Book Forum Lviv (formerly The Lviv Publishers' Forum; ) is the biggest

book fair A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. It has been held in

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

each September since 1994 and is organized by the Publishers' Forum, an

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

founded after the success of the initial Lviv book forum. It is the largest book fair in Ukraine and one of the largest events of its kind in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

. It has also been called Lviv's most popular event. Main expositions are located in the Palace of Arts near the Potocki Palace. The forum program includes literary events and contests, presentations of publishing houses and authors, meetings with authors, literary readings, autograph sessions, discussions, round-table meetings, and performances. It participates in the organization of collective expositions at the international book fairs in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

, and

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

History

1994

The Lviv Publishers' Forum was founded in September 1994 by the National Museum of Lviv. At the time, the Ukrainian book market collapsed after a nationwide economic crisis in 1992-1993. Oleksandra Koval, then organiser and person in charge in future, decided to establish a book fair to get publishers together and survive in a hard time. It was founded by the

International Renaissance Foundation The International Renaissance Foundation (IRF) () is a Ukrainian NGO founded by George Soros. It was founded in April 1990. IRF is an integral part of the Open Society Foundations which incorporates national and regional foundations in more than ...

, and the fair collaborates with the Ukrainian Association of Publishers and Book Distributors (). The fair held a series of 25 professional and literary events, including literary events and competitions, presentations of publishing houses and authors, author meetings, literary readings, autograph sessions, discussions, round tables, performances, etc. The forum was modelled after the Warsaw Book Fair ( pl) in Poland. The

Frankfurt Book Fair The Frankfurt Book Fair (German: , FBM) is the world's largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented. The five-day annual event in mid-October is held at the Frankfurt Trade Fair grounds in Frankfurt am ...

had attended the forum for several years until early 2000, when Ukraine stopped requesting cooperation anymore. Starting this year, the NGO "Publishers' Forum" has been participating in the organisation of collective exhibitions at international book fairs in Warsaw, Moscow, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Pisa, and Vilnius. The logo of the book fair was designed by Mykhailo Moskal, depicting two snails supporting a vertically placed book with their shells. Snails symbols "infinity, rebirth, indomitability, determination, perseverance, and interaction". It had been used until 2018.

1995

The Publishers' Forum Best Book Award was established.

1997

The

Literary Festival A literary festival, also known as a book festival or writers' festival, is a regular gathering of writers and readers, typically on an annual basis in a particular city. A literary festival usually features a variety of presentations and readings ...

, a highly popular event among Ukrainian youth, separates from the Forum.

2001

Foreign guests start to participate in the Literary Festival.

2002

The "Best Young Reader of Ukraine" contest is established. Over the years around 500 thousand children from all over Ukraine have taken part in it.

2005

The contest "The Best Young Reader of Ukraine" becomes nationwide.

2006

An annual charity event, "Present a Child with a Book!", is introduced.

2006

The Literary Festival becomes international.

2007

"The Best Young Reader of Ukraine" and the Festival "Bookmania" become a part of the book fair "Publishers' Forum for Children". This event, completely devoted to the children's literature and reading, is a unique event in Ukraine and one of a few of this kind in

Central and Eastern Europe Central and Eastern Europe is a geopolitical term encompassing the countries in Baltic region, Northeast Europe (primarily the Baltic states, Baltics), Central Europe (primarily the Visegrád Group), Eastern Europe, and Southeast Europe (primaril ...

2007

Within the Lviv Publishers' Forum the publishers' business forum, a program of professional events for book publishers, is established.

2007–2010

The International Educational Forum "Education" takes place. It includes a specialized exhibition of educational technologies, educational and instructional materials and educational institutions and the International Colloquium "The European Dimension of Ukrainian Education" with the chiefs of the

Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine () is the main body in the system of central bodies of the executive power of Ukraine. History On 28 June 1917 Ivan Steshenko was appointed Secretary of Education in the First Vynnychenko gov ...

and scientists involved.

2008–2012

Each year two weeks before the "Publishers' Forum for Children" the "Readers' Marathon" is held during which Ukrainian writers visit schools in Lviv and run contests, readings, discussions, etc.

2010

Within the Lviv Publishers' Forum, a program of professional events for librarians, called "Biblioforum", is held. Within the Lviv Publishers' Forum, the TRANSLIT international translation festival is established.

2011

Due to the extension of the format and geography of the festival, the "Publishers' Forum for Children" changes its name to the Lviv International Children's Festival.

2011–2012

The international project «ArtDrome: literature and more» within the program of cultural managers exchange "TANDEM:

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

2012

NGO "Publishers' Forum" organizes Ukraine's stand at the

Leipzig Book Fair The Leipzig Book Fair () is the second largest book fair in Germany after the Frankfurt Book Fair. The fair takes place annually over four days at the Leipzig Trade Fairground in the northern part of Leipzig, Saxony. It is the first large trad ...

2012

NGO "Publishers' Forum" becomes the local partner of the project "Book Platform" in Ukraine.

2012

Within the Lviv Publishers' Forum, the festival of cultural management and literary criticism CONTEXT is established.

2013

Within the Lviv Publishers' Forum, the status "Country Guest of Honor" is established and inaugurally granted to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

2017

Author Larysa Denysenko is forced to cancel her talk at the Forum as the event organizers felt they couldn't guarantee safety after receiving threats, including a letter from 15 radical far-right nationalist groups, based on the content of her children's book that included same-sex parents.

2020

Held online due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic.

References

External links

* {{official website
Welcome to Ukraine

RISU - Religious Information Service of Ukraine 2001-2008
Culture in Lviv Recurring events established in 1994 1994 establishments in Ukraine Book fairs in Ukraine

History

1994

1995

1997

2001

2002

2005

2006

2006

2007

2007

2007–2010

2008–2012

2010

2011

2011–2012

2012

2012

2012

2013

2017

2020

See also

References

External links