All literature is a Utopia

Featuring: António Ferreira, Sandra Rodrigues, Margarida Capitão (Biblioteca Municipal Manuel Boaventura),  José Ismael Graça (Casa do Conhecimento de Vila Verde) and Bruno Duarte Eiras (moderator)
Partnership with Directorate-General for Books, Archives and Libraries

Award ceremony for the 6th edition of the Maria Ondina Braga Grand Prize for Travel Literature 2023 (APE/CMB), given to José Pedro Castanheira, acknowledged author of the book “Volta aos Açores em Quinze Dias”.

“Comunidades de Energia Renovável”, by João Crispim and José Gomes Mendes.
Featuring: João Crispim and José Gomes Mendes.

Casa de Investimentos joins Utopia for a special edition of its podcast dedicated to promoting financial literacy. A live recording.
Featuring: Luís Aguiar-Conraria, Paulo Ferreira and Emília Vieira
Registration available here.

The relationship between the life and work of authors, artists and public figures has always been a subject of great controversy. In our time, that relationship has taken on renewed and sharper importance. Through the presentation of a new issue of Electra magazine on this subject, we examine the death and resurrection of the author, the morality of the work and the morality of life, biographical material and the media space.
Featuring: João Pedro George and José Manuel dos Santos (moderator)
Partnership with Electra Magazine (Fundação EDP).
Registration available here.

A new creation by the writer Afonso Cruz, devised especially for Utopia, combining music, image, text and performance.
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A walking tour through the city of Braga, a proposal developed with the Northern Regional Directorate of Culture to highlight the life and work of the Braga-born writer Maria Ondina Braga. Guides for this tour: Ana Araújo, Cândido Oliveira Martins, and Isabel Cristina Mateus.
Starting point: Museu Nogueira da Silva.
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Do you know the legend of the Baobab? Are you ready to explore and learn all about it? That’s the adventure we’ll dive into at the baobab sculpting workshop, using natural materials and coloring pencils. Each family that signs up will sculpt its own wish tree, and together we’ll create a beautiful baobab grove at Utopia.
Based on the book “Asali y la Leyenda del Baobab”, written by Paula Merlán, illustrated by Nívola Uyá and edited by Triqueta.
Featuring: Nívola Uyá.
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Featuring: Manuela Barreto Nunes (Biblioteca Municipal Professor Machado Vilela, Vila Verde), Luísa Leite (Biblioteca Municipal Manuel Boaventura), Ana Paula Brito (Biblioteca Municipal de Barcelos), Victor Pinho (retired librarian and historian), Sandra Rodrigues (Município de Terras de Bouro), and Aida Alves (moderator)
Partnership with DGLAB.

Reading of excerpts from the book by Sérgio Mendes, winner of the 2nd edition of the Pingo Doce Prize for Children’s Literature. Book signing with the author.
Target audience: Children from 6 to 12 years old.
Partnership with Pingo Doce

Join us for a “stories and sketches workshop”, storytime with live illustration for about 40 minutes, followed by a literary walk. Author and storyteller Pedro Seromenho will tell and dramatize the story of his book “7 Vidas”, while illustrator Carlos Giovani draws, cuts out and plays with the shapes their cat-character steals. Afterwards, the audience will be invited to find the “stolen objects” and spot the 7 differences between two pictures from the book. It’s a game-book! In the end, everyone will be invited to follow the authors on a walk filled with rhymes and poems over to the Complexo das 7 Fontes, where the narrative takes place, learning more about the local territory and heritage along the way.
Target audience: Children from 6 to 10 years old.
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Reading of excerpts from the book by Sérgio Mendes, winner of the 2nd edition of the Pingo Doce Prize for Children’s Literature. Book signing with the author.
Target audience: Children from 6 to 12 years old.
Partnership with Pingo Doce.
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Are there boundaries for humor? Is political correctness making us boring or is it necessary to set limits so that we can be more accepted and inclusive? Are we at risk of creating more walls and fewer shared territories?
Featuring: Bruno Nogueira, Filipe Melo and Hélder Gomes (moderator).
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Is it fiction based on true facts or nonfiction taking over fiction? Should we let the truth get in the way of a good story?
Featuring: Susana Moreira Marques, Patrícia Müller and Maria João Costa (moderator).
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From North to South, East to West, how can the creation of a territory that only exists on paper influence our sense of geography?
Featuring: Dulce Maria Cardoso, Francisco José Viegas, Marta Pais de Oliveira, and Sérgio Almeida (moderator).
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«Políticas de Ciência e da Língua, Publicação Científica e Rankings Académicos», by Moisés Martins e Helena Pires.
Featuring: Paulo Serra, Helena Machado and Moisés de Lemos Martins.

