This year’s festival theme is “Read a book, hear another.” Festival visitors will be invited to exchange opinions, ideas, and broaden their horizons. Meetings with writers and discussions will encourage listening to others’ thoughts and trying to understand how, in these times of division, we can better accept each other.
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This year, the festival organizers decided to expand the festival’s boundaries – previously, events took place over one weekend, but this year readers will be able to participate in the literary event for almost a week. As Jurga Mandrijauskaitė, the head of the “Open books” festival, states, “we want the literary celebration to spread widely across the city, last more days, and book lovers to be able to immerse themselves more deeply in various literary experiences without rushing, dedicating more time to meetings with beloved writers. We will dedicate separate evenings to the most honored guests, where we can not only listen to conversations with them but also readings of their works – excerpts will be read by professional actors.”
Stars from abroad are coming
This year, several well-known foreign writers are coming to the festival. One of them is the French author Mathias Énard, whose meeting will take place on October 28. M. Énard is one of the most famous contemporary French writers, awarded the Goncourt Prize for the book “Compass.” Another of his novels published in Lithuanian, “Talk to Them About Battles, Kings, and Elephants,” was awarded the Lycée Students’ Goncourt Literary Prize. Another of his novels published in Lithuanian, “Street of Thieves,” has received the “Liste Goncourt / Le Choix de l’Orient,” “Prix littéraire de la Porte Dorée,” and “Prix du Roman-News” awards.
Speaking about the themes of his works, M. Énard emphasizes that otherness is very important to him, how we deal with it. This is especially relevant in today’s world. “I am convinced that literature, like travel, changes a person. After finishing reading a book, you are not the same as you were before you started. The power of literature to transform is immense,” said M. Énard, who has already interacted virtually with readers in Lithuania at the “Vilnius Leaves” festival, but this will be his first visit to Lithuania.
The way cultures and civilizations merge is explored by another upcoming guest of this festival, the world-renowned historian Peter Frankopan. He is a professor of world history at Oxford University, heading the Oxford Centre for Byzantine Studies. His book “The Silk Roads” was recently published in Lithuanian. This book sparked huge interest upon release and has been translated into more than 25 languages. In this work, the author proposes rethinking the relations between the West and the East, with a focus on the Baltic countries, about which the historian is now writing his new book. “My goal is to show that the less visible parts of Europe are essential to understanding not only European but also world history. Lithuania, its former state – the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth – and its historical role are among my research subjects. I am interested in why it was successful for so long, what ultimately led to its decline, and what parallels can be found in other parts of the world,” he has said in an interview.
Other guests will be announced later.
Presentations of long-awaited Lithuanian authors’ books
The festival will be a great opportunity to get acquainted for the first time with eagerly awaited books by Lithuanian writers. One of them is the new spy novel “Barbarian Invasions” by Mantas Adomėnas. The meeting at “Open books” will be the first presentation of this book in Vilnius.
The festival will also feature the first presentation of Akvilina Cicėnaitė’s new book “Remembering from Within,” which compiles her essays written in the cultural press in recent years, as well as previously unpublished works. Jaunius Petraičio’s debut book “You Have Something” received great attention, and at the “Open books” festival, his new novel “Tunnel Thinking” will be presented.
At the beginning of November, an extraordinary anniversary will be commemorated – Valdas Adamkus will turn 100 years old. The “Open books” festival will pay tribute to this event – during the event, Arnas Ališauskas’s book “Life Under the Sign of Love,” dedicated to the person without whom V. Adamkus’s life path is unimaginable – Alma Adamkienė – will be presented.
The festival will also honor this year’s departed poetry master Aidas Marčėnas with a special event.
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“Open books” will also present other works by Lithuanian writers published in recent years: from non-fiction books to novels. “The festival has always been a guide for people wanting to see what interesting books have been published during the year, and we are not abandoning this idea this year: it is a good opportunity to feel the pulse of book publishing,” says Audrius Ožalas, head of the “Open books” program.
Opening up to another perspective
“Discussions have always been a very important part of ‘Open books.’ We believe that in today’s reality, with increasing polarization, discussions and listening to others’ opinions reduce confrontation, push us out of created social and cultural bubbles,” says A. Ožalas. “This year’s festival pays special attention to discussions. After all, books and conversations about them are an excellent way to hear different perspectives, spread different ideas, and for visitors, it will be a workout for the mind.”
The festival discussions will be based on recently published books, with their authors participating in the conversations. At “Open books,” there will be talks about how we read history anew, what most divides society, discussions on whether there really is a big gap between Vilnius and the rest of Lithuania, the impact of social networks – whether they unite or divide. There will also be discussions about what popular books by priests say about our society, whether this indicates a lack of spirituality or perhaps a search for quick answers. Book lovers have probably noticed that Lithuanian authors are increasingly writing crime novels: thus, the festival will discuss whether we have really learned to solve the Lithuanian detective case?
Visits to publishers and award presentations
During “Open books,” literary awards are traditionally presented. For the fourth time, an award for the beauty of non-fiction literature will be given. This 6000-value “Open books” award has previously been won by Rimantas Kmita, Darius Žiūra, and Viktorija Daujotytė. The jury is currently awaiting candidate proposals.
“Literature is not just prose and poetry. Essays, memoirs, descriptions of academic works and journalistic investigations differ from imaginative artistic creation, but non-fiction books are also valued not only for what they reveal but also for how enjoyable they are to read. The ‘Open Books’ award was established to praise the literary quality of non-fiction works,” says the initiator and patron of this award, businessman Ignas Dilys.
The festival offers unexpected meetings and different perspectives on literature every year. This year, the festival will invite visitors to look inside how publishers operate. Visitors to the publishers will hear from their representatives how books are born, about the often invisible creative process, hear intriguing stories, and be prepared for surprises.
As always, the festival will include other literary meetings, poetry readings, and attendees will be able to engage in interactive activities.
