Anniversary 25th International Book Fair in Kraków

We are approaching the anniversary of the 25th International Book Fair in Kraków®, which will once again bring together tens of thousands of literature lovers from all over the country on October 27–30 at EXPO Kraków. Kraków will be immersed in the world of reading for four days, and visitors will have the opportunity to attend numerous meetings, lectures and discussions, meet their favourite writers, get autographs and expand their home collections with new titles.

This year’s edition is guided by the words of Juliusz Słowacki ‘We need new wings, we need new roads’, which is why the fair will once again present a new arrangement. More than 470 exhibitors have announced their participation in the event, preparing their publishing premières especially for the fair. Fiction, non-fiction, religious literature, science and popular science, crime fiction, thrillers, children’s and youth literature, young adult, fantasy, comics and board games are what awaits us at the fair.

Festivals, meetings, events

This year’s International Book Fair in Kraków® will feature two new festivals: Saturday with Non-fiction and Meetings with Fantasy and Science Fiction. Saturday with Non-fiction is an event for fans of the non-fiction and reportage literature, which will feature meetings with the authors of this autumn’s most relevant non-fiction books: Danuta Awolusi and Joanna Warpas, Andrzej Kohut, Wojciech Orliński, Agata Romaniuk, Ziemowit Szczerek, Katarzyna Włodkowska. In addition, outside the festival, meeting will be held with Leszek Balcerowicz, Piotr M. A. Cywiński, Anna Gacek, Maria and Jan Peszek, Mariusz Szczygieł, as well as Piotr Zychowicz and Jacek Bartosiak.

Meetings with Fantasy and Science Fiction is a two-day festival with the participation of the most widely read fantasy and science fiction writers, including Jakub Ćwiek, Anna Kańtoch, Marta Kisiel, Rafał Kosik, Paweł Majka and Radek Rak. During the festival there will also be a farewell ceremony dedicated to the late Maria Lidia Kossakowska.

The fair is also continuing with projects that won visitor acclaim last year, such as the four-day Mountain Literature Festival, expanded this year to include travel themes. Meetings with Tomasz Habdas ‘Peak performance’, Marek Kamiński, Nela the Little Reporter, Beata Sabała-Zielińska, Łukasz Supergan, Adam Wajrak and Krzysztof Wielicki will certainly be enjoyed by fans of extreme experiences. Moreover, TOPR and GOPR mountain rescuers will prepare workshops and trainings for children and young people. The festival will also include awarding prizes for the Best Publications about the Mountains.

In the crime fiction section, in addition to meetings with authors such as Tove Alsterdal, Katarzyna Bonda, Igor Brejdygant, Diana Brzezińska, Wojciech Chmielarz, Marek Krajewski, Magdalena Majcher, Robert Małecki, Marcin Meller, Eva Minge, Alek Rogoziński or Olga Rudnicka, for the first time at the Kraków fair, the Golden Bullet, a distinction for the author of the best crime novel of the previous year, will be awarded by the literary and crime magazine POCISK.

Women’s literature continues to raise great interest in 2022. The fair will feature meetings with some of the most popular writers of this genre, including Joanna Balicka, Penelope Douglas, Ałbena Grabowska, Katarzyna Grochola, K. N. Haner and Cora Reilly. Joanna Jax, Martyna Keller, Krystyna Mirek, Aleksandra Negrońska, Magdalena Witkiewicz and Sylwia Zandler, among others, will also be signing their books. Fiction literature will be represented, among others, by Jacek Dehnel, Petra Dvořáková, Roma Ligocka, Zośka Papużanka, Dominika Słowik, Szczepan Twardoch and Marek Zychla.

There is clearly a new trend of books in the Young Adult category conquering the best-seller lists in Poland. The anniversary fair will be visited by well-known and popular authors of this genre, including: Kasia Barlińska P.S. Herytiera, Natalia Fromuth, Marta Łabęcka, Monika Marszałek, Edyta Prusinowska, Monika Rutka, and Weronika Schmidt.

Many fair events are also being prepared with younger readers in mind. There will be meetings with favourite authors and book characters such as Alfie Atkins, Erin Hunter, Nela the Little Reporter and PAW Patrol. There are also a number of workshops planned, led by Burza Mózgów, Egurrola Dance Studio or Sara and Wikuś from Sara’s Enchanted World, among others.

Literary prizes

Readers’ interest in high-quality scientific and popular science literature is growing, which can be evidenced by the large number of titles submitted for the 25th Competition for the Jan Długosz Award. The list of the nominated titles includes Auschwitz. Monograph of the Human by Piotr M. A. Cywiński, Avant-garde Film. Polish photography in the 20 years of the interwar period by Weronika Kobylińska, and Urban Ground. 250 Years of the Polish Game with Modernity by Rafał Matyja. The winner will be announced at a gala event at the ICE Krakow Congress Centre on October 27.

The winner of the Association of University Publishers’ Gaudeamus Award will also be announced at the Fair. The 25th International Book Fair in Krakow® will also award for the first time the European Union Prize for Literature to emerging fiction writers from Europe. The event is organised by the Polish Chamber of Books.

Board games zone

Unique attractions await all fans of board games. The games zone is attracting more and more visitors to the fair every year. In addition to new releases, game publishers are preparing many surprises, including meetings with gaming personalities such as Ignacy Trzewiczek from Portal Games, creator of role-playing and board games including Robinson Crusoe and The Detective. The Fair will also include the final of the 2021 Board Game of the Year plebiscite. We will find out which of the games has been chosen as the best by the players themselves.

Publishing industry events

What the book market will look like in ten years, how to save bookshops, how to write and publish your own book, how to create a school reading canon, what is the right to facts, what role the translators play – these are just some of the topics related to the publishing market that will be discussed at the fair. Librarians will have the opportunity to learn about the National Library and Jagiellonian Library Open Access. ‘Patrimonium – Monuments of Writing’ project; there will also be the 2nd Conference Celebration of the Book – The Book in the Face of the Current Challenges organised by the magazine Świat Druku. Booksellers, distributors and librarians interested in expanding their sales and educational offerings with board games will be able to attend the training: How to sell to succeed? Original techniques. Advice from publishers and distributors. Trends. Novelties, organised by the Rynek Zabawek magazine. How to run a bookstagram? Advice for beginners (and others), is a meeting aimed at all people working in social media.

The fair will also feature the signing ceremony of the Kraków Convention, an initiative of the Kraków Festival Office and operator of Kraków UNESCO City of Literature.

Fair TV and live broadcasts

For those who will not be able to come to Kraków but want to feel the unique atmosphere associated with the literary feast, the fair is preparing a special Virtual Fair Platform offering the possibility to participate in many events, meetings and discussion panels. All you need to do is visit the website on October 27–30 at www.ksiazka.krakow.pl and take part in the fair. Whoever likes the breakfast TV format will enjoy Fair TV, broadcast in this convention from the heart of the fair on October 29–30 and hosted by well-known and adored literary journalists Małgorzata Bugaj, Justyna Dżbik-Kluge, Adam Szaja and Łukasz Wojtusik.

There is nothing left to do but book these four days, take the train and find yourself in the literary world of Kraków.