How does reading fiction shape the way we perceive the world? Does it make it better, more understanding? How do narratives bring me closer to others? An interview conducted by Oliver Balch.
Partnership with Plano Nacional de Leitura.
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The “dst – Vivos nas livrarias” project is launched in Braga, at Utopia, with the aim of creating a tradition: bringing together writers and readers in public readings at independent bookstores throughout the country. Authors read their stories, then have a conversation led by a guest reader.
Featuring: Rui Manuel Amaral and Francesca Clare Rayner (moderator).
Partnership with dst.

A new creation by writer Afonso Cruz that will combine music, imagery, text, and performance.
SOLD OUT.

Reading of excerpts from the book by Joana Lopes, winner of the 1st edition of the Pingo Doce Prize for Children’s Literature.
Target Audience: Children from 5 to 11 years old.
Partnership with Pingo Doce.
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This moment is a part of the “Operação João Penha” project, a tribute to the Braga-born poet, organized by the Braga Theater Company. Simultaneously, this project includes a workshop on how to read and interpret João Penha’s poetic work.
Schedule and locations:
10:00 AM Gathering at Café Brasileira
10:15 AM Rua do Souto, next to the house where the poet was born
10:30 AM Praça Conde de Agrolongo, 105, next to the house where the poet lived
11:00 AM Largo João Penha, next to his Bust
11:20 AM Cemetery, next to the family tomb

Performance by the classical music duo composed of Dora Rodrigues (soprano) and Rui Gama (guitarist).
Registration available here.

Storytelling workshop by Amilcar Bettega.
Partnered by Festival Puro Conto and Casa da América Latina.
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This moment is a part of the “Operação João Penha” project, a tribute to the Braga-born poet, organized by the Braga Theater Company. Simultaneously, this project includes a workshop on how to read and interpret João Penha’s poetic work.
Featuring: Elsa Pereira (Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Letras, CLUL), Francisco Duarte Mangas and Miguel Bandeira.
Registration available here.

Can this language that unites us also be the one that separates us, or are these just different chords in the same music?
Featuring: Carla Mühlhaus, Manuella Bezerra de Melo, and Nara Vidal (moderator).
Partnership with Festival Puro Conto  and Casa da América Latina.
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Interview conducted by David Pontes.
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In antiquity, poetry was a lyrical symphony of words that resonated in the hearts of all, verses that moved to the rhythm of song. Before prose, there was poetry; before silent reading, there was music. Or do the words dictate the tune?
Featuring: Afonso Cruz, Fernando Ribeiro, Rita Redshoes, and Adolfo Luxúria Canibal (moderator).
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Are images an extension of words through a different medium, or can writing provide a sharper image than a picture? And how can literature combine those two worlds?
Featuring:  Alfredo Cunha, Roberto Santandreu and Cláudio Garrudo (moderator).
Partership with INCM – Imprensa Nacional Casa da Moeda, Festival Puro Conto, and Casa da América Latina.
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Featuring: António Cunha and Jorge Sobrado (moderator).
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Target Audience: 2nd and 3rd cycles of mandatory education and secondary school students
Featuring: Isabel Zambujal
Location: Agrupamento de Escolas Dona Maria II – EB 2,3 de Lamaçães
Partnership with Assembleia da República

