Book Arsenal 2026: the festival’s most anticipated events that are well worth a visit
This year’s Book Arsenal features 240 events. These include major international discussions, public interviews and performances, exhibitions and music concerts.
Our editorial team has selected 14 events from the festival’s various programmes for you. And book blogger Alisa Peake-week Papers has shared with ThePublic her top 5 books worth buying at the Book Arsenal.
‘We Are Not on an Island’. A conversation with Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk
28 May, 18:00, Main Stage
The public conversation “We Are Not on an Island” with Polish writer and Nobel Prize laureate in Literature Olga Tokarczuk will be moderated by Andriy Lyubka, curator of this year’s Book Arsenal Writer’s Programme. The event is supported by the Polish Institute in Kyiv.
Serhiy Zhadan. New Texts
28 May, 19:30, Main Stage
Some of the most anticipated events at the Arsenal involve presentations and readings of new texts by Serhiy Zhadan. Visitors will have the opportunity to hear works live that have not yet been presented in public.
Discussion: ‘A Broken Testament: Why the Wall Between Poles and Ukrainians Is Growing’
29 May, 14:00, Main Stage
Complex topics of historical memory, politics and contemporary Polish-Ukrainian relations are among the main themes of the festival’s discussions. The participants are Edwin Bendyk, Anna Dombrowska and Andriy Lyubka. The discussion will be moderated by journalist and spokesperson for the 8th Airborne Corps, Vadym Karpiak.
Public discussion ‘Beyond the image of the victim’ with an exclusive screening of an excerpt from the film ‘Traces’
29 May, 15:00, Lecture Hall
The event will combine a discussion on documenting war with an exclusive screening of an excerpt from the new documentary film by directors Alisa Kovalenko and Marisa Nikitiuk.
Speakers: Alisa Kovalenko, Iryna Dovhan, Larysa Denysenko, Oleksandra Matviychuk, Marcy Shore.
Moderator: Tetiana Ogarkova.
Voices of Our Times: Prose Readings
29 May, 15:30, Lecture Hall
Authors for the readings: Artur Dron, Kateryna Zarembo, Artem Chapay, Valeriy Puzik.
Moderator: Ihor Mitrov.
Discussion: ‘How to talk about vulnerability without losing strength?’
30 May, 11:30, Main Stage
An event about honesty, fragility and how to talk about difficult experiences during a long war — without glorification, but also without losing one’s inner strength. The speakers will be writers Kateryna Kalytko and Yevheniia Kuznetsova, and the discussion will be moderated by Liza Tsarehradska.
Performance by “DvaTri” and Symonenko
30 May, 20:30, Street Stage
The string and bow rave ‘SMYK’ is organising a performance by the band ‘DvaTry’, who play traditional Ukrainian instrumental music from the Dnipro region and Polissya, and Symonenko, a figure on the Kyiv electronic music scene.
A conversation with Artem Chekh about his new novel
30 May, 13:00, Authors’ Stage
“From Within the Text” – a public conversation between Artem Chekh and Oleksandr Boichenko about Chekh’s new novel, the experience of writing during the war, and the evolution of the author’s voice in recent years.
Moderator: writer and literary critic Oleksandr Boichenko.
Eight intelligent questions about our victory
30 May, 18:00, Authors’ Stage
“Eight Smart Questions About Our Victory” – a conversation about the war, society, the army and the future of Ukraine between journalist and spokesperson for the 8th Corps of the Airborne Forces, Vadym Karpiak, and the head of the “Come Back Alive” Foundation, Taras Chmut.
Online lecture by Slavoj Žižek
31 May, 12:30, Main Stage
One of the most famous contemporary philosophers from Slovenia will join the Book Arsenal online. His lectures traditionally combine philosophy, politics and an analysis of the modern world.
‘Where are we now as a culture: are we winning or losing?’
31 May, 13:30, Authors’ Stage
In this conversation, we will discuss the role of Ukrainian culture in the world today — together with writer Oksana Zabuzhko and Radio NV editor-in-chief Oleksii Tarasov.
Performance ‘Echoes’
31 May, 11:30, Street Stage
A performance by writers Olena Herasyuk and Pavlo Matyusha, created as a continuation of the voices of deceased Ukrainian writers, artists and soldiers: Maksym Kryvtsov, Volodymyr Vakulenko-K, Viktoria Amelina, Kateryna Rogovyk, Ihor Mysyak, Mykola Leonovych, Borys Humenyuk, Illia Chernilevskyi, Veronika Kozhushko, Hlib Babich.
Discussion: ‘How should we be in the world?’
31 May, 15:00, Literary Stage
One of the festival’s discussions, dedicated to the questions of Ukraine’s place in the world, international agency and the future of Ukrainian culture.
Organiser: Ukrainian PEN.
Participants: philosopher Volodymyr Yermolenko, journalist and cultural manager Nataliia Teramae, writer Olena Styazhkina, and editor-in-chief of the ‘Suspilne Kultura’ website Kateryna Yakovlenko.
Discussion: ‘Midnight Children of Two Worlds: East and West in Salman Rushdie’s Magical Realism’
31 May, 16:30
Participants will attempt to unravel the mystery behind the author’s global popularity and unique style, which balances on the edge of magical realism, Eastern mysticism, European rationalism and sharp political satire.
Participants: Bohdana Romantsova
Moderator: Olga Kari
Concert ‘Control [] Freedom’ by Ensemble 24
31 May, 20:30, Author’s Stage
The final musical event of Lyuba Morozova’s curated programme — an experimental concert about freedom, control and the sound of contemporary Ukrainian music.
Top 5 books from book blogger Alisa Peake-week Papers
Ahead of the start of the Book Arsenal, ThePublic spoke to book blogger Alisa Peake-week Papers. Here is her list of books worth checking out at the book festival:
1. Florian Illies — 1913: The Summer of the Century
Brief description: this is a historical non-fiction work and a chronicle of the last peaceful year before the First World War. The author explores the turning point of the era, interwoven with the fates of famous artists, scientists and politicians.
2. Salman Rushdie — Midnight’s Children
Brief description: an epic novel in the genre of magical realism, winner of the Booker Prize. The book allegorically recounts India’s transition from a British colony to an independent state through the lens of one person’s life.
3. Joan Didion — The Good Life
Brief description: a psychological novel depicting spiritual emptiness, alienation and a personal crisis in the glamorous world of 1960s California.
4. Natalia Ginzburg — The Family Lexicon
Brief description: This is an autobiographical novel by the Italian writer Natalia Ginzburg. The book tells the story of her eccentric family in the 1930s–1950s. It is a warm and bittersweet coming-of-age story that shows how unique phrases, jokes and strange family words become an invisible bond that unites people for life.
5. Kobo Abe — The Woman in the Dunes
Brief description: A cult philosophical novel by the Japanese writer Kobo Abe. It is the story of Jūbei, a teacher and entomologist who travels to a deserted village in search of insects and finds himself trapped: the locals throw him into a deep sand pit with a lonely woman, where he becomes a prisoner, forced to clear the house of the sand that buries them every day.
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