Minutes 2006

The Baltic Writers´ Council General Assembly 2006 Visby, February 24-26

Participants

Reimer Eilers, Board member, German Writers´ Union

Piret Viires, Board member, Estonian Writers´ Union

Mudite Treimane, Board member, Latvian Writers´ Union

Jaana Nikula, Board member, Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters

Nalle Valtiala, The Society of Swedish-Speaking Writers in Finland

Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke, Chairman, Baltic Writers´ Council

Thomas Grundberg, Board member, Translators´ section of the Swedish Writers´ Union

Viggo Madsen, Danish Writers´ Association

Merete Jensen, Secretary General, The Society of Swedish-Speaking Writers in Finland

Kornelijus Platelis, Lithuanian Writers´ Union

Ilya Fonyakov, St. Petersburg Writers´ Union

Peter Curman, Chairman, Swedish Joint Committee for Artistic and Literary Professionals

Kari Levola, Chairman, Finnish Writers´ Union

Lena Pasternak, Director, Baltic Centre for Writers and Translators

1) The Chairman of the Council Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke opened the meeting at 17:05.

2) Following some changes in the order of items, the Agenda was approved by the Assembly.

3) Jaana Nikula was elected Secretary of the meeting.

4) The Chairman gave his report. In 2005 the Board met twice, first in Visby and then in November in Berlin to evaluate the Kaliningrad Baltic Meeting. The Chairman presented Kaliningrad Proceedings, a booklet which has been distributed to participants and sponsors. Lena Pasternak, the Director of BCWT pointed out that the Centre needs marketing and even though it contributed it was not sufficiently noticed among other contributors. The Chairman informed that the Baltic Meetings will be continued as a biannual event. The first session was ended at 18:05.

5) The session was resumed at 10:05 on Saturday, February 25th. The Chairman continued his report telling that he had recruited Charlotta Bjelfvenstam as a trainee and Per Årman as an advisor to apply for funds etc.

6) The proposal to change the statutes of the BWC was discussed. The Board had decided to suggest that all members of the Board should have a three-year election period instead of a two-year one. Lena Pasternak of BCWT remarked that the proposal collides with the Centre´s statutes since their Board members have a two-year mandate. Peter Curman from Sweden pointed out that the Chairman as well as the Board can always be re-elected. The Board´s proposal was voted down and the statutes remained unchanged.

7) The election of the new Board members was preceded by a discussion. There was some confusion about members who were in turn to resign. Kornelijus Platelis from Lithuania informed that his term was up and that he did not want to candidate due to other engagements. Phone calls were made to Mati Sirkel and Elena Emelianova to inquire about their willingness to continue as Board members. Mr. Sirkel was re-elected in 2004 and still has one year to serve. Ms. Emelianova´s term was up but she expressed her willingness to continue, not as a secretary though. In the end two candidates were proposed: Reimer Eilers from Germany and Jaana Nikula from Finland. The meeting unanimously elected these two to the Board. Mr. Eilers was thus nominated as Treasurer and Ms. Nikula as Secretary of the Board. It was also decided that access to the Baltic Writers´ Council bank account be defined as follows: the Chairman Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke, the Treasurer Reimer Eilers and the Director of the Baltic Centre Lena Pasternak all have the right to use the account and to sign for it individually.

8) The representatives of the member organizations gave their oral reports, some of them also their written reports. First was Merete Jensen from the Society of Swedish-Speaking Writers in Finland who gave an account of the Finnish public lending right grants which are in conflict with the EU stipulations. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has gathered a team consisting of members from insurance companies but only one artist representative to investigate the possibility to lay a tax upon the long-term grants. Kari Levola of the Finnish Writers´ Union mentioned Sanasto, the copyright organization which was jointly established by the Finnish Writers´ Union, the Society of Swedish-Speaking Writers in Finland, the Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters and the Finnish Non-Fiction Writers. Sanasto aims at looking after the economic rights of copyright owners when their material is being re-used. Jaana Nikula of the Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters explained shortly about a book club´s decision to cut out all translators´ fees. Invitations to the Littera Baltica congress of 2006 were distributed to participants.

Ilya Fonyakov from St.Petersburg gave his report and suggested that the participants consider an opportunity to hold some of the Baltic Writers' meetings in St.Petersburg? ?We had the preliminary talks with our city powers and felt an interest from them. Even to the nearest meeting we have now a full year for studying this opportunity. The second idea: if the nearest meeting will be held here, in Visby, - why not plan to arrange some readings for St.Petersburg's writers and poets here? I think the only shortage of the wonderful meeting in Kaliningrad was the lack of public readings for readers and colleagues. Now we would be ready to prepare English and Swedish versions of our poems, short stories and propositions for discussions in your wonderful library, museums, schools and other places.?

Piret Viires from the Estonian Writers´ Union gave an account of the major areas of activity in the year 2005. The Law of the Creative Unions and Freelancers was implemented in the Estonian legislation. This is the first year the law has been in force and both the good sides as well as the weaknesses of the law are now visible. This law does not guarantee any tax reduction or social security for freelancers. However, it is possible to give so-called ?creative scholarships? to a certain amount of writers. Last year the Estonian Writers´ Union was able to grant 14 scholarships for freelance writers. The Estonian Writers' Union is in the position that work on the elaboration of this law should go further and amendments should be proposed to the government.
The public lending right was implemented in Estonia in 2004 and a special foundation an Authors' Remuneration Fund ("Autorihüvitusfond") was established to carry on the necessary work (the Estonian Writers' Union was one of the founders of the Fund). The Fund has distributed the remuneration among authors for two years now. Right now the amendment in the Estonian Copyright Law is in progress and according to it the reprography rights will also be implemented in 2006. The Authors' Remuneration Fund is going to manage also the reprography remuneration.
The new chairman of the Estonian Writers' Union Jan Kaus (elected in 2004) has been focusing on promoting literature on the "grass root level". In 2004 and 2005 two special projects were accomplished ? "Estonian Writers in Estonian Libraries I, II". In 2005 altogether 25 writers visited Estonian libraries and read their poetry and prose to a large audience. Also in December 2005 a huge literary forum "The Library of Babel" was held. The target group was very broad: writers, translators, publishers, literary critics, journalists, librarians, teachers of Estonian language and literature etc. A literary consulting service for young writers and amateur authors was also established in 2005. At the end of her report Ms. Viires noted that the Union with its 302 members (including writers, translators, authors of children literature, literary critic, scholars etc.) is in quite a good condition. The EWU is financed mainly by its own means, real estate: ownership of a house in Tallinn?s old town and a house in Tartu, renting out rooms to shops, a coffee-house, and cultural institutions like the Finnish Cultural Institute. Project financing comes from the Ministry of Culture and different funds in Estonia (mostly from the Estonian Cultural Endowment). For international projects (like a continuation of the ?Baltic Ring?) money is applied from different international foundations.

Mudite Treimane from the Latvian Writers´ Union reported about the annual happenings, the Literary Award and the Poetry Days in September ? lasting approx. one week and taking place all over Latvia. During the last two years the Poetry Days have become very popular especially among young people (both as participants and organizers). The ?Literary Academy? ? a culture programme (cont. from 2004) which is administered by the Latvian Writers? Union and financed by the State Culture Capital Fund. It includes courses, seminars and workshops both for professionals and amateurs or beginners. The literary workshops of the professional training are organized in 3 groups: poetry, prose and playwriting. The course papers of the graduates are published in Latvian in ?The Workshops of Literary Academy 2005?.
?Literary Academy? is continuing it?s work this year too. And in the future it will become a separate cultural programme for University students-philologists.
?In order to boost the publicity of the Writers? Union we try to use every God-given opportunity and do PR for the Union?, Ms. Treimane writes in her report. ?Whenever the possibility is given, we remind people of our existence and of the problems of literature and culture. We have been fortunate that our president has become a member of the Latvian Writers? Union. She invited a group of writers to visit her at her seaside residence in July last year. More than 30 people were present: poets, prose writers, playwrights, literary critics, translators, publishers, representatives from the State Culture Capital Fund, the Copyright Association, the Centre of Latvian Literature. Also the representatives of the Ministry of Culture and mass media were present. It was a miniforum, called ?Latvian Writing: Today?s Common Denominator.? Different matters were discussed: The necessity to popularize Latvian writers? works abroad, the financial situation of the writers, the taxes, the poor situation in libraries ? the insufficient finances for purchasing books for libraries, low royalties etc. The status of a writer and public lending rights were discussed as well. The law has been implemented in Latvian legislation (2003), but there is no money in the state budget for it.?
Ms. Treimane ended her report by telling about the Ventspils House for Writers and Translators which will open in June 2006.

Lithuania was the country-in-focus at the Gothenburg Book Fair in 2005 and will be in the limelight also at the Turin Book Fair in 2006, as Kornelijus Platelis reported. Recent changes in the legislation have greatly influenced the artistic field. Mr. Platelis was appointed Chairman of the council established by the Ministry of Culture. The task of the council is to evaluate and define and give status to artists.
The Baltic Centre donated the library of Jonas Pajaujis to the Lithuanian Association of Librarians. Pajaujis was a Lithuanian writer living in Gotland.
Mr. Platelis received thanks for his work on the Board of the BWC.

9) Merete Jensen read the Auditors´ report jointly signed by herself and Lars Magnus Lahne. The board was granted freedom of responsibility but the Auditors deplored the lack of an annual report and a budget. They also noted that private persons cannot receive payment tax-free as has been the case over the year. The Auditors´ report was accepted. Merete Jensen and Lars Magnus Lahne were re-elected as Auditors. Ms. Jensen also informed that 16 membership fees have been paid, but one of them lacked the name and other information concerning the payer.

10) The country reports continued. The Swedish report was given jointly by Thomas Grundberg and Peter Curman. The Swedish public lending rights have been criticized by EU for discriminating foreign writers. But ?our library policy is our cultural policy?, as Mr. Curman emphasized and added that this may well be a question for the European Court since every country must fight for its cultural values. In 2008 a writers´ and translators congress concentrating i.a. on copyright issues will take place in Stockholm. Joining the FIT (Fédération internationale des traducteurs) is under consideration.

Viggo Madsen from the Danish Writers´ Association explained in detail what a cartoon can do and how it has shaken the country and the whole world. The writers however, are ?alive and kicking? as Mr. Madsen put it. There is a huge talent mass, real gifted writers, trying to make a name for themselves, hoping for a breakthrough to the bigger audience. The energy is canalized into a flourishing scene, there are performances almost everywhere, many poets furthermore publish in avantgarde magazines, internet portals and so on.
In a small country like Denmark, literature support is of the utmost importance ? and in this field Denmark is doing well. The main sources for the serious writers are Statens Kunstfond and Kunstrådets literaturudvalg, supporting all kind of literature, fiction, non-fiction, prose, poetry ? and with a sufficient budget which cannot be complained of. Furthermore, there are Autorkontoen ? not placeable copyright money any writer can apply for. As a new actor on the scene, a major bank, BG Bank, has in recent years sponsored literature, on the local level as well as on the national one, with a national book award to the amount of 500.000 DKR. A support of unmistaken value is the Kulturministeriets bevilling till almenkulturelle tidsskifter (The Ministry of Culture´s support for magazines of cultural purpose).

The German Writers´ Union is part of ver.di, which is one of the largest independent individual trade unions in the world with its approximately 2.4 million members as Reimer Eilers reported. In the Writers´ Union there are 3000 writers and 1200 translators. At the present translators, unlike writers, have no model contract which has caused a downfall for translation although it is a big business. About 40% of translated literature is profitable. After the new copyright legislation came into force there have been numerous court cases about royalties and fees. In a recent court case it was decided that translators should have a royalty of 1-3% according to the requirements of the original text and the percentage is to commence in regardless of the translator´s fee. In addition to this the translators should also have 25% of secondary copyrights. But the judgment will be appealed against so the case is still unclear.

11) A discussion of the Baltic Meetings followed. The Meeting in Kaliningrad in 2005 resulted in an idea to hold biannual Baltic Meetings in different parts of the Baltic Sea Region with participants from different fields of culture. The concept on Baltic Meetings in Gotland 2007 written by the Chairman had been sent to the participants before the meeting. Nalle Valtiala read aloud the main points of the paper: Firstly, the common cultural heritage in the Baltic Sea Region. Discussions should gather representatives from this region especially museum directors and they should be arranged in cooperation with e.g. the Swedish Chamber of Antiquities and Theobalt, the network of the Churches around the Baltic. Secondly, a meeting for writers and translators with a focus on literary Gotland. Thirdly, a common virtual Baltic Sea library which will be a continuously growing anthology of representative literary texts broadly connected with the Baltic Sea in order to broaden the picture of the region as a whole. Peter Curman pointed out that ALIS (The Administration of Literary Rights in Sweden) might be a useful tool in establishing the library, otherwise he found the clerical aspect of the Chairman´s concept somewhat unappealing. Lena Pasternak felt that the concept needed re-thinking. Inger Harlevi, a Board member of the BCWT, gave some information about another conference, the Baltic Sea Convention which will take place in Visby in June 2007. The session was ended at 17.47.

12) The session was resumed at 10.10 on Sunday, February 26th. Brainstorming around the Baltic Meetings continued. Themes such as Gotland from an historical aspect and a multicultural Gotland were discussed. Reimer Eilers suggested that islands in general might be the theme, since islanders have a longing for bridges which separate and unite at the same time. Piret Viires pointed out that islands could be the umbrella concept and then there could be several subthemes. The Chairman asked Lena Pasternak and Reimar Eilers to re-write the concept by the end of March. The Baltic Meetings in Gotland in 2007 will take place on May 17-20.

13) Lena Pasternak, the Director of the BCWT gave her report. The funding of the Centre has remained mostly the same over the years i.e. support from the Swedish government, the Municipality of Gotland and some EU funding for various cultural projects. Still the Centre has managed to be a productive and fruitful place for work and meetings. In 2005 there were approximately 3050 guest nights and about 200 visitors. Among them roughly 50 bursary holders. The full bursary is now 9000 Swedish crowns but should be increased to 10.000 and half a bursary is 5000 Swedish crowns a month. The stream of applications is growing since almost everyone applies by internet and the whole application process takes a lot of time. The high point among the activities in 2005 was the annual Poetry Festival. There were also open house-happenings, public readings, translation workshops etc. In 2006 there will be public readings almost every month, a translators´ workshop arranged together with the Estonian Literature Center in May and a Bobrowski workshop in September.

