The program of the 24th Vilnius Book Fair was presented today. Its organizers say that on February 22-25 LITEXPO one of the most anticipated events of the year, which will be held in the center, will not only regain its legendary atmosphere this year, but will also be full of various events: from meetings with authors to discussions about the most important topics of society and concerts. The organizers of the fair are convinced that it will be an opportunity to rediscover the magic of books and look at literature from a different perspective together.
Rūta Elijošaitytė-Kaikarė, one of the organizers of the Vilnius Book Fair, executive director of the Lithuanian Publishers Association, speaks enthusiastically about this year's fair and says she hopes that event will finally return to the usual festive track, although the attention will not be diverted from the crises and challenges exciting the world and Lithuania.
"This year's Vilnius Book Fair, after a long break, seems to be returning as we remember it in the best days of its existence. In 2021, the fair had to be canceled due to the pandemic, in 2022 it started on the first day of the fair war in Ukraine. This year, although we will celebrate the anniversary of the war again at the fair, we still want to see more light. The fact that this year there are events at the fair dedicated to accessibility and diverse reading means that the fair is more open and waiting for every reader, no matter what form they choose to read," says R. Elijošaitytė-Kaikarė about the event.
An interesting program of Discussion Club and short talks "Shorts" is waiting for you. This year, they have conversations not only between writers and critics, but also between writers.
The authors are from Lithuania and abroad
According to the organizer of the fair, this year the variety of authors will also delight, responding to the interests and tastes of every reader. Both well-known Lithuanian literary names and foreigners will present new works at the fair or will visit it.
"Probably the ones that everyone is most looking forward to are those whose latest books will be presented at the fair or right before the fair. Readers will be invited to the meetings by Undinė Radzevičiūtė, Rolandas Rastauskas, Antanas Šileika, Alvydas Šlepikas, Sigitas Parulskis, Tomas Venclova, Bernardas Gailius, Tomas Dirgėla, Diana Kleponė, Herkus Kunčius, Antanas A. Jonynas, Norbert Černiauskas, Gabija Grušaitė, Mantas Adomėnas, Gina Viliūnė. , Marius Čepulis, Rimantas Kmita, Andrius Tapinas, Violeta Tapinienė. Lina Žutautė will present her first book for adults, until now she is more familiar to children and their parents, as the author of the character of Kakė Makė", said the organizer of the fair.
Some authors return to the readers even from the farthest regions because of the book fair: we will see Dalia Staponkutė, Vaiva Rykštaitė, Andrii Kleivas, Jolita Herlyn at the fair.
According to R. Elijošaitytė-Kaikarė, visitors to the fair this year will have the opportunity to meet a large group of foreign authors, some of whom are already well acquainted or have even visited Vilnius.
"More than 20 foreign authors are coming to meet the readers: Inga Ābele, Deborah Feldman, Graeme Macrae Burnet, Eshkol Nevo, Kristina Ohlsson, Anna Kamińska, Ilmar Taska, Laura Vinogradova, Eva Mattsson, Kateryna Michalicyna, Paolo Giordano, Nigel Warburton, Karen Swan and many others. By the way, while visiting the fair last time, K. Swan mentioned that she wanted to write a book that would take place in Vilnius. So we are waiting for her and hope to find out if she managed to implement this idea", said R. Elijošaitytė-Kaikarė.
The fair is a social litmus test
Speaking about the events included in the fair's program that would address social problems or sensitive cultural and societal issues, one of the organizers of the Vilnius Book Fair singled out several topics.
"There will be discussions about aging and how to keep reading enjoyable as your vision declines." We will talk about the influence of technology on publishing processes and the role of artificial intelligence. We will also touch on aspects that are sensitive to society, which have been little discussed at the fair so far, for example, the presence of autistic adults among us and society's attitude towards them", said the executive director of the Lithuanian Publishers Association.
She claims that the book fair is both a fun event and a kind of litmus test, identifying current issues, encouraging people to talk about them, and at the same time dictating the tone of the year that has just begun.
Undoubtedly, the main event that attracts everyone's attention will remain the war, which is still going on for the second year in Ukraine. The participants of the fair organize presentations of books by Ukrainian writers, on Sunday poetry readings "Witnesses" will read poems by dead and warring poets in Ukrainian and Lithuanian languages.
"What the readers discover at the fair shows what the year will be like - it's not for nothing that publishers call this event the Christmas of books." The book fair functions as both a fair and a festival with many different events. However, the participants of the fair - writers, translators, publishers - react not only to literary trends - at this year's fair, together with LRT, we will invite everyone to contribute to the RADAROM campaign!" - says R. Elijošaitytė-Kaikarė.
Space for both big and small
According to one of the organizers, the Vilnius Book Fair houses publishing houses of various directions and sizes under its roof every year. From the biggest to the smallest. This is exactly the purpose of the fair - to show that a wide variety of literature is published in Lithuania, from which every reader could choose the works, authors, themes and formats they like.
"From the smallest to the largest publishers participate in the fair. However, museums and various organizations also present their publications - after all, the widest range of literature is published. It is important for everyone to show their books to readers at the fair, to present them, to talk about them", says R. Elijošaitytė-Kaikarė.
When reminded of perhaps the most common remark of fair visitors that it is impossible for them to attend several interesting events taking place at the same time, the organizer just smiles: "But this means that readers are really interesting, curious, and the fair program is rich." Of course, every year we try to arrange everything as best as possible so that visitors can see, hear and experience as much as possible."
To what extent you will be able to absorb the world of literature, you will be able to find out by visiting the 22th Vilnius Book Fair, which will be held at LITEXPO on February 25-24. In addition to regular and traditional events, discussions and meetings with beloved authors, visitors will be able to enjoy the music hall, admire performative events, and even the smallest ones will be entertained.
It is estimated that about 300 publishing houses and other cultural organizations from Lithuania and abroad participate in the annual event, more than 500 different events and concerts take place, and more than 50 thousand people visit the fair during four days. visitors.
Detailed program of cultural events of the Vilnius Book Fair: https://www.litexpo.lt/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/VKM-programa.pdf
