About the festival
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The twelfth Sopot by the Book festival will be held on 17-20 August. It is one of the most important literary festivals in Poland. Each year, the organisers select one country and make its literature the main theme of the festival. So far, the festival has dealt with the literature of Scandinavia, Russia, Czech Republic, Israel, Spain, France, the UK, Canada, Italy and Ireland. In 2023, the audience will have the opportunity to discover the culture and the literature of Germany. Our offline/online guests so far have include Alexandra Marinina, Valery Panyushkin, Radka Denemarková, Jiří Menzel, Etgar Keret, Olga Tokarczuk, David Grossman, Édouard Louis, Javier Cercas, Almudena Grandes, Alain Mabanckou, Sarah Hall, Zadie Smith, Esi Edugyan, Michael Crummey, Margaret Atwood, Bernardine Evaristo, Valeria Parrella, Donato Carrisi, Joyce Carol Oates, Sebastian Barry, Elizabeth Strout, Lucy Caldwell and many others. Apart from meetings with authors, we have organised debates on women’s rights, the Anthropocene, national identities, or the spiritual condition of humankind. In Sopot, you can savour literature in a variety of forms: readings (Theatre by the Book), film screenings (Film by the Book), or carefully curated workshops (Sopot by the Book for Kids, Sopot by the Book for Young People). Not only is the festival aimed at promoting literature and reading. Most of all, it is an tremendous opportunity to meet people who want to share with us their increased sensitivity and powers of observation. With the unconventional locations and the food for thought provided by the organisers, we can contemplate the vital matters often lost in the rush of everyday life. |
The festival is a non-profit event and the admission is free. Sopot by the Book won the Kulturalny Sztorm Roku 2012 award (Cultural Storm of the Year 2012) based on a poll in the Gazeta Wyborcza Trójmiasto daily; in 2016, the listeners of the Polish Radio Three voted the festival as the ‘event of the year’. The seventh festival won the prize for ‘the best cultural event of 2018’ (Cultural Storm of the Year 2018). In 2019, Sopot by the Book was awarded the EFFE Label of Excellence, which is presented to exceptional and innovative cultural events in Europe. Sopot by The Book Festival 2023 – rules and regulations of events EN.doc Sopot by The Book 2023 – festival program.pdf Sopot by the Book for Kids 2023 – festival program.pdf
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