Book Forum Lviv
Book Forum Lviv is Ukraine’s biggest book fair. It’s held every September in Lviv and has taken place since 1994. The event is organized by the Publishers’ Forum, a non-governmental group.
The main exhibits are at the Palace of Arts near Potocki Palace. The forum features publishing houses and authors, literary readings, autograph sessions, discussions, round-table talks, and performances.
The forum also helps Ukraine take part in international book fairs in Warsaw, Moscow, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Pisa, and Vilnius.
History and purpose:
- It started in 1994, founded by the National Museum of Lviv, to help publishers after a market crisis.
- It was supported by the International Renaissance Foundation and works with the Ukrainian Association of Publishers and Book Distributors.
- The event was modeled after the Warsaw Book Fair. Frankfurt attended for several years, but cooperation stopped around 2000. Since then, the forum has organized Ukraine’s stands at other international fairs.
Features and growth:
- The forum introduced the Publishers’ Forum Best Book Award.
- The Literary Festival grew from it, attracting Ukrainian youth; it later included foreign guests.
- The Best Young Reader of Ukraine contest and the Bookmania event became part of the forum’s children’s programming.
- A charity event, “Present a Child with a Book!”, was added.
- The Children’s Festival became international, and special programs for children’s literature, librarians, and translation were developed (including Biblioforum and the TRANSLIT translation festival).
- The Context festival for literary criticism was created, and Poland was named the first Country Guest of Honor.
Recent notes:
- An author, Larysa Denysenko, canceled a talk due to safety threats. The forum has also been held online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 11:11 (CET).