“CIDADANIZA-TE!”  poster -making workshop, inspired by the book “Voltas e Reviravoltas”.
Target Audience: 2nd and 3rd cycles of mandatory education and secondary school students
Featuring: Mantraste
Location: Agrupamento de Escolas Dona Maria II – EB 2,3 de Lamaçães
Partnership with Assembleia da República

Target Audience: Teachers
Featuring: Teresa Paulo and Sara Ludovico
Location: Agrupamento de Escolas Dona Maria II – EB 2,3 de Lamaçães
Partnership with Assembleia da República

Featuring: Luís Paixão Martins and Jorge Sobrado.
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Featuring: Augusto Santos Silva, Ricardo Rio and Fátima Vieira (moderator).
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Program curated by Alexandre Quintanilha.

• The three Rs of Contemporary Utopias: Realistic, Responsible, and Regenerative; Fátima Vieira, Vice-Chancellor for Culture and Coordinator CETAPS/Porto, University of Porto.
• Global Health in an Era of Globalization; Nuno Sousa, School of Medicine, University of Minho.
• The “Special” Edition and Utopias; Filipe Castro, Faculty of Sciences and CIIMAR, University of Porto.
• Responsible AI; Vasco Pedro, CEO of Unbabel.
• The Fate of Knowledge is not a Place, but a New Way of Listening and Looking; Alexandre Quintanilha, Member of Parliament in the Assembly of the Republic and ICBAS – School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and i3S, University of Porto.

Debate with the audience.
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Featuring: Augusto Santos Silva, Mariana Rio, Afonso Cruz, and Teresa Paulo.
Partnership with Assembleia da República 

A session with representatives of the portuguese parliamentary groups.
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The new work by Fernanda Santos is the result of her collaboration with newspaper Correio do Minho. It collects forty-five columns written over the course of three years. In these texts, the author not only reflects critically on current reality, but also journeys into her most intimate memories, an exercise in restlessness and comfort. A collection of memories of wonderment at various stages in life. As the author summarizes: “In these columns, I tried to capture the essence of numerous journeys that are as much about the destination as they are about the actual trajectory, enveloped in imagery I would come to discover later.”
Featuring: Fernanda Santos.
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“The Curriculum of Everything, Critical Studies on Education and Curriculum”
The Self is the starting point of the curriculum, through a complex conversation that requires an analysis of concepts such as subjectivity, the Curriculum of Things, shaped by statistical thinking in the age of algorithms, digital subjects, presence policy in the curriculum, digital technologies, and the post-COVID curriculum. The curriculum of everything introduces a numerical and calculative knowledge into education, immersed in a culture of technological surveillance, accelerated by the pandemic. Therefore, understanding education and the curriculum is relevant for us to reactivate both the humanistic tradition and the act of studying as restlessness.
Featuring: José Pacheco and Palmira Alves.

• Target Audience: Schools
• Year: 2022
• Duration: 105 minutes
• Genre: Adventure, War
• Director: Yann Samuell
• Location: Auditorium of the Braga Youth Center

Registration available here.

Theatrical performance and reading of excerpts from the story written by Alejandro Algarra and illustrated by Daniel Howarth.
Target Audience: Primary School (1st to 4th grade).
Partnership with Pingo Doce.

Carolina Sani was born in Braga, where she studies and lives. Encouraged to read and engage in creative writing from an early age, she enjoys both immersing herself in different literary worlds and creating her own. It was during the first pandemic lockdown that she felt inspired to create something of her own, giving birth to her literary debut, “O (Re)Começo”.

In her first book, Emily Lockerbie, the sole survivor of a plane crash that occurred on December 21st, 1988, remembers no one, nor how she got on that flight. Throughout her journey, Emily will navigate the depths of her past, while remaining cautious of her present, because not everything is as it seems, and every choice carries consequences. And time, well, it never stops.

