The Literary Festival within the Publishers’ Forum in Lviv has gradually grown into a large-scale event, first of national and later of international significance. It is a territory of freedom. Each year, the festival defines a central theme around which the program is built. These are hundreds of events across different locations in Lviv. Traditionally, the Forum hosts the most renowned Ukrainian writers.

Watch the live stream of the 33rd Book Forum on MEGOGO in partnership with MEGOGO BOOKS.

Schedule:

Thursday, September 10

15:00–15:30

Festival Opening Ceremony. Moderator: Vadym Karpiak. Stephen Fry reads a poem by Viktoria Amelina (online).

15:30–16:55

Focus Discussion: The Responsibility of Literature. Moderator: Olha Movchan. Participants: Serhii Zhadan, Artur Dron, Yurii Makarov.

17:00–17:50

What Is Literature Responsible for in a World of Conflict? Janne Teller in conversation with Ostap Slyvynskyi.

18:00–18:55

Pantheon: Are Memory and Reconciliation Possible? Participants: Oleksandr Alfyorov, Volodymyr Viatrovych. Moderator: Vakhtang Kipiani.

19:00–19:55

How We Remember: Future Pantheons. Yurii Makarov, Tetiana Troshchynska, Oleksandr Filts, with Antin Borkovskyi taking questions from the audience.

Friday, September 11

11:00–11:50

“Why Should Croatia Read About Ukraine?” Participants: Elvis Bosnjak, Mišo Nejašmić, Siniša Matasović, Davor Beganović.

12:00–12:50

Geopolitics for Understanding the World. Tim Marshall (online) in conversation with Volodymyr Byeglov.

13:00–13:50

The God of Freedom: How Poetry Speaks for Ukraine Where We Cannot Reach. Moderator: Olena Huseinova. Participant: Yuliia Musakovska.

14:00–15:00

“How Can We Resist Bookcide?” Yevhen Hlibovytskyi.

16:00–17:00

Our Stories Are Incomplete Without Each Other. Meeting: Ukrainian-Jewish Literary Award 2026, Non-Fiction Category. Moderator: Andrii Pavlyshyn.

17:00–17:50

Art in a Time of War. Charlotte Higgins in conversation with Sasha Dovzhyk.

Saturday, September 12

11:00–11:50

Historical Layers: How Authors Reinterpret the Past in New Stories. Moderator: Polina Nesteruk. Participants: Iryna Hrabovska, Svitlana Taratorina, Andrii Novik.

12:00–12:50

What Are We Reading in Today’s Spaces? Featuring Daniel Kehlmann. Moderator: Yurko Prokhasko.

13:30–14:20

Freedom, Inequality, Dignity. Lea Ypi in conversation with Oksana Forostyna.

14:30–15:50

Ukrainian-Polish Relations: How Do We Write a Shared History of Volhynia When Each Side Studies Only Its Own Version? Moderator: Oleksandr Zinchenko. Participants: Volodymyr Viatrovych, Grzegorz Motyka (Poland).

16:00–16:50

Ghosts, Sensuality and Fear: Online interview with Dutch writer Johanna van Veen, author of the Gothic thriller My Darling Dreadful Thing. Moderator: Iryna Hrabovska.

17:30–18:50

Hannah Arendt in Today’s World. Moderator: Vakhtang Kebuladze. Participants: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Marci Shore (online), Andrii Dakhnii.

19:00–19:50

Viet Thanh Nguyen in Conversation with Bohdana Romantsova.

Sunday, September 13

11:00–11:50

New Old Fears. Panel discussion. Participants: Yurii Andrukhovych, Wojciech Tochman, Krzysztof Czyżewski. Moderator: Lesia Vakuliuk.

12:00–12:50

Is There a Grey Zone in Art? A conversation with Artem Chekh, Maria Matios, Serhii Prytula. Moderator: Andrii Kulikov.

13:00–13:50

Justice, Fairness, Tribunal — a Conversation with Philippe Sands. Moderator: Ostap Slyvynskyi.

14:00–14:50

After the Goodbyes. Julian Barnes in conversation with Oleksandr Mykhed.

16:00–16:50

Deserters. Mathias Énard in conversation with Bohdana Romantsova.

17:00–17:50

The War Through the Eyes of Foreign Fighters. Colin Freeman in conversation with Viktor Bishchuk.

18:00–18:50

A Public Conversation with Karl Schlögel. Moderator: Volodymyr Yermolenko.

19:00–19:50

The Cultural Diplomacy of War. Participants: Charlotte Higgins, Johannes Lichtman, Yuliia Musakovska. Moderator: Ostap Slyvynskyi.