Ukraine’s largest literary event — the 25th Book Forum — kicks off on Sept. 19 in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. The five-day forum will include book releases, discussions and parties.
Until this year, the forum’s organizers used to write its name in English as the Lviv Publishers’ Forum. However, this year the forum became simply the Book Forum — to attract not only publishers, but also writers, artists, and readers.
This year’s event will host 1,010 speakers from 25 countries, with the organizers expecting about 50,000 visitors — 10,000 more than last year.
The Book Forum will hold events at 50 locations all over Lviv, and over 1,000 individual events are planned.
The Kyiv Post has compiled a guide to the forum’s best multilingual presentations, talks and parties.
Freedom theme
Since the theme of this year’s forum is “the market of freedom,” reflecting the event’s role as a platform for the exchange of ideas, many events will be dedicated to individual freedoms, such as free speech, free will, and free thought. “The Voices of Freedom” series of talks by authors from Syria, South African Republic, Austria and Ukraine, will be among them. In another series of public talks, entitled “The Stories of Otherness,” writers from Malta, Syria, and Ukraine will talk about their experiences in overcoming discrimination and becoming successful.
Marci Shore
The forum will also have high-profile literary guests, such as Marci Shore. Shore is an associate professor of history at Yale University in the United States, and the author of “The Ukrainian Night” — an intimate history of the Euromaidan Revolution written for Western audiences. Shore will present her book and take part in a couple of discussions on the interpretation of memories and the role of intellectuals in times of crisis.
Frédéric Beigbeder
French literary star Frédéric Beigbeder will visit the Book Forum for the second time. He will play a DJ-set at the forum’s pre-party and will present the Ukrainian translation of his brand new book “Une Vie Sans Fin,” which translates from French as “An Endless Life.” Beigbeder’s books are controversial and dynamic, which makes them great material for film adaptations.
In translation
In another event, Mark Andryczyk, a professor of Ukrainian literature at Columbia University, will present an anthology of Ukrainian contemporary literature translated into English that he has compiled. The event will also feature many other translated Ukrainian authors, such as Serhiy Zhadan, Andriy Bondar and Mariana Savka. The book commemorates the 10th year of readings by leading Ukrainian authors in the United States, co-organized by Columbia University.
Peter Watts
Canadian science fiction writer Peter Watts will be an honored guest of the Book Forum. Watts uses his expertise as a marine-mammal biologist to create imaginary worlds, like one where modified humans work in deep-ocean environments. The author’s novel on the first human-alien contact “Blindsight” brought him the sci-fi’s most prestigious Hugo Award. In Lviv, Watts will discuss the probability of alien life in space, and the future of humans — or lack thereof in the event of an apocalypse. Watts will as give advice about how Ukrainian sci-fi genre can prosper.
Tickets to the 25 Book Forum can be bought in advance online or at the Lviv Art Palace during the event:
Book Forum Card (five days, Pre-Party, The Night of Non-Stop Music and Poetry) — Hr 500.
Four-Day Ticket — Hr 100.
One-Day Ticket — Hr 50.
One-Day Ticket for Students — Hr 15–30.
The Night of Non-Stop Music and Poetry — Hr 150–450.
25 Book Forum in Lviv Sep. 19 – 23
Tue, Sep. 18
Playboy and Beigbeder Party (pre-party with a DJ-set by Frédéric Beigbeder). Fest Republic Club. 9 p.m. (4)
Wed, Sep. 19
“Red Famine” by Anne Applebaum (presentation featuring the author and Serhii Plokhii). Lviv Art Palace – Conference Hall. 12 p.m. (9)
Book signing with Frédéric Beigbeder. Lviv Art Palace – Floor 1, Stand 128. 12 p.m. (9)
“Endless Life” by Frédéric Beigbeder (presentation featuring the author). Lviv Art Palace – Conference Hall. 2 p.m. (9)
Thu, Sep. 20
The Stories of Otherness: Kholoud Charaf (public interview). Lviv Banking Institute Courtyard. 2 p.m. (10)
