About the festival
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This August 2025, join us for the fourteenth edition of Sopot by the Book, where we will showcase the literature and culture of Romania. From 21–24 August, you’ll have the chance to hear from authors in dozens of talks, panels, and events taking place across Sopot. Once again, the heart of the festival will be the Goyki 3 Art Incubator. The first confirmed guests are Tatiana Țîbuleac, an award-winning author from Moldova, and Raluca Nagy, a Romanian anthropologist, writer, and member of the Laconic contemporary literature platform. More guest names will be announced soon, with the full programme for the 14th edition of the festival set to be revealed in June 2025. Sopot by the Book is organised by Goyki 3 Art Incubator and the City of Sopot. The festival was first held in 2012, and each year, the organisers select a different country whose literature takes centre stage. Past editions have featured the Czech Republic, Great Britain, France, Germany, Spanish-speaking countries, Italy, and Ireland. Sopot by the Book also features a number of meetings with Polish authors in regular series, such as (Un)consciousness and Debuts. Literature in all its forms comes to life across Sopot—through talks and debates, theatrical performances, readings, and radio plays under the Theatre by the Book banner, as well as film screenings as part of Film by the Book. The festival also offers hugely popular workshops, including Sopot by the Book for Kids and Sopot by the Book for Young People. Since 2021, the festival has also showcased art through a series of projects set in the park and around the villa at Goyki 3. |
Sopot by the Book is dedicated to promoting literature and reading. It also offers a unique opportunity to meet guests and visitors from different countries, cultures, and perspectives. The festival brings together not only authors whose books have been translated into Polish but also voices that introduce new ways of thinking about the world, their home countries, and the cultural differences that shape them. At its core, the festival creates a safe, sometimes unconventional, but above all, creative space for conversation—one built on the open exchange of ideas. Guests and participants share their knowledge, perspectives, sensitivity, and keen observations, offering new contexts and broadening discussions on topics that are important, complex, and deserving of thoughtful reflection today. Sopot by the Book is a non-profit event with free admission. AWARDS Sopot by the Book has received numerous accolades over the years. In 2012, it won the Kulturalny Sztorm Roku (Cultural Storm of the Year) award in a poll conducted by Gazeta Wyborcza Trójmiasto. In 2016, listeners of Polish Radio Three voted it Event of the Year. The festival’s seventh edition was recognised as the Best Cultural Event of 2018 (Cultural Storm of the Year 2018). In 2019, Sopot by the Book was awarded the prestigious EFFE Label of Excellence, placing it among Europe’s most outstanding and innovative cultural events. In 2020, it won the Supermiasta (Supercities) readers’ poll, organised by the Gazeta Wyborcza daily. |
PREVIOUS EDITIONS
2024 The thirteenth edition of Sopot by the Book focused on literature from Baltic Sea countries. Readers had the chance to meet authors such as Akvilina Cicėnaitė, Adda Djørup, Inga Gaile, Svens Kuzmins, Rosa Liksom, Laura Lindstedt, Dorthe Nors, Alvydas Šlepikas, Pajtim Statovci, Leelo Tungal, and many more. Read more
2023 The twelfth edition of Sopot by the Book was dedicated to German literature and culture, featuring guests such as Zsuzsa Bánk, Erica Fischer, Ulrich Hub, Harald Jähner, Arne Jysch, Antje Rávik Strubel, and Jovana Reisinger. Swedish writer Nina Wähä had the honour of introducing the thirteenth edition of the festival. Read more
2022 During the eleventh edition of Sopot by the Book, readers had the opportunity to meet Irish authors such as Liz Nugent, Louise Nealon, Sebastian Barry, Colum McCann, Lucy Caldwell, Eimear McBride, and Emilie Pine. Read more
2021 Italy was the guest of honour at the tenth edition of Sopot by the Book. Festival attendees had the opportunity to meet and talk with authors such as Donato Carrisi, Helena Janeczek, Antonio Scurati, Domenico Starnone, Antonio Talia, Valeria Parrella, and Nicola Lagioia. This edition also featured a special post-festival online meeting with Joyce Carol Oates. Read more
2020 Canada was the guest of honour at the ninth edition of Sopot by the Book. Due to the pandemic, we connected with Canadian authors online, with guests including Esi Edugyan, Patrick deWitt, David Szalay, Madeleine Thien, and Michael Crummey. This edition also featured a special post-festival online meeting with Margaret Atwood. Read more
2019 The eighth edition of Sopot by the Book focused on British literature, using it as a starting point for discussions on freedom, individual liberties, and women's rights. Guests included Sarah Hall, Daisy Johnson, Sarah Perry, Reni Eddo-Lodge, and Charlotte Gordon. Read more
2018 The seventh edition of Sopot by the Book highlighted French literature and culture, serving as a platform for discussions on contemporary issues with writers from different generations, as well as journalists and thinkers. Notable guests included Alain Mabanckou, Pierre Lemaitre, Édouard Louis, Romain Puértolas, David Camus, and Ingrid Betancourt, who all gathered in Sopot. The eighth edition was introduced with a special event featuring Zadie Smith. Read more
2017 The sixth edition of Sopot by the Book showcased the rich diversity of Spanish-language literature from over 20 countries. Guests included Javier Cercas and Almudena Grandes from Spain, Claudia Piñeiro from Argentina, and Aura Xilonen from Mexico. Read more
2016 The fifth edition of Sopot by the Book focused on Israel and Polish-Jewish relations, topics that continue to spark deep emotions. Among the guests were Shira Geffen, Etgar Keret, Dror A. Mishani, Rutu Modan, Jael Neeman, Dorit Rabinyan, and Rana Tala. Read more
2015 The fourth edition of Sopot by the Book highlighted the literature of our southern neighbours, the Czechs, which enjoys great popularity in Poland. Guests included Petr Blažek, Radka Denemarková, Petra Hůlová, Petr Janyška, Jiří Menzel, Jan Novák, Jaroslav Rudiš, Petr Zelenka, and Michael Žantovský. Read more
2014 The third edition of Sopot by the Book, dedicated to Russian literature, sparked intense discussions and a highly charged atmosphere, drawing significant media attention. Guests included Elena Chizhova, Marina Davidova, Elena Gremina, Alexandra Marinina, Valery Panyushkin, Nina Popova, Yaroslava Pulinovich, Vladimir Sorokin, and Ivan Vyrypaev. Read more
2013 The second edition of Sopot by the Book focused on Scandinavian literature, with a special emphasis on the genres for which it is best known—crime fiction and children's books. Guests included Þórarinn Eldjárn, Inger Frimansson, Lotta Geffenblad, Åsa Lind, Christer Mjåset, Moni Nilsson, Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl, and Yrsa Sigurdardóttir. Read more
2012 The first edition of Sopot by the Book was dedicated to Polish reportage. Guests included Filip Springer, Wojciech Tochman, Jacek Hugo-Bader, Mariusz Szczygieł, Magdalena Grzebałkowska, and Andrzej Stasiuk. Read more