14) The Johannes Bobrowski translation workshop which is arranged together with the Goethe-Institut Stockholm will take place at the Centre on September 13-17. The chosen eight translators representing eight languages are: Igor Bulatowsky (Russian), Przemyslaw Chojnowski (Polish), Samir Grees (Arabic), Maryse Jacob (French), Xiao Kaiyu (Chinese), Larynas Katkus (Lithuanian), Hanna Kok-Ahrens (Dutch) and Arild Vange (Norwegian). Klaus?Jürgen Liedtke and Dr. Berthold Franke of the Goethe-Institut will participate.

15) The membership fee of BWC is 150 ?.

16) The BWC´s own homepage was discussed.

17) The Chairman called all Board members present to a preliminary Board meeting to be held after the BWC meeting.

18) It was decided that in 2007 the General Assembly of the BWC will meet on March 2-4. The session was ended at 11:55.

Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke
Chairman

Jaana Nikula
Secretary

Minutes 2005

The Baltic Writers' Council General Assembly 2005
Visby 25 ?27 February

Participants
Bodil Lindfors, Finland bodil.lindfors@abo.fi
Merete Jensen, Finland mette@kaapeli.fi
Nalle Valtiala, Finland carita.valtiala@pp.inet.fi
Jaana Nikula, Finland jaana.nikula@saunalahti.fi
Jyrki Kiiskinen, Finland jyrki.kiiskinen@suomi24.fi
Mati Sirkel, Estonia mati.sirkel@ahf.ee
Sabine Herholz, Germany sabine.herholz@verdi.de
Peter Curman, Sweden pcurman@chello.se
Bo Lundin, Sweden bo.y.lundin@telia.com
Mudite Treimane, Latvia mudite.treimane@lnb.lv
Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke, Germany berg@snoe.in-berlin.de
Kornelijus Platelis, Lithuania platelis@takas.lt
Ilya Fonyakov, St Petersburg, Russia fon@list.ru
Elena Emelianova, Kaliningrad, Russia elena.emelianova@mail.ru
Lena Pasternak, Sweden baltic.centre@gotlandica.se

Friday 25 of February
Nalle Valtiala, vice-chairman of the Council, opened the General Assembly meeting:
- Presentation of participants;
- Approval of agenda (Structure of the Council, EU applications, Minutes/approval of the Minutes, Board activity);
- Elena Emelianova was elected as a secretary of the meeting.

Chairman?s report: Nalle Valtiala informed on absence of the chairman because of his health problem and described the current situation briefly, that not so much had been done due to problems Jarkko Laine had experienced during the last year.
Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke informed:
- Members of the board experienced problems with communication via email, esp. Peranders, which anyway worked with Kaliningrad issue;
- Autumn board meeting did not take place as it had been planned before ? due to number of objective reasons;
- On Navigare discussion;
- On Kaliningrad working group meeting, approval of application to SI and Nordic Culture Fund, which hopefully also can be successful, for Baltic Meeting in Kaliningrad project, devoted to 750 years anniversary of the city, to implement in a form of a big culture delegation from BSR countries representatives (contact conference ? meeting local culture workers, literary readings, visit to historical places, etc.)
- On difficulties with organizing the General Assembly having meetings just once a year, unfortunately we did not manage to have more meetings this time.
Bo Lundin: noted that some ending in e-mail address could be recognized as SPAM by providers in different countries. Might be the way out is to have an extra e-address with yahoo.com, which is internationally recognized.

Country reports
SWEDEN: information on copyrights situation in Sweden Bo Lundin: According to EU regulations, royalty has to be paid to Author?s Fund (50%) and other half directly to authors and translators. 50% accumulated in the Fund are supposed to be used for grants, scholarships, etc. to encourage authors. There?s a difference: writing in Sweden or living in Sweden (Swedish rules do not fit to EU regulations). But this rules are working in Sweden more than 15 years, people do not like to change it. Probably, the government should answer to EU this year.
Peter Curman: It?s a part of a culture policy on the national level, the copyright issue. We have special situation in the Nordic countries; maybe we could build a common system together or for Europe to use. There are also cases in Swedish trial, like cutting down films on TV, inserting advertisement, etc. which spoil the value of the piece of art. This is considered as a violation of the copyrights, as for example, moustaches on Mona Lisa spoils artistic quality. This struggle against misuse of artistic pieces on TV is going on up to higher court levels, which is good for other countries to know.
Bo Lundin: there are issues to solve with agents for the last 2 years, writers contracts, because it?s easier to define and specify the work of translators. Scandinavian writers agree that EU approach was wrong.

Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke informed about his letter to the board, dated February 21: The Baltic Writers' Council needs a new structure: chair, secretary, etc. and election of new board members and new statutes. 5 board members should make a new start for the next 2 years.

ESTONIA´
Mati Sirkel: There are some positive sides: in public library system, which followed EU demands in Estonia, and it does not belong to cultural policy sphere. Question of copyrights includes also work of illustrators, ones making layout, translators of commercial texts, etc. Computerized process is based upon different systems, compared to Sweden or Finnish. So the only protection of author?s rights is a contract with a state, which is a guarantee that all money till the last cent will go to the author, and this is a principle. Problem, how to form grants, still exists. The idea to use a certain sum of money from the state budget for further distribution turned out not to work successfully.
Negative side: Four years work did not bring any positive result for the biggest idea ? to lower taxes for creative workers - was abandoned. Small grants like 3,5 th per person in Estonia instead of 1mln Estonian crown (1 Estonian crown =1,6 euro). Compared to Ireland, where they have 0 income tax to pay, we are not so smart in Estonia. Re-education and creative studies also fit to the structure.

LITHUANIA

Kornelijus Platelis: In 2002 a new board was elected, KP was appointed as a member of the board. The Writers? Union has their Publishing house, newspaper and a magazine. There were changes in the legislation, which influenced the situation dramatically. There are new law on associations and new low on creators of pieces of art. The main is to define a status, but nothing has been done regarding reduction of taxes or similar in this direction, like social security system, health insurance, etc.
The Council, established by the Ministry of Culture, has a task to evaluate art works, and to define them. The problem is that libraries have no budget to buy books, so all staff is considerably old, bought 10-20 years ago.
Nalle Valtiala commented: this is universal problem for libraries; especially for small ones it?s a real threat. There is less money for books, than for CD.

FINLAND
Nalle Valtiala: There were 80 mln loans of books in libraries, while book sales decreased 30%. Time of video mania started, people are interested in new technologies products, but not books. In general the picture is following: domestic fictions sales are on a considerably good level; translated books are less popular. The tendency is that less titles collected more money, so the market is fragmented.
Jaana Nikula: It seems to me, the greatest publishing houses tend to publish mostly mainstream and avoid taking risks. For the writer it?s more and more difficult after 2000 copies sold out, as well as for translators. More and more titles come. In this situation it?s only publishers, who are happy.
Peter Curman: EU should look for security, how to make system function in a proper way. Ministries have to supervise the issue. And from the other side it gives a big space for initiative.
Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke: German initiative is following, that after 70 years (when rights become free) fees should be collected from public in order to be used to support living writers, which, in their turn will feed next generation.
Sabine Herholz: the idea is 30 years old, and hasn?t succeeded yet. Too much money is involved in the music industry. And secondly, if to create a fund, who will take care of its work so it should be fair.
Bo Lundin: 3% of Union?s members can live on their income from professional work in Sweden.
Sabine Herholz: 7% in Germany.
Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke: What is the way out ? grants? Special fund for translators?
Jaana Nikula: For writers and translators, but they are fewer every year, 40 and 8 correspondingly.
Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke: Financing could include state budget, different funds (20 th euro X 50 grants) for literary projects, but also possibility to apply to funds of land administrations.
Merete: The answer for the application to Nordic Culture Fund (NCF) with the request to support the Centre was following: NCF supports projects, but cannot finance the activity of the Centre itself. For example, trip and reading planned for September, or homepage, or support for the trips, which taken very positive.
Peter Curman: It takes 2 months to answer regarding scholarship to those, who live in Sweden, working with Swedish language or if one is a resident.
Merete: The church also violates author?s rights; text has been changed, but still is recognisable. Now the court of higher level has to take a decision (and it?s important for all of us to know). Sow to say ?honest quoting? can be done without any fee.
Jaana: Translators? work is calculated based on number of characters, not sheets like it was before. Some got scholarships or grants, but others didn?t. 50 ?60 can make a living by literary translations.
Nalle: Translators should have agents also.

Saturday, 26 of February

Discussion on Baltic Sea Meetings in Kaliningrad-project, devoted to 750th anniversary of the city, in June 2005.
How many people and who particularly would like to participate, who will be responsible for invitations for Russian visas, how many countries and persons could participate, what are wishes of visitors, etc.
There have been also discussed which persons should be invited specially, such as: officials from Gotland municipality, musicians, artists, publishers, and other prominent culture actors of Baltic countries.
Decision: Discussion of the Baltic Sea Meetings should be focused on culture diversity around the Baltic Sea, application should be sent to NMC, German ministry of culture, etc. Press release should be sent out 3 weeks before the event, and it should be 1 announcement + 1 follow up call to potential participants and speakers. Practical work, such as: visa invitation and visa prices for citizens of different countries (Poland and Lithuania ? for free, Sweden, Finland and Germany have also different prices for visas, depending on bilateral intergovernmental agreement). Local partner (the City Hall and Kaliningrad Union of Writers should inform re conditions and prices for visas, lodging, etc. - EE) Working group leader, Klaus-J, will take care of the program and participants ? maybe, with the help of countries? representatives. Every country can delegate 2 persons to participate in the event. Wide range of other culture circles should be informed and invited. GA delegated responsibility to the working group of the project.

Country reports (continued)
LATVIA
Mudite Treimane: The event of the year is a state Latvian award for literary work, this is an award of the best book of the year, can be also translation of prose or poetry, from Latvian to German, for example. This can be any book, and they are different from year to year, depends on judgment of jury, which consists of 13 members. Literary Academy does not run any school course or program, but a professional training in other countries only. Literary Academy started a project, Latvian Culture Fund: which is available for writers? union, young writers groups, etc. Activity to run is: lectures, seminars, workshops (started in 2003).
Nowadays there are courses of professional training for writers (prose, poetry, drama) and literary consulting activity. For the last 2 years there were 32 lectures given, 32 seminars and 30 workshops held, as well as master classes, which also took place.
One of the prizes for prose reading is an international event, popular among young people, studies in Literary Academy. The events are running in cafes and other small places; lectures are given in Riga and also in the country. Participants are very eager to continue this activity next year, too. During studies 27 video films are available, models used in other countries presented. 30 participants got certificates. Now Literary Academy begins activity on the new stage (totally free, state paid salaries for teachers).

Sunday, 27 of February

Discussion of the board meeting and proposals:
- Access to the bank should be given to 3 persons: the treasurer, the chairman and Lena Pasternak ? accepted by GA;
- Presentation of the board discussion and decisions taken; dead lines, visa issues, etc.
- Membership fee became higher for all members, correspondingly it becomes higher ? 150 euro - for Russian unions;
- One vote per organization or per country? During the discussion it was decided, that there must be representatives per country.

Director's Report
Lena Pasternak: The Year 2004 was intensive and dynamic. We never lost our focus on the basic activity of the centre of being working place but also tried to give space to public activity, to market the centre, to strengthen it.
In March 2004 an agreement with UNESCO was signed based on the BCWT?s ?truly international and multilateral commitment as well as long professional experience as Milagros del Corral from UNESCO Arts and Culture Unit defined.
Johan Öberg submitted his analysis of the Centre?s 10 years activity with a focus on the centre as a much appreciated writers? retreat. The preliminary version of the evaluation was launched in spring 2004 and now a book based on the evaluation is being edited An evident fact is that the BCWT needs additional funding on a long-term basis. We continue a campaign to draw attention of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The Centre intends to appeal as well to the Baltic Assembly and the Baltic Council of Ministers is an eventual We search for EU funding every year but it is always a temporary solution of a one-year project. The BCWT is still run as a project when it behaves as an institution, as Johan Öberg put forward. We were delighted by a good example of Germany, namely the German Translators? Association, that with the financial support from the German Foreign Ministry established 4 earmarked grants annually, which partially cover a bursary-holder?s travel and living expenses, partially stays in Visby as payment for accommodation.
We noticed a rising interest from the southern Europe - there was a number writers and translators from the Balkan countries worked at the centre.
The Centre cooperates within both formalized and informal networks. The BCWT is a member of RECIT, European Network for International Translators Centres, which had its annual meeting in May in Visby.