Lithuanian Poetry (meeting with Marius Burokas). Stari Mury Cafe. 2 p.m. (13)
What is Born in Iceland Except Moss? (meeting with Kristin Guttesen). Stari Mury Cafe. 3 p.m. (13)
“The Ukrainian Night” by Marci Shore (pubic interview). Lviv Art Palace – Conference Hall. 4 p.m. (9)
“Troll” by Michal Hvorecky (presentation featuring the author and discussion on disinformation). Museum of Ethnography and Crafts. 5 p.m. (3)
Holiday Within You (meeting with Olivier Bourdeaut). Copernicus Cinema. 5 p.m. (1)
Music performance by Khoreia Kozatska (traditional folk, Christian, medieval). Fest Republic Club. 5 p.m. (4)
The Stories of Otherness: Antoine Cassar (public interview). Lviv Banking Institute Courtyard. 6 p.m. (10)
The Future as an Apocalypse (meeting with Peter Watts). Les Kurbas Theater. 6 p.m. (7)
Fri, Sep. 21
Reading Modern Swedish Poetry (meeting with Malte Persson). Stari Mury Cafe. 12 p.m. (13)
The Voices of Freedom: Readings with Mgungose Siyabonga. Copernicus Cinema. 1 p.m. (1)
Where Do the Limits of Europe End? (meeting with Antoine Cassar and Olena Huseinova). Stari Mury Cafe. 1 p.m. (13)
The Voices of Freedom: Readings with Kholoud Charaf. Lviv Banking Institute Courtyard. 2 p.m. (10)
Art of Seeing and in the Seen (meeting with Barney Agerbeek). Stari Mury Cafe, 2 p.m. (13)
Book signing with Colm Tóibín. Lviv Art Palace – Floor 3, Stand 428. 2 p.m. (9)
“Thinking the Twentieth Century” by Tony Judt: How to Keep Clear Sight in Times of Crisis (discussion featuring Marci Shore and Yaroslav Hrytsak). Rius Hotel – Big Hall. 2 p.m. (12)
The Future Man, Post-Humanism and Digital Heavens (discussion featuring Peter Watts). Copernicus Cinema. 2 p.m. (1)
“The Road of Tears” by David Baker (presentation featuring the author). Les Kurbas Theater. 2:30 p.m. (7)
“A Farewell to Arms” by Ernest Hemingway: Literature in Search of Humanism (discussion featuring Michael Katakis). Copernicus Cinema. 4:30 p.m. (1)
“God Will Not Help” by Marko Pogačar (presentation featuring the author). Les Kurbas Theater. 5:30 p.m. (7)
Sat, Sep. 22
Past and Present of Science Fiction. Its Prospects in Ukraine (discussion featuring Peter Watts). Knyzhkovyi Lev Bookshop. 11 a.m. (6)
261 Poetic Coffee (poetry readings with poets from different countries). Dzyga Art Center. 1 p.m. (2)
What Is Scottish Poetry (meeting with Ryan Van Winkle). Stari Mury Cafe, 1 p.m. (13)
Memory in the Market of Freedom: The Past, Memory and Interpretation (discussion featuring Marci Shore). Lviv Art Palace – Conference Hall. 1 p.m. (9)
The Nature of Mind, Self-Consciousness and Probability of Intelligent Life in Space (discussion featuring Peter Watts and Borys Khersonskyi). Copernicus Cinema. 3:30 p.m. (1)
“Ernest Hemingway: Artifacts From a Life” by Michael Katakis (presentation featuring the author). Copernicus Cinema. 6 p.m. (1)
The Voices of Freedom: Readings with Marie Gamillscheg. Lviv Puppet Theater. 6 p.m. (11)
“Watching the English – The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour” by Kate Fox (presentation featuring the author). Les Kurbas Theater. 7 p.m. (7)
The White Chalk of Days: The Contemporary Ukrainian Literature Series Anthology in English (presentation). Lesia Ukrainka Drama Theater. 8:30 p.m. (8)
The Night of Non-Stop Music and Poetry (party featuring Ukrainian poets and musicians). Fest Republic Club. 10 p.m. (4)
Sun, Sep. 23
The Non-Writer Writer (cross-interview between Henry Marsh, Kate Fox and Mariana Savka). Copernicus Cinema. 3 p.m. (1)
The Voices of Freedom: Discussion of the Project. Hnat Hotkevych Palace of Culture. 5 p.m. (5)
Only Light, Only Hardcore (music and poetry readings). Dzyga Art Center. 8 p.m. (2)
Venues:
(1) Copernicus Cinema (9 Mykoly Kopernyka St.)
(2) Dzyga Art Center (35 Virmenska St.)
(3) Ethnography and Crafts Museum (15 Svobody Ave)
(4) Fest Republic Club (24-26 Staroznesenska St.)
(5) Hnat Hotkevych Palace of Culture (1 Kushevycha St.)
(6) Knyzhkovyi Lev Bookshop (14 Shevchenka Ave.)
(7) Les Kurbas Theater (3 Lesya Kurbasa St.)
(8) Lesia Ukrainka Drama Theater (36 Horodotska St.)
(9) Lviv Art Palace (17 Mykoly Kopernyka St.)
(10) Lviv Banking Institute Courtyard (14 Mykoly Kopernyka St.)
(11) Lviv Puppet Theater (1 Danyla Halytskoho Sq.)
(12) Rius Hotel (12A Akademika Hnatiuka St.)
(13) Stari Mury Cafe (5 Serbska St.)