Theatrical performance and reading of excerpts from the story by Alejandro Algarra and illustrated by Daniel Howarth.
Target Audience: 1st Cycle of Basic Education (1st-4th grades).
Partnered by Pingo Doce.

“Global Portuguese Language: Communication in the Luso-Brazilian Media Landscape”.
Featuring: Ricardo Rio and José Gabriel Andrade

“From Braga to the São Paulo Bienal… and back”. Paulo César, a Braga-based author, discusses his literary work with Sílvia Brito and Engineer José Teixeira, for Razões Poéticas.
Featuring: Paulo César, Sílvia Brito and Engineer José Teixeira.

• Target Audience: General, 12+
• Year: 2022
• Duration: 120 minutes
• Genre: Dramatic Comedy
• Director: Cédric Klapisch

Tickets available here.

• Target Audience: School
• Year: 2022
• Duration: 110 minutes
• Genre: Documentary
• Directors: Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai

Registration available here. 

The “dst – Vivos nas livrarias” project is launched in Braga, at Utopia, with the aim of creating a tradition: bringing together writers and readers in public readings at independent bookstores throughout the country. Authors read their stories, then have a conversation led by a guest reader.
Featuring: Ana Cláudia Santos and António Durães (moderator).

• Target Audience: General, 12+
• Year: 2022
• Duration: 93 minutes
• Genre: Comedy
• Director: Gad Elmaleh

Tickets available here.

A year after the “Pintura com Poesia” exhibition, Sílvia Mota Lopes, blending poetic and memoiristic discourses, speaks for herself in an intimate and fragmented diary where places, people, and situations unfold amid ever fresh memories, perplexities, and intimate gestures. It is an entire world that the author surprises and questions in her new work, “Ofício Volátil da Memória” (Henrique R.). Sílvia Mota Lopes was born in Braga, 1970. She is a poet, painter, illustrator, and author of children’s and young adult literature.
Featuring: Luciana Braga.

• Target Audience: Schools
• Year: 2022
• Duration: 80 minutes
• Genre: Comedy
• Director: Martin Jauvat

Registration available here. 

Daniela Leitão, author of the book that won the 9th edition of the Pingo Doce Prize for Children’s Literature, presents her work and discusses the creative process with the students. The activity will also include a writing challenge for the students.
Target Audience: 5th and 6th grade students
Partnership with Pingo Doce

Daniela Leitão, author of the book that won the 9th edition of the Pingo Doce Prize for Children’s Literature, presents her work and discusses the creative process with the students. The activity will also include a writing challenge for the students.
Target Audience: 5th and 6th grade students
Partnership with Pingo Doce

Daniela Leitão, author of the book that won the 9th edition of the Pingo Doce Prize for Children’s Literature, presents her work and discusses the creative process with the students. The activity will also include a writing challenge for the students.
Target Audience: 5th and 6th grade students.
Partnership with Pingo Doce.

In her third novel, Joana Páris Rito, a Braga-based author, explores historical themes that still resonate today. An old man caught up in memories. A whale hunter. A blind girl who reads the spirits of the living and the dead. A protective innkeeper. An ambitious Irishwoman. A powerful madam. Another Portuguese procurer. A petite prostitute. A woman with the Midas touch. A French aristocrat who denies her origins. A decimated Amerindian tribe. A young bourgeois man who embraces his homosexuality in the Civil War. A free-thinking slave. Two female lovers whose forbidden love persists in a world that no longer exists. An Italian who sculpts shrubs. A seer and healer whose supernatural beauty has a touch of magic realism. A Portuguese family in North America and other characters who embody the ambiguous nature of the human condition.
Featuring: Paulo Coelho

• Target Audience: General, 12+
• Year: 2022
• Duration: 115 minutes
• Genre: Drama
• Director: Dominik Moll

Tickets available here. 