Everyday life of the BCWT
About 180 writers and literary translators worked in residence at the Baltic Centre for Writers and Translators 1 January ? 30 September 2004. Beneficiaries got a possibility to work with their project, meet colleagues from other countries, widen their horizon, deepen their knowledge about literatures in other European countries. Public and domestic readings, dinners, excursions were regularly organized as well as events corresponding to the outlines of the BCWT: Baltic Writers? Council ? annual General Meeting 20-22 February at the BCWT in Visby; representatives of writers? and translators? organisations from 11 member countries (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad, Sweden). Questions of common interest and activity plan for the future were discussed, reports about literary situation in each country were delivered and analysed.
In February a representative from UNESCO, Clearing House for Literature and Translation visited the BCWT (the centre is since 1996 under the auspices of UNESCO). As a result a collaboration agreement concerning exchange of information, promotion and circulation of publications, etc. was signed.
Board Meeting of the Norwegian Translators? Association ? 22-25 April the board of directors carried out its general meeting at the Baltic Centre for Writers and Translators in Visby. It was a step to develop further cooperation between Norwegian translators and Baltic Centre for Writers and Translators.
General meeting of RECIT (Réseau Européen des Centres Internationaux de Traducteurs littéraires) was held at the BCWT in Visby 23 ?27 May. The questions of common interest and the future policy were under discussion.
The Baltic Centre had an opportunity to be presented at the meeting of the Scandinavian ministers of culture in Reykjavik, Iceland , 9-11 May. Cooperation with the Icelandic Writers? Union was updated and developed.
September was devoted to an extensive literary programme:
11th International Poetry Festival ? 1-5 September on Gotland with start-off in Stockholm. ManiFESTation of literature, translation and the Centre as a nave in the literary sea.
The annual festival became a tradition, it is awaited and appreciated by the public. This year we strengthened the experimental part cooperating with contenporary composers, musicians the church, artists. Among participants Agneta Plejel, Marie Lundquist, Ciaran Carson, Ryszard Krynicki, Maria Laina, Liv Lundberg, Ingrid Storholmen, Elo Viiding, Tua Forsström. The diverse programme was arranged and giving encounters took place between public, poets and musicians from Norway, Ukraine, Estonia, Poland, Slovenia, Greece, Nothern Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Macedonia.
The festival generated collaboration with Stockholm International Library, Almedal Library n Visby, Baltic Art Centre in Visby, Visby International Centre for Composers, Factory Furillen, Finland Swedish Writers? Association, S:ta Maria Cathedral and others.
The offensive marketing and a rich programme led to public and media coverage TV, central and local newspapers For more information visit our web site www.bcwt.org
Translation Workshop 8 ? 12 September. 15 translators from Scandinavian countries worked in three groups and had joint sessions. Guest writers, Katarina Mazetti and Stewe Claeson, lectured on their experience in writer/translator interaction.
Balkan ? Scandinavian Translation Workshop 17 ?22 September.
Translators from the Scandinavian languages /Finnish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian/ into Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian working with the texts of young Scandinavian writers bl a Maria Peura, Daniel Sjölin, who were also present at the workshop. The project was a part of SWITCH, which was initiated by the Nordic Council of Ministers. To present the Centre?s activity to the wide Swedish and international public, writers and journalists as well as develop contact networks, the BCWT attended the Gothenburg and Frankfurt Book Fairs. The Centre participated in programmes about writers? and translators? European centres that are an important link and essential instrument for promotion of literature and translation. Public readings and open houses were organized during this period.

Staff of the BCWT
Since January 2004 I have worked as an acting director responsible for the main activity of the centre to be a working place as well as for programme.
Yvonne Pettersson has worked at the Centre since January 2004. Yvonne is a librarian, worked at the Almedals library in Visby, took part in different library and book projects, truly book devotee.

Glimpse into 2005...
Lithuania will be a Country-in-Focus at the Gothenburg Book Fair in September. The Centre intends to make a programme manifesting that Lithuania is well anchored in the BCWT.
The Centre donated Jonas Pajaujis? Library to the Lithuanian Association of Librarians. The aim is to found a library/museum keeping Jonas? book collection intact.
BWC?s guesting Kaliningrad
A working group of Peranders Sandström, BCWT?s board, Elena Emeljanova, BWC?s board, Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke in coordination with Nalle Valtiala, vice-chairman of BWC?s board, Lars-Magnus Lahne, chairman of the BCWT?s board, investigated the opportunities Baltic Writers? Council visit to Kaliningrad. This year Kaliningrad/Königsberg celebrates its 750 years' anniversary. The group made a research and preliminary budget, initiated fundraising, programme design. Official celebration with festivities, visits of state leaders from the surrounding countries are set to 1 ? 3 July. The working group suggests to convey a BWC?s visit on 23 ? 27 June. Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke describes the idea as follows: ?two writers from each of our member countries should participate in the event (for this occasion their texts need to be translated to Russian in order to be read in public) and that we would prepare on spot three seminars on Literature, Cultural Heritage and History as well as an excursion to important literary places in the area of the Kaliningrad oblast.?

During 2004 the BCWT and Gotland in general experienced special attention from the Swedish Government. The Centre, being one of a few institutions in Sweden succeeded raising money from EU cultural programmes and funds, was addressed by the Swedish Ministry of Culture to give expertise and share opinion regarding forthcoming European programmes. The Centre?s unique role as a multilateral international institution was stressed in the Governmental Cultural Investigation. The presence on Gotland of the BCWT together with Visby International Centre for Composers and Baltic Art Centre undoubtedly contributed to the Swedish government?s decision to locate to Gotland a new Baltic Sea Centre that supposedly will be handling trade and information issues as well as a new SIDA (Swedish International Development Authority) unit that will deal with cooperation Baltic countries ? Poland ? Sweden.

Klaus-J. Liedtke: How to get an access to the home page of BWCT, and what is a key to do it?
Lena Pasternak: Each country can have its own key to access the web and to improve it, but there must be somebody personally responsible for it.
Proposal: to ask Lena P to give step by step instruction, when responsible person is appointed. It can be used as online magazine, similar to Navigare idea. The work to update website should being done constantly. List of books in the library is also on the web, so one can check what kind of books, dictionaries, etc. we possess. Donations, either books or money, are appreciated.

Country reports (continuation)
RUSSIA (St. Petersburg)
Ilya Fonyakov: "My report about today?s literary life in St. Petersburg could be delivered in two variations: very long and very short. After a long thinking I had chosen a short vershion. First of all: if you could visit St. Petersburg within the last passed year you had a chance to see twice or three times our artists, actors, musicians and of course writers staying at the meetings, or rallies, or pickets before the residence of our local parliament. They protested again and again agaist the economic and official?s pressure on culture, against new and new attempts to force it out from the centre of our ?culture capital? to the edges of the city, against increasing the rental rates for our offices and workshops, against the abolishing of benefits for the objects of culture. Those were very emotional and colourful actions: with banners, slogans and loudspeakers, sometimes they brought some temporary successes, some decisions of the powers were delayed or postponed, but after two or three monthes the attacks began from the beginning. And so far we keep our banners ready for the next events.
If you come to St. Petersburg today you cannot find at the Nevsky prospect ? our central street ? our beloved and famous bookstore, ?Dom Knigi?, or the ?Bookhoouse?. Of course, the building of former sewing-machine company, ?Singer?, with noticeable globe on its top, stays on its place, but there?s no bookselling now ? after more than 85 years. Perhaps soon here will be on sell the other things ? shoes, clothes or computers. It?s true, the ?Dom Knigi? got now the other building, even at the same street, but it isn?t the equal change. And the main thing is that tradition is interruped, and the precedent took place; everybody who can pay enough of money can move the objects of culture by his own wish.
You cannot also find at the Newsky prospect the office of our famous literary monthly ?Neva? ? no, it isn?t disappeared, but it is hidden now deeply inside of the building of some bank, as a kind of ?poor relative?; you must go several times upstairs and downstairs, take right and left by the corridors following the paper arrows on the walls before you find our colleagues.
Of course, it?s possible to write novels and poems and even to edit books and magazines everywhere ? in the garrets and undergrounds. But it?s a real fact: the literary and cultural life in St. Petersburg consists now, first of all, from the fighting for existance, fighting for life. Our market economy is still young and wild, sometimes we can find occasional sponsors for some projects, but so far we have no real sistem of funds or special institutions for the supporting of culture, like those which give to us the opportunity to meet from time to time here, in this Gotland?s house.
But anyway, despite of all difficulties and problems, I?m glad to inform you that we are alive, we survive, we exist. And the main evidence of that ? the new books, the new publications. For example, the President of St. Petersburg Writers? Union, Valery Popov, the prosewriter, could not attend our today?s meeting, he had to go to Paris for presentation of his novel ?The Third Breath?, and I?ll use his absence for saying some words about this his work ? in my opinion, one of the most noticeable and outstanding literary events of the lasst years. Shortly speaking, it?s a realistic family story, sometimes surrealistic, but only because our life itself is surrealistic now. The main collision is connected with alcoholism of the narrator?s wife, but in fact it is a dramatic story of love ang guilt, a story of group of intellectuals for whom their wild, merry-making life in their youth was a kind of protesting against official sanctimonious moral. It?s interesting to mention that almost at the same time the other writer, Alexander Melikhov, well known here, on Gotland, had published a book on the semi-similar subject; in his case (the novel titled ?Plague?) the central problem is connected with the drug dependence of the younger son of the main character. But the similarity of this two works only underlines their difference: the Melikhov?s story is more hard, severe, the Popov?s one is more emotional, confessional, lyric. And both of them deserve the attention of translators and readers in different countries. I have no time to observe here all new events in our literature. But remembering that our centre is a Centre for writers and translators I would like to say some words about our translators. I?m glad to inform you that the famous St. Petersburg (Leningrad) school of literary translations is alive although it had to pass through a number of special difficulties within last years. The art of ?high translations? was not demanded last years, the translators, especially the translators of poetry often had to publish their works for their own expences, of course, in a small number of copies, and disribute them by themselves, often paylessly ? only because of their love to the translated poetry. I want to mention here among others a book of poetry translations by Maya Kwiatkovskaya (mostly from Roman languages: Spanish, Portugese, French), the collection of the European love vpoetry by Vladimir Vassiliev. As a noticable fact can be mentioned the bilingual book of ?poems in prose? by the Irish duchess Alexandra Abercorn, the grandgrandgranddaughter of Alexander Pushkin (Russian version by Alla Mikhalevich).
Speaking about a poetry of Baltic region I?ll allow to myself to remember here my own work ? the first translation into Russian of the poems by outstandind Denish poet Hans Hartvig Seedorf (1892 ? 1986) made with a kind help my Danish friend Sören Sörensen, a poet whom I met once here, on Gotland. These poems published in ?Zvezda? magazine (2003) are especially interesting for us: a poet visited Russia just soon after the Revolution of 1917 and reflected his impressions in his poetry. He doesn?t praise, he doesn?t curse, his vewpoint is a viewpoint of a poet, and this way he adds something to our understanding of our own history.
Going further, I wish to say that if some of you will come to us between our ?City day? ? May 27 ? and ?Pushkin?s day? ? June 6 ? you may catch he final stage of the Second St.-Petersburg Literary Festival. The first festival took place last year and was succesful. The programme of festival includes the public readings, discussions, and, as a main thing, literary competitions with the prizes for the best books of the passed year. There are two premiums for the poets: ?Anna Akhmatova,s award? ? for the classic style poetry and ?Nicolay Zabolotzky?s award? ? for the experimental poetry. Also exists the ?Samuil Marshak award? for the books for children and seven awards for prose named (Valery Popov?s idea) by the titles of the Nicolay Gogol?s works. For example, the ?Shinel (Greatcoat) award? ? for the social prose, ?Taras Bulba? ? for the military and adventurist prose, ?Nevsky Prospect? ? for the works connected with St.-Petersburg itself. Some private sponsors and ? suddenly, at the last moment ? the city government, the governor Valentina Matvienko (we live now, like here, on Gotland, under the woman?s ruling) helped us to create the premial fund. Please, come to see the final ceremony ? it will be held at the annual Book Fair in the Sporting palace, and the last time it was very colourful and even instructive. At the poetry reading our poets competed not only with each other but also with a market hum, the weak voices of the poetesses - with the loudspeakers of advertisers. And the poetry had won, attracting the new and new listeners.
Another project we work today is a conference of the young writers and poets. In Soviet time it was the regular tradition supported not only by Writers? Union but also by ?Komsomol? (The Young Communist League). Of course, Komsomol was an ideological body, but it had not only ideas, but also money. Now some material support is also promissed to us by the city power. It?s very important for us, because the average age of the members of our writers? union is now too high.
With the great attention I listened here yesterday to our Latvian colleague, her story about the Academy of Culture. We also try to establish something like this or, maybe, some local analogue of the Maxim Gorky Literary institute in Moscow. But after long discussions we decided to make it paid for the students: otherwise we couldn?t fulfill our idea. As I have told we have no any mighty foundations to support us, and to expect the constant support from city or municipal powers we also cannot now.
After all I can repeat that we are alive, that even the wild market economy cannot kill the literature, the poetry in Russia. I was glad for our colleagues from Lithuania whose poetry will be ?in focus? of the Gothenburg Book Fair, but at the same time I hope that some day in future the Russian poetry will get at least the same honour. Believe me, we have what to show to our listeners and readers.

GERMANY
Sabine: After the colourful presentation by Iliya now the hard facts and rough interpretation of the development in Germany: We had three main topics to deal with last year: The author?s Contractual Rights governing Author?s Fair renumeration, Author?s Communal Right and possible changes in the Social Security System for Artists in Germany (Künstersozialkasse).
1. Author?s Contractual Right. We finally ? after a long time of negotiations - came to an agreement with the most important publishing houses in Germany at the end of last year. To give you some details: Royalties on the original fiction hard cover edition: 10% for each copy of the work sold and paid for, based on the retail price not including the VAT (net price).Further increments in case of best selling volumes shall be mutually agreed and added to the contract later
2. Royalties on paper backs: 5% up to 20.000, 6% thereafter 7% thereafter 40.000 , 8% thereafter 100.000 copies.
3. Income from the licensing of secondary rights. Any receipts from the licensing of secondary rights shall be split between the autor and the publisher, the author to receive: 60% of the rights referred to in the Normvertrag § 2, 2 (Movie, TV and Media, Theatre) and 50% of the receipts from the rights referred to in the Normvertrag § 2, 3: Translation, Cassettes).

Now, I have to point out that these are absolute minimal standards which may not be undertaken.It is a long way from our original starting condiditons, but we had to find a compromise.

The second important topic is the ?Author?s Communal Right?. This has been under discussion in the German Writers? Union for nearly 40 years. It is meant to enable the protagonists of cultural creation, literature and the arts to take care of their needs by activating the resources of their own trade. Now 70 years post mortem auctoris, copyright protection expires. Therefore - and I shall put this complicated matter into simple words ? works of literature and of arts came to be ?public domain?. So this would be a system in which a payment is made for the use of works no longer protected by copyright. The collected funds would thus be channelled to benefit literature by improving the social security of living authors and by supporting their creative work.
We thought that the chances to get a new law under the social-democrat government were quite good but unfortunateley were rather mistaken.
But we keep trying. (The main fear is that a kind of new tax is going to be introduced, and nobody wants that!).

