Project brings EU flash fiction to Chinese readers

Flash Europa 28, a literary project that will bring a series of flash fiction stories by writers under the age of 28 from 28 European Union countries to Chinese readers via online and mobile platforms, was launched in Beijing on Sept 10.

Organized by the Delegation of EU to China in association with The Bookworm, a literary organization, the project has been recruiting flash fiction — very short stories of less than 500 words — from EU member states since August, and five from each country will be chosen and translated into Chinese.

From Oct 6, the project will release a new story each weekday, with each week dedicated to one of the 28 EU member countries. Country by country, 140 stories will be showcased over the following 28 weeks, with Germany featuring the first week.

Besides the official site of the project, flash-europa-28.org, the short stories can be found on all the major social network platforms in China, including WeChat, Weibo, and Douban, and also in the book section of Chinese portal websites, such as qq.com and sohu.com.

"Modern life is getting faster and faster, and people have less and less time to engage in cultural activities," said Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, at the launch ceremony.

"Therefore I think flash fiction is timely and appropriate for them."

"Flash Europa 28 is a wonderful opportunity for Chinese people to discover young European writers and what their lives are like. I hope that Chinese readers make the most of this exciting project to learn more about Europe and what young Europeans are experiencing and writing about these days."