From Feb. 26 to March 1, 2026, the 26th Vilnius Book Fair (Vilniaus knygų mugė) will take place at the Litexpo Exhibition Center. Over the course of four days, the organizers will host more than 300 events, including book presentations, discussions, meetings with authors, and film screenings. The slogan of the exhibition will be “Žodis ieško savo žmogaus” (“The word seeks its person”).
The 2026 fair program emphasizes the interaction between literature, society, and modern cultural practices. According to Dovilė Zaidė, the President of the Lithuanian Publishers Association (LLA), the fair’s theme encourages thoughtful reading and a personal engagement with texts in an era of information overload.
Ukrainian author Oksana Zabuzhko, attending the Vilnius Book Fair for the second time, will be one of the international participants. This year, Zabuzhko will introduce her novel “Fieldwork in Ukrainian Sex,” regarded as a key work in Eastern European feminist and postcolonial literature. Originally published in 1995 and translated into over 25 languages, the book is being released in Lithuanian by Hubris and will make its debut for Lithuanian readers at the fair. In 2023, Zabuzhko presented her novel “The Museum of Abandoned Secrets” in Vilnius.
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The book program includes over a hundred presentations and discussions. In particular, there will be a presentation of a book by historian Dariaus Juodžio “Partizanų Vytautas. Jono Žemaičio-Vytauto gyvenimo ir atminties vaizdai” (Vytautas of the Partisans: Images of the Life and Memory of Jonas Žemaitis-Vytautas) about the Lithuanian resistance movement. The program also includes a presentation of Marius Ivaškevičius’ novel “Išvarymas. Kristus ir Čingischanas,” the second part of the trilogy “Išvarymas,“ Tomas Milistas’ debut novel “logos manieros,” Ina Ogenškene’s poetic and essayistic book “Devynios palėpės,” and Gerda Jorda’s historical comic book “Karalius nakvos Merkinėje.”
Among the events of the interdisciplinary program is the presentation of Lydia Yuknavich’s autobiographical novel “Water Chronology” (published by Kitos knygos) on Feb. 27. On the same day in the evening, there will be a screening of the film of the same name by director Kristen Stewart, which premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. The screening will be presented by Kino pavasaris festival program director Dovilė Grigaliūnienė. The film will also be included in the festival program in March.
The Vilnius International Book Fair, the largest in the Baltic States, has been held annually since 2000 and draws more than 65,000 visitors each year. The Lithuanian Publishers Association partners with the AGATA Association of Related Rights, and the Litexpo Exhibition Center in organizing it, with support from the Lithuanian Council for Culture and the Vilnius City Council.
In 2025, over 55,900 people visited the fair, and more than 320 events took place. The organizers are the Lithuanian Publishers Association, the Agata Association, and the Litexpo Exhibition Center.
As reported earlier, in 2023, at the invitation of the organizers of the Vilnius Book Fair, the International Book Arsenal Festival created a program of events that will present the Ukrainian literary and cultural scene in Vilnius. The theme of the fair in 2026 is “Žodis ieško žmogaus” (“the word seeks a person”).
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Main image: Manto Golubevo
Copy editing: Ben Angel