Our unique Social Security System for artists ?the Künstlersozialkasse? is at the moment being observed critically by government bodies. This security system works on a basis of funding from producers (i.e. publishing houses, music and film-producers, galleries) and the state. The membership fee is calculated on the income of the artist (50%), from producers 30% and the state 20%. There is now an increasing number of new ?freelancers?, i.e. journalists, lectors, people from publishing houses and from advertising agencies, etc. having been outsourced and now having to pay for their social security, are trying to get into the ?Künstlersozialkasse?. The Künstlersozialkasse in return has to cope with this enormous surplus of members whereas the fees being paid by the ?producers? will not correspond to the increased need, and also the state will not rise his part of contributions. We are negotiating trying to find a way out of this dilemma.
Nalle: What is big writers? maximum then? To be realistic?
Sabine: 16% (hard cover), not much above 8% (pocket books). Price of the book minus tax. We still have our law on fixed book prices.But Newspaper publishing houses produced collections of low-priced books. Also there are second hand books for half the price on the market, sold by i.e. Amazong with great succes. This will surely affect the consumer?s wish of buying of new books.
Klaus-J. Liedtke: Private people sell books via Internet, which is forbidden for new books with fixed price. Some libraries plan to scan all books in order to get them in digital form. Then the question is about regulations on editors? expenses ? up to 5%?
Sabine: The ?break even ? point for publishers could be find within the range of 3.000 to 5.000 copies sold...
Klaus-J. Liedtke: Regarding translators, no results achieved in negotiations with publishers. 20 translators started to argue with publishers in the court in Hamburg. Bonniers publishing is on demand now, but German translators are paid much lower, and they are paid by pages (30 lines each) without any calculation of characters.
Crime novels: paid 10-15 euro per standard page; average price for high quality literature is 18,5 euro per page; children?s books are paid surprisingly low.
Peter Curman: proposal to discuss: idea of using the Centre and other centres like this to use Print-on-demand service. For ex. EU program on literature (EU financing) can be used for networking (travels, meetings, workshops) through EKA, IWC, Efa. We can ask Länsstyrelsen and the Governor?s office to be involved and to assist.

The next General Assembly meeting in 2006 will take place last week of February, preliminary dates are: Friday 24 ? Sunday 26 February 2006.

Nalle Valtiala, vice-chairman of the board
Elena Emelianova, secretary



Minutes 2004

The Baltic Writers Council General Assembly 2004
Visby 20 ?22 February

Participants: members of Unions of writers and translators:
Jarkko Laine, Finland, jarkko.laine@ppl.inet.fi
Tor Eystein Överås, Norway teos@online.no
Boel Unnerstad, Sweden bu@forfattarbundet.se
Merete Jensen, Finland mette@kaapeli.fi
Nalle Valtiala, Finland carita.valtiala@pp.inet.fi
Jaana Nikula, Finland jaana.nikula@saunalahti.fi
Arthur Krasilnikoff, Denmark arthur@krasilnikoff.com
Mati Sirkel, Estonia mati.sirkel@ahf.ee
Sabine Herholz, Germany sabine.herholz@verdi.de
Peter Curman, Sweden pcurman@chello.se
Lena Pasternak, Sweden Baltic.centre@gotlandica.se
Valery Popov, St Petersburg, Russia tel 812 3154693
Rimantas Èerniauskas, Klaipeda, Lithuania
Janis Rokpelnis, Latvia rakstnieki@apollo.lv
Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke, Germany berg@snoe.in-berlin.de
Johan Öberg, Sweden (lecturer/analytical report on the Center)
Elena Emelianova, Kaliningrad, Russia elena.emelianova@mail.ru

Friday 20 of February
16.00 First Session
Jarkko Laine, the chairman of the Concil,
opened the General Assembly meeting:
- Presentation of participants; no representative from Poland;
- Agenda was approved with some small changes;
- Elena Emelianova was elected secretary of the meeting.

Chairman?s Report:
Jarkko Laine expressed his regret concerning the financial strategy
changes in Finland in general and a lack of support
from the Union in Finland due to changes in its board structure.
This prevented him from active work as BWC chairman and from
contacting members, as he could not use any assistance nor the
Union?s office for his activity. Some misunderstanding
regarding the coordination also took place.
He presented the idea of a seminar on bishops? poetry in
September ? early October, applying to church support in order
to finance the event and to publish a book as a follow-up
event of the seminar.

Discussion:
Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke: pointed out that EU funds could be used for
project activities; this is difficult but possible.
The representative of the Union of Writers of Finland was elected
chairman; more communication with the board would
probably be needed.
Mati Sirkel: doubted that the seminar could be arranged during the
time left, as it should deal with philosophy and other
complicated issues; he could hardly see the point in inviting
only clergymen as poets. He also noted that the country reports
should be sent in advance according to last year?s
agreement.

Decision:
- To continue the discussion the next day, having refreshed
the Minutes 2003;
- To start with country reports now.

Country Reports
Germany: The situation is becoming more complicated due to a
new law (July 2002) concerning new copyright contractual
conditions for artists. This makes it complicated to reach
mutual agreement with the publishers. Other developments: soon
there will be a legal strengthening of the fixed prices on the
book market, changes in the governmental structure (a Committee
for Artists established), difficulties with publishers as they
have more power to decrease royalties for authors and
translators: they are not interested in promoting new titles,
as they earn more selling bestsellers; here is a base
for a clash of interests; the near future can bring a decrease
of pensions for older writers and translators, etc.

After the discussion a literary readings/cultural event took place.

Saturday 21 of February
10.00 Second Session
Jarkko Laine received proposals for discussing the Minutes
2003 and the activities in 2004; the BWTC financial report.
Lena Pasternak reported on the Baltic Centre book-keeping
and financial details, the budget and the conditions for
further activities in 2004.
Agreed: to hire a person responsible for accounting and book-keeping;
the board should work out a draft budget on the special
budget meeting later on and come back to the
country reports now.

Country Reports (continued)
Denmark: Arthur Krasilnikoff explained his difficulties in
making a written report, as he did not know what was
interesting to the others. In Denmark there are free prices for
selling books, the Association is trying to reach a
collective agreement with the publishers, which is not easy.
The publishers have the right to cut down the prices up to 20 per
cent. Under these conditions only bestseller writers can
survive. The experiment with super cheap pocketbooks failed ?
nearly the same situation as in Germany. The writers? incomes
decreased 10-15 per cent.
The Danish Art Foundation: difficult to work with.
Positive features: royalties (broadcasting) 20 per cent fees,
life long annual awards for writers ? turned to fees for 5?10
years. Discussion:
In Sweden: there is a growing market for pocketbooks, while
library loans are going down, which is not a favorable condition
for writers.
In Finland: libraries have no financing to buy new editions,
readers are disappointed as a result.
Finland: Jaana Nikula reported on the most important issues ?
copyright related and contract related ones. The Finnish legislation
is being revised to correspond to EU directives,
expected to come into force later. New model contracts have been
worked out and approved of, the process of negotiation with the
large publishers has started. The biggest change: the
calculation of characters, compared to the old system.
Other features: more female writers, who earn less compared
to men; a decrease of radio plays/performances due to
personal reasons; a reduced number of prices (55 against 65
before). In general schools and libraries have less financial
support to buy new books. Efforts have been made to
create a network to promote belles-lettres for professional
circles and thus to create an interest in the general
public.
Discussion:
Valery Popov: impressions from the last Frankfurt Book Fair:
a new tendency ? to force the author to write more than 10
books annually; Russian literature lost its traditional
features, turning to Western patterns. But in general Russian
authors are successfully conquering the Western market.
Proposals: Jarkko Laine, Peter Curman, K-J Liedtke - to
write a letter of support for the Baltic Centre to the Council of
Nordic Ministers/CNM (to be signed by all countries-
participants); another on behalf of the BWC; the third one ? to
all ministries of culture in the Baltic countries.
Lena Pasternak: the financing for the past 10 years is a
combination of Swedish and EU funds, due to a growing activity it is
necessary to apply for more money than 1,5 salaries for the
employees.

Estonia: Mati Sirkel reported on 2 important issues: the
attempt to adopt the Finnish system of library loans did not succeed
(there are a total of 600 libraries in Estonia); and EU (92)
accepted the Amsterdam copyrights so that Estonian writers have
equal conditions with Scandinavian countries ? in frame of
adopting EU regulations in general.
The Scandinavian countries succeeded in reaching an
agreement in Brussels on the preservation of small nations.
1) On the political level: 900 thousand Estonian crowns
(grant) to create a foundation, able to support about 1mln persons
working in the literary field (incl. textbooks, CD,
etc). Potential threat: 15 of April is the deadline of the
testing period, and the benefit can be very low due to the
number of applicants (appr. 50 writers and 50 translators);
hopefully, there will be a redistribution of money and the sum
is to be raised 10% per new title.
2) Law on Artists? Union: there is a certain state support
according to the Irish model (no income tax) which did
not work. The unions have to support free-lancers, whether
they are members or not, and to distribute money for
half a year to them to see if they can continue as free-lancers or
probably it is more for beginners. The benefit for creative
activity: 3000 professional artists in general sense
have to share 4 mln crowns, which is a very small amount
to support a creator, thus culture becomes more and more
expensive. E.g., to keep a symphonic orchestra costs more
in order to maintain a high level. Some politicians try to
stimulate the national culture (ex: the law concerning the
Estonian language).
Discussion:
Peter Curman: noted, that there is a strong pressure to
accept the EU system, as a result there might be a loss of 5-6
mln crowns.

Denmark: Arthur Krasilnikoff gave an overview on the
situation in Denmark as being rather positive in general.
Among the literary titles published now there are 7 % of fiction,
while the rest are textbooks, where the copyrights
belong to the translators. Compared to Germany and Sweden the
proportion is 50:50.

St Petersburg: Valery Popov informed about the book fair on
4-7 of June, and on the Gogol prize to be given on 26-28 of
May, the amount of money allocated with the NMC support and
St Petersburg administration is 1000 USD. He also marked
positive changes in the situation in Russia.

Kaliningrad: Elena Emelianova presented the report of the
Kaliningrad Union of Writers and Translators headed by
Vycheslav Karpenko. The situation is growing worse due to a lack
of jobs/demands on the small territory of the enclave
(surrounded by the EU). The possibilities for young writers to be
published are much worse than in the rest of Russia, and there
is no work for professional writers. Next year (in 2005) is the
750th anniversary of Königsberg-Kaliningrad.
Proposal: to include the Kaliningrad issue into the board
discussion; to find out the possibilitites to supply the
St Petersburg and Kaliningrad Unions with updated computers.
Decision: accepted.

Lithuania: Rimantas Cerniauskas described the situation of
today, that there are more authors than the country needs
today; the situation regarding magazines, esp in the provinces,
is also bad. During the year 3 Lithuanian writers
have been awarded. Poets tend to switch to prose /essay writing.
Library loans issue: 200 litas is appr. 100 euro; half
of the sum went to librarians for calculations.
Discussion: A Baltic ministers? network should be formed;
there is a need to look for sponsors/foundations to buy
new titles/books for libraries, as all culture is concentrated in one city; and the Scandinavian model should be followed.

Latvia: Janis Rokpelnis informed on the state support to promote Latvian culture; literary workers earn from fees, rents, etc. Professional education has been established for Writers Unions, supported by the state. To publish plays has become very expensive, about 17 euros per copy; there is a number of magazines supported by the state: 1,5 in the Latvian language; an almanac, and 1 ? in Russian.

Sweden: Peter Curman gave an overview of the current situation with writers/translators as equal partners; now it is more profitable to sell bestsellers on the market than to promote new titles. Wait and See state at present: attempts to reach a structural agreement on the copyright issue as a reasonable demand on fair deal among e-publishing, audio books, etc. Information on the Swedish international activity regarding SI, SIDA and the Ministry of Culture tasks (SI has got a limited frame now, due to high internal costs), the BWC and other centres in Visby recognized by UNESCO. The BWC status: has to be recognized as NGO in a broad sense ? needs legal status now. Balkan?s problem: next week there is an official UNESCO visit to Gotland. Johan Öberg remarked that promoting Sweden is not the task of the Centre, it is SI?s task.

Norway: Tor Eystein Överås informed that publishing and book sales are under the control of the Association, which guarantees equal rights/payments for Norwegian writers.
The book prices are still very high, and there is now a debate in Norway on how to regulate the market, regulate royalties for small bookshops to survive.
Grants: there are good possibilities, especially for young writers since last year. Annual long?life awards, as in Denmark for outstanding literary work, are still in force.
Discussion:
Peter Curman: remarked on digital publications (special permit), which are not allowed in Sweden any more/even regarding archive issues. This is a big Swedish victory.

Evaluation of BWCT Activity. Johan Öberg gave a very promising and positive picture of the activity of the Baltic Centre for Writers and Translators: about 700 people have visited it during the last 4 years. The Centre got about 205 responses, the results should be considered as immensely positive ones. An open question is the question of quality (difficult to measure). From one side it is a creative activity place, from another ? ideologically ? it stimulates fighting for the authors? rights. BWC is weaker in cultural strategy. The biggest number of visitors is from Sweden, Germany, Russia, etc. People produced different works of 268 kinds, such as: translators turned to poetry, for example.

Gender: more women among visitors, which might be a way of escaping routine or the inclination of women to write prose. Translators are less in number. Thus BWC is a prose, not a poetry centre. Essays ? about 8,5%; nearly no children?s literature produced here; about 50% of the visitors took part in co-financing, esp. Germans and Estonians are good in fund raising.

Website: must be also in Russian to reach diversity.
Potential threat: mostly West Europeans are coming, but not enough visitors from Eastern Europe. The Centre loses its role as a meeting point with Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia. EU is financing the Baltic states, Sweden takes care of Russians.
RESULTS: BWC fulfills its goal.
Discussion: Peter Curman: more initiative from different countries, translators? workshops to be organized in order to attract young ones.
Johan Öberg: to create an interest in what other people are writing is politically important.
Lena Pasternak: what are our priorities now, should we keep the concept? How can we escape EU domination, having EU financing and scholarships? SI decreased its investments, there might be grants for Russia. There is a need to plan a scholarship fund. No financing for the Assembly meetings.

Decision:
Countries should write letters to NMC on: exchange of literary interests; culture festivals and the Kaliningrad anniversary.

