Award-winning Swiss author Fabio Andina, whose books have been published in multiple languages, will speak about his writing process and adapting his novels for film in two public talks on Thursday, Oct. 20.

“The Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures is very pleased and excited to host Fabio Andina at Brock,” says Carmela Colella, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department. “It is a unique opportunity to have an invited guest who has published in Italian, German, French and Spanish speak to us about his works and experiences.”

His recent novel, La Pozza del Felice, intertwines the charms of the mountain wilderness with the enigmatic and elderly character of Felice. Published in 2018, it was awarded the Terra Nova Prize from the Swiss Schiller Foundation, the Gambrinus Prize and the Prix du public RTS. The novel has been published in Italian, German, French and Spanish.

Andina’s award-winning writing includes poetry, short stories and novels. He will be speaking about his writing process, the publication process and the life a novel takes on after publication.

“Before I start writing a story, I think about the story for days or even weeks or months,” says Andina. “I keep thinking about it during the day when I am walking in the mountains. And then when I’m ready, when I know that I have all the story in my mind, I sit down at the computer and for three or four or seven days nonstop, I just write.”

Andina encourages students to keep reading and writing, and not to worry about their writing.

“I remember when I started writing and most of the things I used to write were rubbish,” he says. “It’s like running a marathon. You have to keep writing and writing and writing.”

He advises would-be writers to wait until they have 150 or 200 pages written before getting caught up in the revision process.

Andina started writing in the late 1990s when he went to California to study English. He fell in love with the beat generation while studying cinema in San Francisco, which sparked his own interest in writing. While there, he met and collaborated with the American poet, painter and social activist Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

Twenty years after studying cinema, Andina is finally writing for the screen. He is in the process of adapting the stories in Sei tu, Ticino?  into a screenplay and is working with a Swiss film company to turn La Pozza del Felice into a movie.

“As a writer, we spend so many hours writing in front of the computer alone,” says Andina. “Sometimes you write and write and write and nothing happens then suddenly, the big reward, the publisher, the film producer.”

The best thing about his Canadian tour, Andina says, is the opportunity to meet new people. He is looking forward to interacting with Brock students and sharing ideas about writing.

Andina will be giving two talks at Brock. The first, “The Life of the Novel After Publication: Translations and Film Adaptations,” will be from 10 a.m. to noon in RFP 214. His second talk on “Cinema and the Novel: Writing for Big Screen Adaptation” will take place at 2 to 4 p.m. in RFP 214. Both talks will be livestreamed on Lifesize for those who cannot attend in person.

Andina’s appearance at Brock is part of a cross-Canada tour organized by the Consulate General of Switzerland in Montreal.