The 28th edition of the international book fair and literary festival will be thematically exceptional. The Authors Without Borders concept reflects the current time when borders, whether physical, cultural, social, sexual, genre, or political, are becoming increasingly blurred. Thus in 2023, the guest of honor is not a specific country but authors transgressing notional borders.

“We continue to share our history through literature and art as part of the European community, with a special focus on Crimean Tatar culture and identity, which Russia is consistently trying to destroy. The focus is on the experience of “living” the war – an exhibition of posters, The Orphanage, ‘Olenka runs away from the war’ (CZ-UA project). Ukrainian resilience is also manifested in the publishing sector: active participation of Ukrainian book actors in the festival’s professional programme, book novelties at the Ukrainian stand,” says Tetiana Filevska, Creative Director of the Ukrainian Institute.

At the Ukrainian stand №KB 207, visitors can buy Ukrainian books for children and adults, as well as Czech translations of Ukrainian literature and English-language books about Ukraine.

Ukrainian children’s writer Halyna Vdovychenko, author of the series of books 36 and 6 Cats, will take part in the festival. Serhiy Zhadan will

present the Czech translation of his novel The Orphanage and perform with the Kharkiv band Zhadan i Sobaky. Ukrainian writers living in Prague will also read their pieces: Karina Armlos and Oksana Maslova. Special attention will be paid to the literature of the Crimean Tatar people. There will be an opportunity to listen to the poetry of Pavlo Korobchuk and Iryna Zahladko.

“The Book World 2023 continues to support Ukraine, and the aim of the festival is to help Ukrainian refugees keep in touch with their language and literature. The main guest of the Ukrainian programme will be one of the most famous contemporary Ukrainian writers, Serhiy Zhadan. He will appear to the audience as both a writer and a rocker,” say the organisers of the festival in Prague.

The Ukrainian programme will feature an exhibition of war posters #SupportUkrainePIC by the Ukrainian illustrators’ association Pictoric. Its co-founder Olena Staranchuk designed the Ukrainian stand at the festival.

For the first time, the festival will also host a two-day forum for professional audiences, the Central and Eastern European Book Market, which will be attended by representatives of Ukrainian publishing houses: The Old Lion Publishing House, Vivat, Books XXI, and UAComix. The International Book Arsenal Festival will also present its activities at the forum.

The full festival programme.

The Ukrainian stand and programme are developed in cooperation between the Books World Festival, the Ukrainian Institute, the Books-UA bookstore, the Embassy of Ukraine in the Czech Republic, and with the financial support of the Czech charity foundation PPF.