BWCT report: Lena Pasternak reported on BWCT activities and issues to be solved, such as financing, restructuring, updating the website, taking care of the visitors, participating and organizing events, running the BWC library, book keeping etc. Decision: to apply for support from the administration of Gotland, Peranders Sandström. BWC should be the practical way to connect people. Financing: 34 000 SEK for the moment, 15 000 allocated for Kaliningrad and St Petersburg for computers for Unions.

Activities in 2004:
Late spring, Tallinn
October ? Turku
Joint seminar with translators: role of professional writers in a rapidly changing world, e.g.
Activities in 2005:
September ? translators? seminar (SI, NMC)
Meeting in Kaliningrad: to form a working group, to apply for financing with the support of Peranders Sandström, Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke and Elena Emelianova.

Gotland Prize: after the discussion there was a decision to think over the issue again; we need more information about how to establish it, to finance it, about the target group and what kind of a prize it should be. Mikhail Chulaki?s idea was to establish a prestigious prize for translators/poets. We must change the idea in order to gain time for awarding a literary work. Decision: to think it over till the next meeting, having the Baltic Region as a target area.

Board Members Elections/Changes:
Lithuania ? Kornelijus Platelis
Norway ? Kari has to resign, Elena Emelianova, Russia, to replace.

Sunday 22 of February
10.00 Third Session

In the beginning of the session there were reports on the results of the previous session, such as:
- finding the way to supply St Petersburg and Kaliningrad with computers for better communication;
- asking for support (Peranders Sandström) to make an application for the Kaliningrad meeting to SI and NCM
- the Gotland Prize: look for local companies (Gunilla)
- the visit to Kaliningrad in 2005 (working group)
- Calendar of events
Left for the session:
- Rhodos/Cyprus
- Sending 3 letters to the NMR, the Baltic ministers of Culture; the Minister of the NMR
Decision: to sign letters first of all.

Peter Curman: copies of Johan Öberg?s report to be distributed to all of us, esp. the Baltic Centre of Writers and Translators and the Council of Unions.

Rhodos/Cyprus Report:
The Rhodos Centre created under the initiative of the members, owned
by the Rhodos municipality; the Committee/Board of 3 Seas, is to work out an international program. Registered as NGO, Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke as president. There are 9 members on the board, not all the countries around the Baltic Sea participate (e.g.Estonia); Russia is a member.
Scholarships: no transportation costs included (only free stay). On Cyprus no centre yet, only vague plans.

Auditor?s Report:
No budget for the year formed, the annual report should be used as a base. The board should be free to take part in the budget planning. Result: 29 000 SEK as membership fees; the Assembly should be financed through EU foundations, not SI any longer; might be combined with fees. The annual meeting is a part of the calendar of events.
Proposals: Raising the membership fees: for EU countries ? 1300, for non-EU ? 1000; to use the Interreg IIIB EU program.

Summing Up:
Concrete project planned: the meeting in Kaliningrad in 2005 (writers, artists, publishers, etc). Working group meeting, e-mail contacts at least once a month, minutes to be presented at least one week before the next meeting. March: homepage, Navigare (e-magazine) with young authors; meeting of the board in Turku.



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Minutes 2003

The Baltic Writers Council General Assembly 2003 Visby, February 21 ? 23

Participants: Mati Sirkel, Estonian Writers? Union; Chairman Kristiina Drews, Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters; Secretary Jarkko Laine, Union of Finnish Writers Torsti Lehtinen, Union of Finnish Writers Hannu Niklander, Union of Finnish Writers Nalle Valtiala, Society of Swedish Authors in Finland Merete Jensen, Society of Swedish Authors in Finland Viggo Madsen, Danish Writers? Association Arthur Krasilnikoff, Danish Fiction Writers Richard Pietraß, German Writers? Union Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke, German Writers? Union Vjacheslav Karpenko, Writers? Union of Kaliningrad Ilja Fonjakov, St. Petersburg Writers? Union Janis Rokpelnis, Latvian Writers? Union Eugenijus Alishanka, Lithuanian Writers? Union Ingela Bendt, Swedish Writers? Union Peter Curman, Swedish Writers? Union

1) Chairman Mati Sirkel opened the meeting at 16:20.

2) Following some changes in the order of items, the Assembly approved the Agenda.

3) Kristiina Drews was elected Secretary of the meeting.

4) The Chairman of the Assembly, Mati Sirkel, gave his report. He explained his actions after receiving the letter of resignation from the previously elected Chairman, Jakob Br¸nnum of the Danish Writers? Union. Following the resignation of two members of the Board ? Br¸nnum for the reasons stated in his letter and Tarja Teva of Finland due to poor health ? Mati Sirkel accepted responsibility for the Baltic Writers? Council (BWC). He sent membership fee invoices to members ? or possible members ? as far as he could gather on the basis of the existing data. There was some confusion regarding how many members the BWC actually had, and from which countries. These facts must be clarified as soon as possible under the new Board that will be elected. Mati Sirkel sent letters on December 3rd, 2002, wrote the Agenda for the next General Assembly, and called for a meeting. He explained that due to his several responsibilities in Estonia, he could not permanently assume the role of Chairman. He read Jakob Br¸nnum?s letter to the meeting, and the issue was discussed. Br¸nnum?s letter was distributed to the participants.

5) Gerda Helena Lindskog, Director of the Centre for Baltic Writers and Translators, gave a brief report after telling that she prefers to stick to the Agenda and to give a more detailed report on Saturday and brought up the weak financial situation of the Centre. She explained that at present she is also working in Barents Literature Centre in Överkalix for two weeks out of every month, and that Lena Pasternak, the Deputy Director, is responsible for the daily work and activities of the BCWT. This new situation makes it possible to take in temporary help such as librarian, accountant and housekeeper. With two Directors and virtually no assistance, only some cleaning help, the work at the Centre is very busy. Lindskog sincerely appreciates Pasternak for her contribution. The funding of the Centre has remained mostly the same for the ten years that have passed i.e. support from the Swedish government, the Municipality of Gotland and some EU funding for various cultural projects. Peter Curman of Sweden thanked both Lindskog and Pasternak for competent management Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke of Germany asked who has represented the BWC on the Board of the Centre (BCWT) following Br¸nnum?s resignation. Mati Sirkel explained that for the time being, he has been the replacement. He hoped that the place can be filled after the General Assembly elections.

6) The representatives of the member organizations present at the meeting gave their oral reports, some of them also their written reports. First was Jarkko Laine from the Union of Finnish Writers, then Nalle Valtiala from the Society of Swedish Authors in Finland and Kristiina Drews from the Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters. Reports were also heard from Latvia (Janis Rokpelnis), Germany (Richard Pietraß) and Lithuania (Eugenijus Alishanka). At 18:35, Chairman Mati Sirkel ended the session.

7) The session was resumed at 10:25 on Saturday, February 22nd. Upon the suggestion of Mati Sirkel, Chairman of the Assembly, a minute of mourning was observed in commemoration of Michail Chulaki and Peteris Zirnitis. Ilja Fonjakov from St. Petersburg recited a few words of rememberance in the honour of those who had passed away.

8) The country reports continued: Sweden (Ingela Bendt and Peter Curman) and Kaliningrad (Vjacheslav Karpenko). Vjacheslav Karpenko introduced the Hansean Vessel project and distributed a paper on this international socio-cultural project of creative individuals from the Baltic area ?From Heart to Heart?, thus inviting the respective countries to participate. The matter was discussed, whereafter the country reports continued; reports were given by Ilja Fonjakov (St. Petersburg) and Mati Sirkel (Estonia), as well as Arthur Krasilnikoff and Viggo Madsen (Denmark).

9) Chairman Mati Sirkel read the auditor Lars Magnus Lahne?s report. A discussion of the financial situation of the BWC followed, and the auditors?s report was accepted. As project leader of the Visby Symposium, Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke presented his report on the Visby Symposium held 28 November ? 1 December, 2002. The issue of the unpaid honoraries of the Symposium was dealt with, and it was decided that the honoraries must be paid through the bank. The BWC decided that the matter of the Symposium must be discussed with the future accountant. Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke received thanks for his thorough report.

10) Deputy Director Lena Pasternak described the 10-year festivities of the Baltic Writers? Centre, to be held on 23 ?24 May, 2003. An extensive programme has been planned: an open house, receptions, the opening of the Poetry Festival, a dinner at the Baltic Art Centre, exhibitions etc. The programme is in order, but the finances need to be discussed.

11) The elections of the Chairman and the Board were preceded by a discussion. The statutes of the BWC were distributed to the participants, and at the initiative of Peter Curman a discussion of the requirements for the new Chairman followed. For the new Board to be elected, the meeting gave the task of clarifying the statutes, which at present leave room for interpretation. The Board consists of five members, including the Chairman. Of the old Board, two members continue, i.e. Kari Sverdrup of Norway and Eugenijus Alishanka of Lithuania; their term will expire in 2004. Three new members must be elected. It was decided first to elect the Board and then the Chairman from among the five Board members. Three candidates for the Board were suggested: Jarkko Laine, Mati Sirkel and Nalle Valtiala. The meeting unanimously elected said three candidates to the Board.

A discussion of the requirements for the new Chairman followed. Director Gerda Helena Lindskog pointed out that the new Chairman must be able to work in close cooperation with the Board of the Centre. Peter Curman emphasized the Chairman?s capacities for international cooperation and fundraising. After a short break, the election of the Chairman followed. All members of the newly elected Board who were present were asked in turn whether they were willing to stand as candidates. Mati Sirkel and Eugenijus Alishanka refused on the basis of their responsibilities in their own countries. Jarkko Laine accepted, but Nalle Valtiala doubted whether he would timewise have the resources to work as a Chairman. The election followed. Nalle Valtiala got four votes and Jarkko Laine five. Jarkko Laine was elected the new Chairman. He thanked the meeting for its support and promised to do his best for the future of BWC and the Centre. He will also represent the BWC on the Board of the BCWT.

12) The future of the Gotland Prize and the general financing of the Centre were discussed. It was unanimously decided that the first Gotland Prize be given to Peter Curman. As the prize, Lena Pasternak suggested an artwork by a stone artist living in Visby. Several suggestions for raising money were brought up, among them commercial sponsors, international organizations etc. Concrete work was left for the new chairman and Board.

13) The auditors of BWC for the next period were elected unanimously. The auditors are Lars-Magnus Lahne and Merete Jensen. Päivi Liedes from the Finnish Writers? Union was elected to be the accountant.

14) The future of the electronic magazine was discussed briefly, but it was decided to leave the matter for the newly elected Board.

15) The Director?s report was given jointly by Gerda Helena Lindskog and Lena Pasternak. Despite the poor financial situation ? which was in a severe crisis before Christmas ? the activities of the Centre have been going at full speed. One conspicuous feature of the Centre is its internationality: several languages are spoken, and guests arrive to visit the Centre from various countries. During the past year, roughly 200 guests spent about 3,000 nights at the Centre. The stream of applications is growing. The Directors distributed the list of visitors from 2002. The Centre is an important factor both in Gotland and in Sweden. Lena Pasternak introduced ?Taste of Paper? and other books produced at the Centre. The central yearly event is the Poetry Festival, which in 2002 had an Irish touch with the Gaelic-writing poet Medbh McGuckian. Cooperation with other similar centres, for instance that in Rhodes, should be increased.

16) Time was left for open matters and free discussion. Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke brought up the matter of the new home pages, and their updating was discussed. Mati Sirkel suggested that the new Board create a formula for the country reports for next year, and seriously requested that the respective countries send in written reports in advance. The session was ended at 17:02.

17) The session was resumed at 10:25 on Sunday, February 23rd. Mati Sirkel brought up the issue of the bank account of the Baltic Writers? Council. It was decided that access to the bank account be defined as follows: the auditors Lars-Magnus Lahne and Merete Jensen, Chairman Jarkko Laine and the new Vice President to be elected within the Board, as well as Deputy Director Lena Pasternak each have the right to use the account and to sign for it individually.

18) Future visions for BWC were discussed. Among these were the electronic library and the electronic magazine ?Navigare? on the Internet. Jarkko Laine suggested that an ordinary letter should be sent out to all member organizations every two months or so. Arthur Krasilnikoff remarked that the links to the respective home pages of the member organizations must be updated, as should other material on the Centre?s home pages. The Board should decide who is responsible for the home pages. Viggo Madsen pointed out that 2005 is H. C. Andersen?s 200-year anniversary, and asked that the situation of the existing translations in the various countries be checked. Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke proposed a new poetry seminar focusing on Johannes Bobrowski. Eugenijus Alishanka suggested that application for financing should be filed with various funds, for example the Nordic Council or the Europe 2000 fund. Jarkko Laine promised to write a short self-presentation for the applications.

19) Chairman Mati Sirkel called all Board members that were present to a preliminary Board meeting, to be held immediately after the BWC meeting.

20) It was decided that in 2004, the General Assembly of the BWC will meet on February 20 ?-22. The session was ended at 11:15.

Mati Sirkel Kristiina Drews Chairman Secretary

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Minutes 2002

The Baltic Writers Council General Assembly 2002 Visby 22-24 February

Participants: Jakob Brønnum, Danish Writers Union Mati Sirkel, Estonian Writers Union Sigma Ankrava, Latvian Writers Union Vjacheslav Karpenko, Kaliningrad Writers Union Mihail Chulaki, S:t Petersburg Writers Union Kari Sverdrup, Norwegian Writers and Translators Unions Jarkko Laine, Finnish Writers Union Nalle Valtiala, Society of Swedish Authors in Finland Tarja Teva, Finnish Translators and Interpreters Union Richard Pietraß, German Writers Union Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke, German Writers Union Ingela Bendt, Swedish Writers Union Peter Curman, Swedish Writers Union

1) The agenda was approved by the assembly.

2) Nalle Valtiala was elected secretary of the meeting.

