On February 22-25, the capital of Lithuania hosted the Vilnius Book Fair, the largest literary event among the Baltic states. Every year the fair is attended by over 65,000 visitors. This year's slogan of the fair was the words of Lithuanian writer Henrikas Ladauskas: "I don't believe in the world, but I believe in fairy tales."
The Ukrainian national stand was organized by the Ukrainian Book Institute with the slogan "The Fragility of Existence". The following publishers took part: Iron Dad, Publishing House of Stary Lev, Baltica-Druk, Vivat, ACCA, ADEF, Paradolya, Summit Book, and Tianachu. Ranok and Iron Dad had separate stands.
On the first day of the Vilnius Book Fair, the Ukrainian stand was visited by the President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda, the Minister of Culture of Lithuania Simonas Kairys, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Lithuania Petro Beshta, and the Mayor of Vilnius Valdas Benkunskas. The team of the Ukrainian Book Institute presented the President and Minister of Culture of Lithuania with the book “Martial Law”, which was published last year in Lithuanian as part of the “Translate Ukraine” translation support program.
During all four days of the fair, the installation "Small Fairy Tales" was on display, an audio-sensory version of fairy tales and illustrations by Ukrainian writer Kateryna Mikhalitsyna. Near the boxes, made by the craftswoman Šarūnė Pečiukonytė , one could perceive Kateryna's stories and illustrations by sight, hearing, touch, and smell. Visitors had the opportunity to meet the characters created by the Ukrainian writer: Maruska the mouse, a fox, a mole, salamander sisters, Rudy the dog, and a frog. The texts from the boxes were read in Ukrainian and Lithuanian. The idea was initiated by Lithuanian cultural manager Justinas Vancevičius.
The Vilnius Book Fair presented a series of bilingual children's books (in Ukrainian and Lithuanian) by writer Iryna Holub entitled “Ilarija in Lithuania/IlarijaLietuvoje”, published by the Iron Dad Publishing House. The series consists of four books: "Acquaintance", "Cities and Places", "Stories and Adventures", and "Traditions and Holidays". "Ilarija in Lithuania/IlarijaLietuvoje" is the literary debut of Iryna Holub, co-founder of the Iron Dad publishing house, who temporarily lives with her daughter Ilarija in Lithuania after the full-scale invasion. Ilarija's father, the founder of the Iron Dad publishing house, Dmytro Savchenko, has been fighting at the front for four years in a row as part of the legendary 1st Separate Assault Battalion named after Dmytro Kotsiubailo "Da Vinci". "My book is, first of all, a declaration of love to the amazing country of Lithuania and the incredible Lithuanians," - the author says.
On February 25, the Vilnius Book Fair hosted a poetry reading "Those Who Testify" organized by PEN Ukraine and the Book Arsenal. The event was attended by Ukrainian poets Kateryna Mikhalitsyna, Yuliya Musakovska, and Iryna Shuvalova, as well as Lithuanian poets and translators Marius Burokas, Jurgita Jasponytė, Benediktas Januševičius, and Antanas A. Joninas. The poems were read in Ukrainian and Lithuanian. During the event, video poetry by military poets Yaryna Chornohuz and Arthur Drone was also shown on the screen. Poems by Viktorija Amelina, a Ukrainian writer who died in July 2023 as a result of a russian missile attack on Kramatorsk, and Maksym Kryvtsov, a poet and soldier who died at the front in January 2024, were read in Lithuanian. The organizers noted that this was the first time in the last 20 years of the fair that the audience gave a standing ovation.
On February 24, the second anniversary of russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the presentation of the anthology of essays "Martial Law" took place. Also on that day, a rally in support of Ukraine was held in Vilnius. During the march, Ukrainian poet Yuliya Musakovska read out Taras Shevchenko's "Testament" and poetry by Viktorija Amelina.
"We are extremely grateful to the organizers for their warm welcome and tireless support during all the days of the fair. It is thanks to their support that we were able to represent Ukraine at this book event. At international events, we are always touched by the personal stories we bring home with us. For example, a meeting with a girl from Ukraine who came to the fair with her class from another city (her teacher brought her to the stand so that the kids could be among their own, because she was the only Ukrainian in the class), or a Lithuanian young man who not only listens to Ukrainian music but also wants to read Ukrainian books, so he is learning Ukrainian. The purpose of our participation in international fairs is, of course, much broader, but such individual stories inspire us to do more and breathe life into our efforts to popularize Ukrainian literature," - says Angelina Trofymchuk, one of the curators of the Ukrainian national stand at the Vilnius Book Fair, head of the International Cooperation Department of the Ukrainian Book Institute.
We are grateful to the organizers of the Vilnius Book Fair (Lithuanian Exhibition Center "Litexpo", Lithuanian Institute of Culture, and Lithuanian Publishers Association) for providing Ukraine with a 25-square-meter booth space and the necessary equipment free of charge.
The publishers donated all the books left over from the fair to the library of the Ukrainian Center in Lithuania, which operates under the patronage of the First Ladies of Lithuania and Ukraine, Diana Nausėdienė and Olena Zelenska.