and international students. They will now also have the opportunity to meet and listen to high-profile international writers within their academic environment,” says Erik Wikberg, who is responsible for the SSE Literary Agenda at the Stockholm School of Economics.

At each discussion arranged by Kulturhuset Stadsteatern, a quota of students participating in the SSE Literary Agenda will be allowed to attend for free. Tickets will be sold to the general public through Kulturhuset Stadsteatern’s usual channels.

Swedish PEN is a part of PEN, a worldwide organization for writers who work to defend freedom of expression and who support threatened, persecuted or imprisoned writers worldwide.

For more information and interview requests, please contact:
Anna Svensson, Press Liaison, Literature
Kulturhuset Stadsteatern
Phone: +46 (0)76-039 83 44