A Greek Triumph: Christos Chomenidis (Greece) in Conversation with Despina Liozidou Shermister (Israel/Greece)

Guest: Shlomi Saranga

• Session conducted in Greek with simultaneous translation from Greek to Hebrew by Nelly Arouh

Celebrated as one of Greece's most beloved and popular contemporary authors, Christos

Chomenidis’s works have been translated into numerous languages to global acclaim. His books “The Wise Kid” and “Second Life” have been published in Hebrew by Yedioth Books. Inspired by his mother’s life under Nazi occupation and the turbulent Greek Civil War, his novel “Victory” (“Niki” in Greek, his mother’s name) won the prestigious European Book Prize in 2021 for prose, making him the first Greek author to earn this honor.

Chomenidis, who has visited Israel several times and befriended both Amos Oz and A.B. Yehoshua, will discuss his work with Despina Liozidou Shermister, his editor and translator and the author of the world's first and only Greek-Hebrew dictionary. Their dialogue will explore the culture of Thessaloniki's Jews, his revisiting of Holocaust memories in Greece and the roots of antisemitism, as well as the narrative conflicts within literature and real life.

The evening will be accompanied by Shlomi Saranga, performing ballads by beloved Greek folk musician Stelios Kazantzidis.

This event is part of a collaboration to promote contemporary European literature between the European Union and the International Writers Festival at Mishkenot Sha'ananim.

• Tickets can also be purchased at Eventer offices by calling *6627