Daniela Leitão, author of the book that won the 9th edition of the Pingo Doce Prize for Children’s Literature, presents her work and discusses the creative process with the students. The activity will also include a writing challenge for the students.
Target Audience: 5th and 6th grade students
Partnership with Pingo Doce

Author Filipa Fonseca Silva in conversation at F3M, a company partner of Utopia, to discuss the creative process in her writing and the potential role of creativity in innovation.
Partnered by F3M (private session).

Daniela Leitão, author of the book that won the 9th edition of the Pingo Doce Prize for Children’s Literature, presents her work and discusses the creative process with the students. The activity will also include a writing challenge for the students.
Target Audience: 5th and 6th grade students
Partnership with Pingo Doce

Recording of the program “Clube de leitores” (RTP).
Featuring: Lélia W. Salgado and Ana Daniela Soares.

Author João Tordo speaks at F3M, one of Utopia’s corporate partners, to discuss her creative process and the role of creativity in innovation.
Partnership with F3M.

Despite the efforts of her parents and her new school teacher, Mimi faced a significant challenge from the very first day of classes. Hiding behind the ears of her inseparable companion, she tried to escape this new world. Mental disability has always been a part of Mimi’s life. Everything seemed to complicate her adjustment to the new school, but her teacher had an incredible idea! Dancing is Mimi’s greatest talent, and hre teacher decided to introduce it to a large audience. But was the performance well-received?

“Entre o Medo e a Luz. 2020: um Diário”, by José Miguel Braga.
Featuring: Ana Gabriela Macedo and Cândido Oliveira Martins.

From Aristotle to Saramago, from Woolf to Atwood, the great writers of fiction and thinkers of narrative have regarded fiction as a craft. What is a narrative, after all? How is it built, how is it structured, and what are its foundations? Why do we need stories, and how do they seduce us? What can we learn? How can we combine art and technique? In this Masterclass at Utopia, João Tordo explores narrative from the perspective of the writer – the emotional perspective, using examples from his readings and books, and building upon the premise of his in-person classes: “Read like a writer and write like a reader”.
Registrations here.

Interview conducted by Maria João Costa.
Registration available here.

Live broadcast of the “Encontro de Leituras” podcast, the book club created by Portuguese newspaper “Público” and Brazilian newspaper “Folha de S. Paulo”, with Rui Cardoso Martins as featured guest. An interview conducted by Isabel Coutinho and Eduardo Sombini, as well as by the readers.
Registration available here.

From Aristotle to Saramago, from Woolf to Atwood, the great writers of fiction and thinkers of narrative have regarded fiction as a craft. What is a narrative, after all? How is it built, how is it structured, and what are its foundations? Why do we need stories, and how do they seduce us? What can we learn? How can we combine art and technique? In this Masterclass at Utopia, João Tordo explores narrative from the perspective of the writer – the emotional perspective, using examples from his readings and books, and building upon the premise of his in-person classes: “Read like a writer and write like a reader”.
Registrations available here.

This event aims to promote the love of reading and to introduce the audience to children from São Tomé and Príncipe, where Portuguese is the language of speech, writing and music. Actively engaging in stories and sharing enriching cultural experiences are at the heart of this exciting journey.
Featuring: Olinda Beja.
Target audience: Children and families
Registration available here.

As part of the Utopia Literary Festival, the “Encontros Literários O Prazer Da Escrita” book club (which has the institutional support of the Portuguese National Reading Plan) will hold a discussion about the book “Jerusalem”, written by Gonçalo M. Tavares, with the aim of stimulating interest in reading and reflecting on the literary, cultural and social issues in the book, with the participation of readers and all those interested.
Duration: 1 hour.
Featuring: Analita Santos and David Roque.
Registration available here.

A walking tour through the city of Braga, a proposal developed with the Northern Regional Directorate of Culture to highlight the life and work of the Braga-born writer Maria Ondina Braga. Guides for this tour: Ana Araújo, Cândido Oliveira Martins, and Isabel Cristina Mateus.
Starting point: Museu Nogueira da Silva.
SOLD OUT

Featuring: José Pires.
Registration available here.

