Magris teaches German literature at the University of Trieste and is also a widely read columnist for the daily Corriere della Sera. He is the winner of a number of awards, including the Erasmus Prize, the Prince of Asturias Prize for Literature, the Austrian State Prize for European Literature and the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade.
Magris?s books Danube: A Sentimental Journey from the Source to the Black Sea, A Different Sea, Blindly and Microcosms are already available in Hungarian, and his book The Habsburg Myth in Austrian Literature will be published in its entirety for next year?s festival, said László Péter Zentai, director of the Hungarian Publishers and Booksellers Association (MKKE), which organises the festival.
Magris was a guest of the festival in the mid-90s and he visited Hungary at the invitation off the Italian Cultural Institute in 2008, Zentai said.
Scandinavian countries will also be guests of honour at next year?s festival, Zentai said. Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland will share a stand, and authors from the countries will launch newly published works in Hungarian, he added.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