3) The chairman of the assembly, Jakob Brønnum, gave his report. Initially he informed the meeting about the structure of the Baltic Writers Council (BWC) in contradistinction to the Baltic Centre for Writers and Translators (BCWT). The board of the council consists of five persons (at present Jakob Brønnum, Eugenius Alisjanka, Mati Sirkel, Tarja Teva, and Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke), two of whom (Brønnum, Sirkel) are also members of the board of the centre. Recently the council has been restructured into an official Swedish organization, which means that it will soon have a bank account of its own. The chairman expressed his special gratitude to Gustav Söderdahl, for his assistance in the process. In 2003 the BCWT will celebrate its tenth anniversary. The centre has expanded its activities continually, with 3115 guest nights entered in 2001. The board of the centre met four times last year. The board of the council met once, but there are plans for a second annual meeting, starting this year, if the funds can be provided. The chairman then presented the first issue of Navigare, an electronic literary magazine published by the Baltic Writers Council, with Jakob Brønnum as editor, containing poems by Viggo Madsen (Denmark) and Sigidas Geda (Lithuania), as well as an essay by Nalle Valtiala. As financial support for a venture of this kind needs something to show, the first issue has been published without any aid. Now there is proof, which means that financial support can be expected in the future. One annual issue of Navigare is planned, with the contents restricted to literary material. Next year?s issue will probably contain poems by the recently deceased auditor of the council, Peteris Zirnitis (Latvia). As some of the organizations which are members of the Baltic Writers Council have not yet paid their annual membership fees, a member of the board (Tarja Teva) was given the assignment of requesting payment. The governor of Kaliningrad, where the financial situation for the writers? organizations is the worst, ought to be approached by letter, encouraging Kaliningrad to develop its international contacts. As regards Poland, where the present situation is quite complicated, Anders Bodegård of the Board of Swedish Writers Union would be a suitable contact person. One way of improving the status and economy of the BWC would perhaps be to accept suitable nonfictional writers unions in the membership countries. The chairman also stated that the home page of the BWC will be set up in collaboration with the center. The development of the virtual library is advancing; Lars Kleberg has drafted applications for financial support. (Cf. p. 7.) A seminar regarding the virtual library will be held. A long-time member of the board, Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke, will resign after this meeting.

4) The auditor?s report was discussed. Due to the death of Peteris Zirnitis, the fiscal year closed in an auditor-free state. However, the 2001 accounting of the BWC was still within that of the BCWT. The income for the year 2001 totalled 48 870 Swedish kronor, consisting of 8870 crowns from membership fees and 40 000 kronor issued as a grant by the Swedish Institute. The total expenses during the same period amounted to 49 044,5 Swedish kronor, resulting in a negative net income of ? 174,5 Swedish kronor. The projected income for the year 2002 comprises 30 000 Swedish kronor from the Swedish Institute plus support from various structural funds, together with the membership fees. The council acknowledges a 4 000-kronor debt to the center. The budget for 2002 comprises 4 000 kronor for the February meeting fees, 2 000 kronor for the home page (www), 1 000 kronor for the proposed Gotland Prize, 11 000 kronor for a proposed extra board meeting, and 5 000 kronor for unexpected expenses; all the sums being in the Swedish currency. The budget proposal was accepted by the general assembly. Furthermore the assembly accepted a proposed membership fee raise from 1 000 to 1 300 Swedish kronor per member, with the exception of Kaliningrad and Russia; due to limited resources these members need upon application pay only 1 000 kronor, as a special arrangement for 2002 only.

5) All the representatives for the member organizations present at the meeting gave their oral reports, some of the members also their written reports. Those written reports still missing will be submitted in due time. A ?Report of the Lithuanian Writers? Union?, which was not represented in person at the assembly, was mailed to the centre before the meeting. In connection with his report, Michail Chulaki invited the other member organizations, both orally and in writing, to take part in a 3-day rivership cruise on the Neva and Lake Ladoga, planned to take place in connection with the S:t Petersburg book fair in June 22-27 of this year. The administration of S:t Petersburg has promised to support the project with a sum equivalent to $ 5 000 in American currency.

6) The assembly discussed the proposal of a Baltic Prize, which would ? from the year 2003 ? be awarded to a person or an organization that has done something special in the Baltic region. Such a prize would act as a literary and indeed cultural stimulant in the region and promote the status of the BWC. The nominees for such a prize must be selected by February 1, as the recipient of the prize will be nominated by the assembly at the end of the month. According to the assembly, the best place for the prize ceremony would be Visby. For the proposed sum of 1 000 Swedish kronor, say, a representative work of graphic art from the local art museum could be obtained. Having discussed the optimal name of the prize, the majority of the assembly voted for the Gotland Prize, instead of the other suggestions, the Visby Prize and the Navigare Prize.

7) The electronic literary magazine, an item to be dealt with in this paragraph, was already presented in the chairman?s report. In addition to the facts given above, the chairman stated that the goal is 1-2 issues per annum. The contents will be poetry and prose, with no organizational messages attached. The production costs could be settled by money obtained from some Nordic program. This presupposes that a minimum of 3 countries are involved in the project. In addition to poetry written by the late Peteris Zirnitis, the next issue is projected to contain material about translation as an art, a craft, and/or a necessity. Mati Sirkel will support the third claim. The Assembly was informed that the BWC can use the old home page of the BCWT as their own; a new address shall be provided.

7 A) Upon the proposal of Peter Curman, the assembly decided to send an address supporting the Kurdish writer Mehmed Uzun, who is currently being prosecuted by the authorities of his home country Turkey. The letter, which was written by the chairman, makes clear that the allegations are not only an attack upon the freedom of speech but also an attack on all our colleagues in Turkey striving for basic human rights. The assembly decided to address the letter to the Turkish ambassador in Sweden. A copy was to be given to the Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Anna Lind by Peter Curman, at a meeting in Stockholm on February 25. A press release on the matter would also be issued.

8) The director?s report was given jointly by Gerda Helena Lindskog and Lena Pasternak. The first item brought up was the newsletter of the BCWT. In 2001 two newsletters were issued on the net; the first newsletter for 2002 will be issued in March, possibly on paper as well, to insure full coverage. Turning to larger issues, Gerda Helena Lindskog informed about the cooperation of the BCWT with various European programs. With a 600 000-kronor support from the European Structure Fund, called Objective 2 Islands, the BCWT has cooperated with the Baltic Art Centre and the new International Centre for Composers. The aim is to promote Gotland as a cultural meeting place, also by arranging experimental workshops, activating both the local inhabitants and the centre. In August 2001 a workshop for young writers took place at the centre, involving writers from the Baltic and Nordic countries, from Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Greece. The workshop was arranged within the frames of another EU project, Literary Access, which is accomplished in co-operation with the International Centre for Writers and Translators on Rhodes. Digital poetry by the writers was issued on the web. Under projection is a print-on-demand book comprising the participants? texts in English and with an audiovisual CD with short readings in 11 different languages on the back of the book. Turning to the centre library, the staff informed about its reorganization; 95 % of the books are to be found in Libris, the Swedish National Catalogue. Some 1500 of the books in the library are very special indeed, being the only books of their kind in Sweden. Regarding the readjustment of the centre?s home page, money has been obtained for changing the system and installing a new kind of publishing system, which is easier to update and which also offers different levels of access. In 2001 the BCWT was almost fully booked the year round. Priority has been given to writers and translators who come for a longer term. Another item mentioned was some smaller workshops connected with the Baltic Sea Talk, a project idea presented by Mikael Nydahl and the publisher ellerströms, involving poets, prose writers, and translators. The cooperation with the Rhodes Centre will be continued by some small Literary Access workshops with Greek and Bulgarian participants in the spring. The BCWT guest list for 2001 was distributed to the assembly. Next summer the 10-year celebration of the centre will take place.

9) a) The assembly decided to ask Lars-Magnus Lahne, who is on election as chairman of the Board of the BCWT from April 2002, whether he would accept the position of auditor for the BWC. b) Of the two members of the board of the BWC whose terms were up, Eugenius Alisjanka was reelected. Instead of Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke, who expressed his wish to resign after a long term, Kari Sverdrup (Norway) was elected. The member of the board Tarja Teva was entrusted with the task of collecting money from the member organizations. c) Jakob Brønnum and Mati Sirkel continue as the BWC representatives on the board of the BCWT, on a 2-year mandate.

10) Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke has taken the initiative to a new project, to be undertaken one weekend at the end of November or in the beginning of December. The project centers on the concept of Baltic identity, which will be analyzed and discussed at a conference involving writers, painters, and other artists from regions close to the Baltic sea, who, in their work, have taken impression from the sea in question. With the help of Sabine Herholz, the secretary of the German Writers Union, Liedtke has written a draft of the project, thus obtaining the promise of support from the German Foreign Ministry, comprising 130 D-marks per day for 20 participants. The Swedish Institute has promised a sum of 150 000 Swedish kronor. However, 50 000-60 000 kronor must still be found from some other source. The project will be accomplished in cooperation with the Baltic Art Centre in Visby, perhaps also with the local university. A parallel conference on translations is also projected. Liedtke visualized a German publisher, who would be interested in the project. The board decided to appoint Liedtke, together with Jakob Brønnum and Mati Sirkel, members of a working commission for the project, the sole objective of which would be to arrange the conference in question. A written report will be submitted to the BWC. A committee of editors will be selected, for organizing the material.

11) In 2003, the General Assembly of the BWC will meet on February 21-23. The meeting will commence on Friday the 21, at 2 o?clock p.m. and end on Sunday the 23, at 12 noon.

Jakob Brønnum Nalle Valtiala Chairman Secretary

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Minutes of the General Assembly of the Baltic Writers? Council held on February 24 - 25 2001 at the Baltic Centre for Writers and Translators in Visby

1) Approval of the agenda, with some changes in the order of the agenda.

2) Election of the secretary of the meeting. Eugenijus Alisanka is elected to take the minutes Concise presentation of the participants takes place.

3) Chairman?s report. Jakob Brønnum gave a lengthened report on the years work, both in the board of the BWC, where meetings by part of the board had been taking whenever possible, in Visby and in Turku - and in the board of the centre (BCWT), where he and Mati Sirkel represents the BWC, the latter as the vice chairman of the BWCT. Jakob Brønnum had visited Estonia and told a little about the impressive work the writer?s association has done for the acknowledgement of author?s rights, including the PLR. Jakob Brønnum presented the situation for the plans for a Baltic sea region electronic literary magazine, edited by the board. It was already discussed last year, where the GA stated that no such thing should be produced before money has been raised for the project. However applications have been fruitless - because no magazine exists!. The GA therefore reversed the decision, and gave the board green light to produce an issue. The aim is to publish one newsletter this year, possibly to be presented in connection with the first Helsinki-book fair in October, and prepare the next one for the next year dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the Baltic Sea Cruise. The name of the magazine is to be Navigare, named after the first book of texts, written in and published by the Centre. Jakob Brønnum presented the proposition for the BWC to apply to become a Sweden based, non-profit organization, among other thins because that is the only way. The proposal was accepted by the GA unanimously.