Daniela Leitão, author of the book that won the 9th edition of the Pingo Doce Prize for Children’s Literature, presents her work and discusses the creative process with the students. The activity will also include a writing challenge for the students.*
Book signing session with the author.
Target audience: Children from 6 to 12 years old.
Partnership with Pingo Doce.
Registration available here.

Daniela Leitão, author of the book that won the 9th edition of the Pingo Doce Prize for Children’s Literature, presents her work and discusses the creative process with the students. The activity will also include a writing challenge for the students.
Book signing session with the author.
Target Audience: 5th and 6th grade students.
Partnership with Pingo Doce.

An event organized by Catarina Barbosa (also known as @nerdchique on the social media platform Instagram), with  book lovers in mind.
The program is set to include a quiz, various activities, and a segment dedicated to group reading, during which participants are encouraged to bring their own books.
Registration: send a private message to @nerdchique on Instagram or comment on her post about the literary meeting.

From idea to script, from script to moving images, there are books that make movies, books that should never have been adapted. We’ll always have Paris, but there will always be words that can’t be turned into frames.
Featuring: David Mitchell, João Tordo and Oliver Balch (moderator).
Registration available here.

Interview conducted by Isabel Lucas.
Registration available here.

«Políticas de Ciência e da Língua, Publicação Científica e Rankings Académicos», by Moisés Martins e Helena Pires.
Featuring: Paulo Serra, Helena Machado and Moisés de Lemos Martins.

A space of total freedom, fiction or nonfiction (does it really matter?), can we rely on poetry to help us understand the world? What is the purpose of poetry? A conversation about poetry, translation and utopia.
Featuring: Rita Taborda Duarte, Jorge Reis-Sá, Gianni Montieri, Vasco Gato, and Maria João Costa (moderator). Participation by Anna Maria Carpi with a written contribution.
Partnership with the Embassy of Italy and Imprensa Nacional Casa da Moeda.
Registrations available here.

Interview conducted by Ana Daniela Soares.
Sponsored by dst.
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The box office opens 27.10, at 10:00, exclusively at the venue.
Sponsored by dst.

Theatrical performance and reading of excerpts from the story by Alejandro Algarra and illustrated by Daniel Howarth.
Target Audience: 1st Cycle of Basic Education (1st-4th grades).
Partnered by Pingo Doce.

A production by Ent’Artes., with choreography by Filipe Narciso.
Registration available here.

How does a book come to life? What about an idea? How many dedicated hands play a precious part in its birth? And what about words? Who gathers and nourishes them? Inspiration plays hide and seek… is it difficult or easy to come by? Come find out  in this performance that discusses serious matters with humor and wonderment.
Featuring: Performance by Gonçalo Ferreira, Beatriz Lobo, Inês Fonseca, and Margarida Silva. Written by Fabíola Lopes. Directed by Juliana Kleinubing.
Supported by Direção Regional da Cultura Norte – PAAAC (Programa de Apoio aos Agentes Culturais / 2023).

Workshop dedicated to all those interested in writing.
Target Audience: Age 16 and over
Featuring: Amílcar Bettega.
Partnership with Festival Puro Conto and Casa da América Latina.
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Interview conducted by Pedro Vieria.
Registration available here.

Is there such a thing as feminine writing or just writing? Feminine literature or just literature? Does reading more books by women help us to better understand the world?
Featuring: Filipa Fonseca Silva, Teolinda Gersão, and Isabel Cristina Mateus (moderator).
Registration available here.

If they were moved by love. Or a landscape. A pet. The good feelings and the others: how can what moves a writer influence their work? Does the territory of creation reflect in the work?
Featuring: Karina Sainz Borgo, Lluís Prats, and Pedro Vieira (moderator).
Supported by Institut Ramon Llull.
Reservation available here.

Interview conducted by José Maria Pimentel, for the “45 Graus” podcast.
Partnership with the Lisbon City Council and Festival Literário Lisboa 5L.
Reservation available here.

Registration available here.