A total of 26 countries, 800 participants, 600 events! Among the foreign special guests is the Norwegian writer Erlend Loe, among the Ukrainian – Maria Matios, Vasyl Shkliar... This all is about the Publishers’ Forum, which starts on September 14 and will last five days. On this occasion, the press conference was held yesterday in the UNIAN news agency.
“For me, the Publishers’ Forum is the biggest book event in Ukraine,” says the poet and publisher Ivan Malkovych, “Once I even called it Book Easter. Truly, the colleagues prepare to it in advance and very carefully. The same way as they prepare to the biggest holiday of all Christians. Then they come to Lviv, each with their own novelties like with Easter cakes – all looked after and cherished… I admire Lesia Koval [President of the Publishers Forum. – Ed.]! In a country where it is not easy for one person or a family to survive, she is holding such a major event for the 18th time! Who has never been to Lviv during the event, he certainly lost a lot. Wherever you go these days – in the center and its outskirts – theaters, universities, cafes, pubs, they talk about literature everywhere! And everywhere there will be not only those who speak, but also those who listen. By the way, at least 70 percent of the audience will be young people. An incredible atmosphere! It’s difficult to express in words. One must plunge into it.”
The participants of the press conference particularly discussed which interesting things are being expected. Yes, the director of the Polish Institute in Kyiv Yaroslaw Godun said that this year, with their support, Marek Krajewski, Lukasz Saturczak and Olga Tokarczuk will represent the new Ukrainian translations of their books. The editor-in-chief of the most influential Polish printed edition Gazeta Wyborcza Adam Michnik will arrive in order to participate in the roundtable “20 years without the USSR.” By the way, the roundtable is organized by the Russians, which will be solidly – at a large stand – represented at the Forum. According to the representative of Russian side Yulia Kadenko, the experts from Ukraine, Russia, Poland, France and Germany were invited to participate in the announced dialog. These are – politician Gennady Burbulis, historian Yaroslav Hrytsak, science editor of Polit.Ru Boris Dolgin, journalist Vitalii Portnykov, writer Sergei Ivanov.
The British literary program will look like this: Scottish poetesses Kona Macphee and Sophie Cook will work with two representatives of the Lviv poetic school – Halyna Kruk and Ostap Slyvynsky; the popular author of graphic novels Luke Pearson will give a master class. He, together with our Yurko Vynnychuk, will honor the memory of the classic Charles Dickens, the 200th anniversary of whose birth we will celebrate next year. While being a beginner, Dickens refined his literary skills in sketches – drawings of everyday life in London. Actually, London illustrators and caricaturists were making drawings, and he was working on the text. Thus appeared the first book Sketches by Boz with illustrations by George Cruikshank. So this practice will be recreated: Luke will draw and Yurko will write the accompanying texts.
“The Publishers’ Forum organizing committee does not make the event on its own, but in collaboration with partners,” concludes Oleksandra KOVAL, “with whom we share the same priorities. Otherwise, wouldn’t be able to hold the event for so long. Not just hold, but expand and diversify it from year to year. I think that if all Ukrainians could find common goals and priorities, we would live in a little different way.
So set your schedule thoughtfully and beforehand – there will be a lot of events not to be missed. By the way, the presentation of the new book from the Library of The Day series will take place on September 15, at 2 p.m. in the Blue Hall of the Potocki Palace.