4) Reports from the members of the BWC. If any further reports are submitted from the members they will be included and mailed out. I. Piret Viires reported on the situation in literary Estonia. II. Eugenijus Alisanka reported on the situation in Lithuania. Last year was not very inspiring for Lithuanian literature although writers continued to write. Financial situation is still complicated, the support from the State is continuously decreasing. A few numbers for comparison - when the Fundation for the Support of the Press, Radio and TV was founded it used to distribute about 4 mln. Lt (culture weeklies and magazines were supported by the Fundation). This year its budget was only 1.5 mln Lt. Cultural weeklies and magazines got approximately just a half of the money they need in order to survive. The Fundation for the Support of Sport and Culture has been functioning since 1999. It functions like analogous fundations in Estonia and Latvia, the capital is accumulated from tax exercises on tobacco and spirits trade, it is supposed to accumulate approximately 12 mln. Lt per year. The half of the sum is alloted to culture. Unfortunately because of the economical and financial instability in the country, the Fundation did notreceive all the money it expected to receive. For this reason last year the Fundation was financing projects of the previous year. This year seems to be better and approximately 6 mln. Lt will be distributed for culture programs. The problems of piracy are under discussion in Lithuania now and we see changes for better. The Council of Lithuanian Copyright and Related Rights was established last year and it is functioning, the supervision of copyright protection is provided more strictly now also. After the election which was held last autumn, the coalition of liberal parties in the Parliament has become predominating and we see the result of it now. Support for culture is decreasing and we have to fight more fiercesly order to continue our activities. For example, the States support for Artists` organizations has decreased approximately 25 proc. The financing of our magazine ?Vilnius? published in English and Russian has been cut down and the situation of the magazine is catastrophic now. Probably the magazine will get some money from the other source, it that case it will manage to publish only one or two issues in English this year. In better times it used to be published four times per year in English and Russian. Now we are loosing ?the window to Europe?. However the Writers Union succeeded to organize the international poetry festival ?Poetry Spring? where we had next poets as guests: Pia Tafdrup, Kristoffer Leandoer, Sigfus Bjartmarsson, Doris Kareva, Guntaras Guodins, Michael Schmidt etc. At last we have our site on the internet. The address is http://eleres.prantel.lt. Unfortunately it is not very developed, we just put on it some general information about our organization in Lithuanian. III. Peteris Zirnitis reported on the situation in Latvian literature. Latvian Literature Institute in the same manner as in Estonia is supporting literary activities in Latvia. 5-7 new names in literature of age 18 - 25 pop out every year. New wave of women prose is observed in Latvia. Approximately 100 women writers took part in the competition last year and about 20 of them were published. Latvians are exploring the ways to have print-on-demand equipment in Latvia. IV. Michail Chulaki reported on St-Petersburg Writers? Organization and the situation in literature. Activities of the Union are of a routine nature, no big changes during the last year. In October there was an election in the Union and M. Choulaki was reelected for the next term. The most important and the most difficult task for the Union - to find money for the activities. In the year 2003 St. Petersburg will be celebrating its 300 anniversary but the Union has no hopes to be involved actively in this program. The first Internet bookshop is being established in St. Petersburg (by the initiative of Al. Jitinski). V. Vjacheslav Karpenko reported on the situation in Kaliningrad region. VI. Ludmila Marjanska reported on the situation in Poland. There are two writers? organizations in Poland ( the Union and the Association), approximately 800 members in each. The Ministry of Culture stopped supporting the Association. Fees are too small to provide the activities of the organization. Looking for sponsors is not very successful. Young writers in Poland do not care about a membership of any organization. There are a couple of very active literary centres in Poland - Poznan, Krakow, Gdansk and Wroclaw. VII. Klaus-Jurgen Liedke reported on the situation in Germany. VIII. Jakob Brønnum reported on the situation in Denmark. The negotiations with the publishers about regulations of the ?normal-contract? in consequence of the de-regulations of the book price are unsettled at the moment, with no date specified for further meetings. The 250 years old domicile of the writers association is under renovation monitored by the National museum of Denmark. This process will be finished by the end of the summer. IX. Ingela Bendt reported on the situation in Sweden. For many years the situation in Sweden between authors and publishers was more or less stable with model contracts. But we lost this about five years ago, when the Publishers´ Association brought the agreement to an end. Since then there has been constant negotiations with the Publishers´ Association. The negotiations are complicated by a number of things: the new media, digitalization of books, structural changes in the book market with many book clubs, varying prices of the same book, and with fewer and bigger publishers and a growing number of very small ones. Some writers even publish their own books and distribute them through the internet. Concerning the publishing agreements the Swedish Writers Union felt it necessary to break up from the negotiation table in November last year. It turned out to be impossible to get adequate information from the Publishers´ Association concerning its far-reaching demands for publishing contracts within the electronic field. The lack of information was partly due to the fact that the publishing companies within the Publishers´ Association were and are competing with each other concerning business ideas and preparations concerning digital dissemination. The Writers Union is now - according to decisions made by its general assembly - to take up negotiations concerning publishing contracts with different publishing houses within and outside the Publishers` association. From January 1 1999 it was introduced a blank tape levy on video and audio cassettes. This levy is handled by the collecting society Copyswede. The first year, 1999 it gave a total income of 20 million Swedish crowns. The second year, 2 000, it is estimated that the total revenue will be about 50 million Swedish crowns. This should be distributed among right-holders of every kind with an emphasis on the music side. Together with the Swedish Authors´ Fund and the authors organizations which are represented in the board of the Authors´ Fund (which is a state agency) investigations have been made concerning the future use of the public lending right - PLR - remuneration going through the Authors Fund for the use of the writers books made by public libraries. In short, it has been decided by the board of the Authors Fund that in the future even greater emphasis should be laid on creating support to the benefit of professional writers, translators and book illustrators in order to make it possible for them to go on working as real professionals. The commercialization and polarization of the Swedish book market during the 1990:s has made it even more difficult - within our little language area - for the average professional writers to make a living out of the book royalties. This makes the RLR even more important as part of the economy of the professional writer. Concerning international activities it should be mentioned that the union actively engaged itself in the work of the European Writers´ Congress in order to influence the EU directive on copyright in the information society. The Swedish Writers´ Union have many international contacts. Last year a large group participated in the Book fair in Zimbabwe and will do so this summer as well if the political situation is stable. Soon we will also send participants to a conference on Cuba, one in Rumania and one in Denmark. The Writers´ Union had three participants last year joining the Literature. Express 2 000, when 103 writers from 45 countries traveled 44 days from Lisbon to Moscow. Författarnas hus - the Writers House - is situated right in the middle of Stockholm. We are being visited by writers from different countries, last year among others from Greece, Chile and Indonesia. We meet in a informal way, for discussions and poetry readings over a glass of wine. X. Ellinor Kolsted reported on the situation in Norway. XI. Jarkko Laine reported on the situation in Finland. XII. Thomas Wullf reported on the situation at the Finland Swedish union and its members. Contacts with the publishers are developing. The Union is struggling to make the books of the Swedish writing authors in Finland accessible in Sweden also, however this is not reached yet. XIII. Tarja Teva reported on the Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters. Copyright issues and the related problems proved to be the central theme in the operations of the Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters in 2000. Electronic books and books produced by means of print-on-demand technology were topical on the Finnish market, too. In consequence, translators had to be quick in formulating their stand towards the new publication technologies, in order to ensure that translators? status with respect to copyright would not be jeopardized. The copyright protection of translations published on, and intended for, the Internet has been violated increasingly often. The Finnish television plans to launch digital broadcasting in 2001; this will also bring about changes in contracts applied to translators. On many occasions during the year, literature translators discussed the issue of translation contracts. An information session on this theme was arranged for young translators who are at the beginning of their career. The Association organized several discussions which focused on themes such as problems that have arisen in relation to contracts, agreements to be signed concerning secondary use, electronic publishing and taxation questions. The various methods for calculating the length of a translation were also discussed and compared during the year. A questionnaire on fees paid to translators of literature was conducted once again, and the results were published in the March issue of the periodical Kääntäjä. Translators had an agreement in force with the Finnish Broadcasting Company concerning the public presentation of original and translated written works on the radio and on TV. The Association?s representatives participated in several hearings held by the committee studying the employment conditions and social security of artists. The Association provided the committee with surveys on the position of literary translators, e.g. as concerns taxation and pensions. The Association gave the Finnish Ministry of Education its opinion on a report entitled The Book Trade in Finland ? from Author to Reader ? Support Measures And Development in the Book Trade, which had been published by a working group appointed by the Ministry. The Association also commented on the proposals for actions included in said report. In addition, the Association?s representatives participated both in a discussion, organized by the Ministry of Education, on the system to support the purchase of literature and on its development, and in the Ministry?s seminar on new forms of financing for cultural and non-governmental activities. Towards the end of the year, the Arts Council of Finland launched a study concerning the livelihood of artists. Translators were a visible presence on the Day of the Book and Rose, as they had their own stand and a 30-minute stage performance during the event. The Association also participated in the planning of the Turku Book Fair, and arranged a panel discussion on the translation of classics at the Fair. Peter Curman proposed to write a letter concerning the situation of the Swedish writing authors in Finland. If books do not reach the market of EU countries it is a violation of EU laws. After discussion the meeting proposed to the Swedish union and Finish unions to write a letter to publishers.

5) Klaus-Jurgen Liedtke reported on the project of the Baltic Virtual Library. The ambitious idea is to have a homepage that presents literature with special relations to the Baltic Sea Region. Lena Pasternak remarked that the project is similar to the project which is under development now in Gdansk (Baltic Sea Region Identity) so she suggested to keep the contact with Gdansk and to coordinate the projects. Gdansk has already got financial support from EU. Jakob Brønnum suggested to return back to the question next year and to prepare the homepage during this year and further develop the idea. Jakob Brønnum presented the plans for the BWC-homepage in detail. He also suggested to investigate the situation in libraries of Copenhagen, Helsinki and Stockholm for possible future collaboration. 25 May.

6) Dostena Lavergne presented the project ?Literary Access? which under development of the Centre for Writers and Translators in Rhodes. The project is supposed to develop links around the Balkan region as well as links with the Baltic region. Main points of the project: access to small languages, promote small literatures by new technics - print on demand etc, literary workshops with translations to be held in different places - in Sophia, Rhodes, Visby etc, translations to small languages as well as to ?major? languages. She presented the structure of cooperation between writers and publishers which includes cultural organizations in Strasbourg, the BWTC, the Rhodes Centre, POD Publishers, small publishers as well as Universities in Gotland, Rhodes, Sophia.

7) Report of the Director of the BCWT. Report of Gerda Helena Lindskog. See: the Newsletter, that everybody should have received by now. Lena continues report on the activities of the BCWT. Jarkko Laine rised the question concerning the selection of the writers coming to the Centre, and there was a discussion of this. Jakob Brønnum stressed the importance of taking care of the fact that visiting writers and translators should be professional.

8) Auditors report. The report was approved unanimously. The budget for the year 2001 was discussed. The budget is expected to be 17000 SEK (from the member fees). The meeting approved next expenses: 5000 SEK - on the homepage, 11400 SEK - on meeting expenses, 600 SEK - for the auditor. The budget was unanimously approved.

9) Elections. Jarkko Laine suggested to reelect Jakob Bronnum as a chairman of the BWC for the next term. The meeting voted unanimously. Tarja Teva and Mati Sirkel are reelected to the Board of BWC. Peters Zirnytis is reelected as an auditor.

10) The next meeting will be held 15 - 17 February 2002. The chairman thanks all the participants for fruitful and comprehensive work and closes the meeting.

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Minutes of the General Assembly of the Baltic Writers? Council held on February 19-20 2000 in Visby

The following abbreviations are used:

BWC = Baltic Writers? Council

BWCT = Baltic Centre for Writers? and translators

1) Approval of the agenda, with some additions

2) Election of the secretary of the meeting

Lena Pasternak is elected to take the minutes.

Concise presentation of the participants takes place.

3) Chairman's report

Jakob Brønnum gives a report about the activities of the BWC, among them various projects for seminars, as well as the participation of himself and Mati Sirkel in the board of the centre. This board usually meets four times a year.

However there has been extended activity during the important process of choosing a new director for the BCWT. Together with the board members of BCWT, the sweetish translator Anders Bodegård and Lars-Magnus Lahne of the Gotland University, Jakob Brønnum has formed a small committee whose task it has been to 1) formulate a proposal for the advertisement for a new director to the board of the centre, and 2) to perform the process of selecting from to around 20 applicants the ones who should be invited to talks and conduct to talks, which took place in Stockholm in December 1999.

Jakob Brønnum thanks Gunilla Forsén and welcomes Gerda Helena Lindskog

who is also present at the meeting and warmly welcomed by the assembly, as a director. To confirm the real working situation structural changes have been made: Lena Pasternak has been appointed as a deputy director.

In his report Jakob Brønnum also stresses the importance of continuing developing the BWC as a permanent meeting place for representatives of the writers unions around the Baltic. For the first years after "the Wall" came down there was a general interest in the public to develop relations with "the new countries", but this interest has vaned and ? at least in Denmark, but probably also to a certain extend in the other Scandinavian countries ? things have gone back to business as usual which means being orientated towards Brussels and the EU.

Jakob Brønnum regrets the fact that Poland is not present at the general assembly. The reason is that the BWC has not been able to provide the travel-expenses. The assembly notifies the lost contact with Polish Writers´organization. A letter should be written with encouragement to renew contacts with the BWC. The Norwegian Translators? Association is warmly welcomed back by the Assembly.

4) Auditor's report

Fund raising is needed to pay the activity of the BWC such as travels to annual meetings, joint projects and administration of the Council.

Jakob Brønnum announces that the BWC accounts temporarily have been taken into the BCWT?s account as a project.

All the member countries are going to receive an invoice and the account number a fee to be paid to. To solve the financial situation of the BWC grants from international organizations are to be searched, possibilities of sponsoring from bigger companies must be investigated, example "Nokia? connecting people". Tarja Teva gets an assignment to contact NOKIA concerning eventual sponsoring.

Taking in consideration the financial situation the Board of the BWC cannot afford meetings during the forthcoming year. The only alternative is work via e-mail connection.

1000 SEK member fee for every member organization is confirmed.

Discussion took place how to raise money for the Centre, the question of addressing the member countries to contribute to funding of the Centre is discussed. For this purpose background material, as e.g. statistics survey, should be prepared.

5) Reports from the members of the BWC

I. Eugenijus Alisanka reported on the situation in literary Lithuania.

Last year was a real hard time for writers and publishers. The crisis of economics made a serious impact on cultural life. Money which were fixed for the Union, literary magazines and publishers were allotted just partly, for example the Union did not got 1/4 of fixed money. For that reasons some magazines couldn?t pay authors' emoluments, the magazine Vilnius that is published in English actually stopped and it seems it will have big troubles this year also. Even the budget of the Foundation for Support of Culture and Sport was cut down to 2 mln Lt instead of estimated 6 mln (for culture). It means some cultural programs were postponed or some financed just partly. Other consequences are - writers do not get their emoluments or get very little, some books of Lithuanian authors were not published because the publishers did not get support from the State, some publishers are in trouble because they did not get money which were promised at the beginning of the year and already started publishing some books.

This year seems to be and actually is harder than the last year even all budgets were cut down up to 25 %. Just 12 writers and 8 younger writers got scholarships for this year instead of correspondingly about 30 and 10 last years. Experts say that it will take no more than three years to get out of the crisis....

And this year will be the year of elections - to municipalities next month and to the Parliament in autumn. New parties are coming but we still cannot tell what their cultural policy will be. At least we are trying to

create a sketch of cultural policy in order not to depend on one or another good" movement or minister. This problem is one amongst others, which are under consideration on the Board of Lithuanian Artists Council. The Chairman of the Board still is Vytautas Martinkus, a former Chairman of the Writers' Union.

Anyway we had some sunny days last year also. The traditional poetry festival "Poetry Spring" went succesfully,we had poets from Sweden, Island, Russia amongst 10 other guests and this year we expect at least four poets from Northem countries, also from Latvija, Estonia, Poland. And Poetical Autumn in Druskininkai has become very popular not only amongst Lithuanian poets but amongst foreign poets, too - over 20 poets from other countries (Norvey, Sweden, Denmark etc) took part though just half of them were supposed to read their poetry during the event...

Donaldas Kajokas, a poet from Kaunas, has won the National prize this year. Nijolé Miliauskaité was awarded the Jotvingian prize and Valdemaras Kukulas was awarded the prize of the Lithuanian Writers Union . Quite a few nice books were published last year. So life goes on...

II. Sergej Mihailov reported on situation in Kaliningrad region

There are two writers? unions; the one Sergej representing unites democratic-minded writers. Two publishing houses, in average publish 2 books a year each, very limited reading public. To enter the writers? union is rather easy, publications and one book needed.

III. Peteris Zirnitis reported on the situation in Latvia

The book is not a first necessity. There is network of good rich-offering bookstores. First Internet bookshop has had three buyers by the end of February. But Internet trade is surely going to increase.

IV. Tomas Wullf reported on situation at the Finland Swedish union and its members.

Literary programmes and writers? schools at universities are an obvious tendency.

V. Tarja Teva reported on Finnish Association of Translators.

VI. Bödvar delivers a report about literary Iceland

The Writers? Union of lceland was very active in 1999. The board, held meetings every month and JO newsletters were published. In Gunnarshås there were several literature programs and the regular meetings of children's writers, playwrights and the poetry workshop. We also held several receptions for foreign writers during the year.

