Publications of various topics will be presented to readers by local Kyiv bookstores.
Despite the state of war, its challenges and limitations, the team of the Art Arsenal is preparing the 11th Book Arsenal and doing everything to ensure that the festival once again unites the book, literary and art scenes in its space.
This year, the 11th Book Arsenal International Festival will last from the evening of June 22 (official opening) to June 25.
“We are sure that the Book Arsenal is needed more than ever this year. It should support, strengthen resilience and inspire all of us, said the Director General of the Art Arsenal Olesya Ostrovska-Lyuta. “We will work tirelessly to make this, perhaps the most important in Ukraine, a meeting place for books, readers and authors.”
The basic structure of the Book Arsenal remains unchanged and will consist of two elements: the program part of the festival and the book fair with corresponding thematic sections. The Book Arsenal will take place in the left wing of the first floor of the Old Arsenal.
This year, the book fair will be organized in a different way: book sales operators at the festival will not be individual publishing houses, but local Kyiv bookstores:
- “Sens” bookstore will present the “Nonfiction” section,
- bookstore “Book Lion” – section “Fiction”,
- bookstore “Zakapelok” – sections “Children’s literature”, “Comics and graphic novels”.
In addition, the Dovzhenko Center will be the operator of the “Art Book” section within the framework of an inter-institutional partnership with the Art Arsenal.
The Book Arsenal traditionally pays special attention to the “Military Literature” section. A selection of publications created by war veterans, participants in hostilities, members of their families, books about war published after 2014 will be presented in the space of the fair.
“This format of the Book Arsenal will allow publishers to take part in the festival as welcome guests, take advantage of the opportunity to focus on meetings and exchange of experience with colleagues, networking and professional intra-shop discussions,” she explained Yulia Kozlovets, director of the “Book Arsenal” International Festival.
Invited curators will work on the program part of the Book Arsenal. About 50 selected events within the focus topic, the main literary program, programs for children and teenagers, performative, professional events will take place on three stages.
For the safety of the participants of the fair and the program of events, the simplest shelter is available in the Art Arsenal.
More information about the focus topic, curators and features of the event program will be published later on Book Arsenal website.
The Book Arsenal is an international event organized by the Art Arsenal. The festival has been taking place since 2011, and during this decade it has become one of the most influential literary and artistic events in Eastern Europe. In 2019, it received the title “Best Literary Festival of the World”. The mission of the “Book Arsenal” International Festival is to create such interactions between people, communities, institutions, when the combination of aesthetic experience and intellectual inclusion in the context of a book strengthens the capacity of a person and society.
Maria Kataeva