In 1999 we made an effort to get a clear definition of tax regulations for the individual artist in Iceland. A specialist in these matters did the work and the results were published for the members in a booklet.

The new guest apartment in Gunnarshås was opened in April 1999. It turned out to be very popular, so we have bad many writers in the house who have been very satisfied with the facilities. There are already many bookings for the year 2000. The apartment is available for visiting writers, from one and up to 8 weeks, and consists of a big living room/bedroom with good working facilities, kitchen and bathroom, approx. 60 m'.

The Writers' Union had its 25 years? anniversary in May. All the members were invited to celebrate and an exhibition of paintings called The Faces Behind the Words was opened in Giinnarshfis. At the beginning of June the Nordic Writers' and Translators' Council held it's annual conference in Reykjavik. The Writers' Union and the Non-fiction Writers Association were hosts together and the conference was held in Videy, a small island close to Reykjavik. The conference was very successful.

Negotiation with the Publishers started in 1998 and a new standard contract was signed a year later, August 1999. Many amendments were made and the new contract is meant to be clearer for both partners. New paragraphs for the publishing of audio books and electronic books are included. Soon the standard contract for translations will be discussed and hopefully modernised in a similar way this year.

'The division of blank videotapes compensation was reconsidered in arbitration in 1999. The Writers Union and the Non-fiction Writers Association acted together and the results were a bit lower than we were hoping for. Now we get 16% of the netto income, whereas before the two organisations got 22%.

In 1999 a lot work was done to create the new database that will introduce Icelandic writers on the internat. The database will store general information about the writers and their works with links to homepages and other information sources. We had hoped to see it in function at the end of 1999, but now we are already at the spring of 2000.

As Reykjavik is this year one of nine Europe's Cultural Cities many literary events will take place. The Writers Union is the organiser of a big literature performance with the title 2000 Words Over Reykjavik at the City Theatre.

The book market in Iceland doesn't seem to have changed much over the last year. We still have so called fixed book prices, but the bookstores practise discount offers of various kinds and even department stores and food stores offer a limited selection of the new editions in December. The sales figures are more or less the same as last year and the year before. The bestsellers at the top reached 12 -14.000 copies which are of course high figures on the national scale (the population is now 275.000).

VII. Mihail Chulaki reported on St-Petersburg Writers? Organization and situation with their members and also in the publishing world.

The most important literary events of the last year in Russia were dedicated to the 2OOth anniversary from the birthday of Alexandre Pushkin, our great poet. A lot of conferences, literary parties, poetry readings were held in the period of, February - June 1999. Among them it's necessary to note the International Congress of Poets, which took place in St.Petersburg (June, 4-6th). More than 150 poets from different countries of Europe and America came to our city to take part in this event. In the framework of Pushkin's Jubilee we also arranged the Young Poets' Competition, the participants of which were from the 7 to 17 years old.

The presenting of the laureates of the annual literary prize "The Northern Palmira" has taken place also on the 6th of June, just on the birthday of Pushkin. The laureates of the year became V.Popov (prose), E.Shvarz (poetry), E.Nevzglyadova (literary criticism).

Another outstanding event, the IV Congress of Science Fiction Writers "The Wanderer" was held in St.Petersburg last autumn (September, 23-26th). The Congress gathered the elite of the modern Science Fiction from Russia, former Soviet republics including countries of Baltic. Paul Anderson and Robert Shackly from the USA were the honored guests of the Congress. The programme of Congress included the Discussion about Future, rewarding "The Wanderer" prize to the laureates, meetings with readers, parties and the visit to the City's Book Fair.

In May, 1999, our well-known poet Alexandre Kushner was awarded with Pushkin Prize, established by the Alfred Tepfer Fund of Gamburg, Germany, for his poetry. The ceremony of presenting has taken place at the Theatrical Society of St.Petersburg in the presence of the representatives of the Alfred Tepfer Fund, the German Consulate, City Government and creative community of our city.

Last year we celebrated the 80-th jubilee of the two outstanding Russian writers Daniil Granin and Alexandre Volodin. Granin was awarded with the State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of Literature and Volodin was awarded with the "Triumph" Prize for his play-

ys. Both of them were decorated with Russian orders for the Service to Homeland.

Quarterly meetings of the St.Petersburg Detective Club became the most extraordinary events in the literary life of our city. The last meeting of the Club was dedicated to the discussion of the new novel of Boris Grigoriev, in which he has presented his own version of the murder of Olof Palme.

Our international activities include the arrangement of different literary parties, in which our writers meet their foreign colleagues. On the 2lst of May, 1999, there was the Party of Swedish Poetry at the Museum of F.Dostoevsky. The wonderful Swedish poets Kristina Frostenson, Stig Larsson, Goran Sonnevi and Birgitta Trotsig were the guests of St.Petersburg writers. The section of literary translation of our Union was held the Austrian literary party and Polish poetry party, where the best literary translators of St.Petersburg have read their translations of Wislava Szimborska, Alizia Rybalko and Alizia Patej-Grabovska poems.

The section of children's literature has organized the Conference on the subject "Writers work for Children" (November, 99), where the librarians, teachers, parents and writers discussed the problems of modern children's literature.

We also held a lot of memorial literary parties. Among the most interesting we have to note the Memorial Party of S.Dovlatov (October, 99), and Efim Etkind (February, 2000).

The difficulties with publishing poetry books made our poets to print their books with a help of computer. The series of literary parties, presenting such kind of self-made books, were held at the Russian National Library during last year.

At the beginning of March we are going to arrange a great conference, dedicated to the 8Oth Anniversary from the birth of Feodor Abramov, whose novels about the country life just after the World War II nearly shocked the readers at the beginning of 80-ties?

We also try to support our old writers and writers-in-need and for this purpose we ask for the Presidential scholarships for our members. In November we celebrated the 140-th Anniversary of the establishing the Russian Literary Fund, which also gave the money support for writers-in-need.

VIII. Jakob Brønnum reported about the situation in literary Denmark.

IX. Benthe Christensen reported about the Norwegian Association of Translators

X. Gunilla Ladberg reported from Swedish Writers? Union

After many years with a rather stable situation with model contracts between authors and publishers, since five years we are without this, constantly negotiating with the publishers´ organization. The negotiations are complicated by a number of things: e g the new media, digitalisation of books, structural changes in the book market with many book clubs, varying prices of the same book, and with fewer and bigger publishers and a growing number of very small ones.

Taking myself, a non fiction writer, as an example, last year I published a book on my own, which I would not hade dreamed of doing only two years earlier. I sell it when I hold lectures and via my Internet site.

During the year there has been a debate about the VAT, which is the highest in Europe, 25% (the same on books as on almost everything else). The publishers want it just gone, but we say we must look at other structural problems as well. Nobody can guarantee the no VAT will mean 20% lower prices. It might just as well mean more money to the publishers. We use the Finnish example in the argument. The development over a range of years, with free book prices, book clubs, fewer quality book stores, all these things make for "everybody buying the same books", and more and more difficulties for all the others.

Internationally we have a lot of contacts, e g in Africa . In our beautiful house Författarnas hus we meet in an informal way with colleges from many countries in Europe and other parts of the world. E g one night three authors from Cabo Verde Islands met Swedish translators and authors, with reading of translations to and from Swedish, and a lot of good talking. Those meetings are not very spectacular ? but very valuable!

XI. Richard Pietrass reported from German Writers? organization

7) The Baltic Centre, report

Lena´s report.

BCWT as a working place. During 1999 the BCWT served as a lively working place for writers and translators. More than 220 literary professionals stayed and worked with a bursary or not, longer period or shorter in connection to a specific project.

Statistics shows rather even balance between countries but still we look forward to more interest from Norway, Denmark and Island. Thanks to Jakob?s literary marketing of the Centre and good will created by those who already experienced work at the Centre there were more young Danish writers and translators in 1999.

The staff tried to keep and cherish the creative atmosphere and if the guests wish so to organize excursions around Visby and Gotland. To keep right balance in given possibility to work undisturbed, and if needed isolated, and to take part in everyday activity of the Centre, meet colleagues and establish new contacts, was one of priorities.

BCWT as a meeting place. During 1999 different projects were run and accomplished. Poetry readings opened for public were organized several times. The Centre cooperated with local, national and international organizations both to present and inform about the Centre and cooperate. To mention some bigger projects: the Baltic Sea Region Identity Workshop in cooperation with the Baltic Cultural Centre in Gdansk and the Swedish Institute ? aim ? to explore the concept. Translator?s seminar ? young Russian Translators? from Swedish carried out a week workshop at the Centre under the guidance of the experienced mentor Juliana Jahnina. The 6th Poetry Festival took place on 20-22 of August. This time Sonja Åkesson, Gotland-born poet, and her literary heritage was the main theme. Such poets as Kristina Lugn, Jarl Hammarberg, Birgitta Stenberg and others participated.

Nordic Literary Critics Seminar in cooperation with the Nordic Journalist Centre and Radio Gotland, the poetry reading of Oksana Zabushko (Ukraina), Gintaras Grajauskas (Lithuania) and Carina Nynäs (Finland) in connection to the seminar was much appreciated.

23-26 September the Centre together with UNESCO and Gotland University College organized the International Conference "Disarming History" on Combatting Stereotypes and Prejudice in History Textbooks of South-East Europe. Being involved in a big event (80 participants) the BCWT got a wide and positive PR-promotion.

BCWT as a European actor. Thanks to its well-established activity, good reputation and well-developed contact network in the Baltic Sea region the Centre appeared to be an interesting and strong partner in European cooperation projects and searching for European funding. Different European institutions and networks addressed the Centre with invitation to cooperate.

There are three of them the Centre has chosen to take part in:

Network of European Centres for Literary Translators; the aim is to put up joint strategy towards EU cultural policy, to draw attention to importance of existing writers? and translators? centres for literary professionals. As the BCWT the other participants of the network applied and received bursary grants within EU ARIANE programme.

Network for Collective Poetry Translation based in Royaumont, France. Together with the network the Centre applied for funding of poetry translation workshop, which is going to be, devoted the Lithuanian poet Sigitas Geda.

Network for Books, Reading and Translation based in Turin, Italy. Within this network the Centre applied for exchange of literary professionals programme funding. The programme means joint projects as workshops and study visits.

8) Report from Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke on the status of the plans for "the Island-project

Klaus-Jürgen Lidtke?s report

Archipelago of writing. Attachment

Island project. On presentation of the idea the meeting agreed that it is beautiful and interesting one. The participants pointed out difficulties. The description is needed to be more distinct and more detailed. Working group to investigate possibilities and frames has been built: Tarja, Gunilla, Richard.

Benthe Christensen adds that the more detailed project description is to be sent out with the inquiry whether respective writers? organizations are interested to participate.

9)Jakob puts forward the idea of starting a literary magazine on-line. The magazine should be exclusively literary, it can contain 8-10 pages, free produced at low costs, publications are edited in original languages and in translation into, preferably, English; one of Scandinavian languages is an alternative. The magazine would manifest living literatures of the region, literary and cultural contacts between countries.

Tarja mentions a possibility of applying to the Nordic Cultural Fund to start with the magazine project and remarks that it is exactly the project both the Nordic Fund and European cultural programmes favour with concern to all-European cultural exchange.

10) Elections

Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke and Eugenijus Alisanka are re-elected to the Board of BWC, Peters Zirnitis is elected as an auditor.

The board consists of the following. Eugenijus Alisanka, Lithuania, Jakob Brønnum, Denmark (chairman hand member of the board of the BWCT), Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke, Germany, Mati sirkel, Estonia (elected vice-chairman of the board of the BWCT), Tarja Teva, Finland.

The BWC is to apply for formal recognition and registration. Meanwhile the BWC accounts are in the BCWT accounts as a project account. Legal and formal aspects must be investigated and discussed.

Gerda Helena Lindskog reports on the Barents literary project, which started in 1994 and is resulting in inauguration of the Barents Literature Centre in Överkalix in March 2000. During those years different literary projects were run and the anthology involving authors in big and minor languages of the Barents Sea region been produced.

Peter stresses that North-South connections meaning Barents ? Visby ? Rhodes are under development and with every centre?s identity cherished and enriched the dialog and cooperation in between them can bring interesting results.

11)

Status of Kaliningrad Writers?s Union in the BWC. Kaliningrad being one of Russia?s regions has the same economical and political status as other regions. Benthe pointed out that necessity of having representatives from regional writers? unions must be justified and the question whether to have national or regional organizations must be discussed.

Peter explained the background and reminded that the lively discussion took place already on board the Writers? ship in 1992 where Kaliningrad joined the statement of Centre?s foundation and Kaliningrad being a very specific Baltic sea area is relevant to be represented as a separate organization.

As a result of the discussion Kaliningrad was formally welcomed as a member of the BWC.

The practical question is to be answered whether the Kaliningrad writers? organization is financially capable to pay an annual member fee.

Benthe is asked to research if Norwegian Playwrights´ Union wanted to be a member of BWC.

12)

The further discussion whether BWC to be a non-governmental organization or a network or other kind of association is postponed to the next general meeting until all the pro and against arguments are researched.

Peter Curman adds that Nordic cooperation has a long tradition starting in 1909, afterwards in 1947 an agreement with the publishers on a standard contract for writers was reached.

Relations with the Rhodes Writers? and Translators? Centre. There are many similarities ad and differences between the Visby Center and the Rhodes Centre. Both are international, both are for writers and translators with no language given a priority. Both are under UNESCO?s auspices. Comparing funding structure of the two Centres:

Visby Rhodes

The Swedish state Municipality of Rhodes

Municipality Membership fee

Bursary grants: EU, Swedish Institute UNESCO, applied for EU-grant

Rhodes authorities seek to find back to island?s cultural identity, culture is a political priority.

The Rhodes Centre grants 750USD to cover travel expenses and 150 USD a week for living expenses. The priority is given bursary-holders from the countries that paid the membership fee. The Visby Centre does not depend on the BWC financially while Rhodes Centre needs membership fee for their activity.

The assembly stresses importance of establishing and maintaining links between two centres.

13) The next meeting will be held on 24-25 of February 2001.

The chairman thanks all the participants for fruitful and comprehensive work and closes the meeting.