October 16–18, 2026: PRADMOVA Festival in Vilnius (program)
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The main events of the festival will be held at the House of National Communities at Raugyklos g. 25.
The festival’s children’s events will be held on the basis of the project “Belarusian School in Vilnius” (Vilniaus, 20).
General partners of the PRADMOVA 2026 festival in Vilnius are The German Marshall Fund of The United States and EuroBelarus. Co-organizer: Vilniaus m. baltarusių klubas „Siabryna“ (Vilnius City Belarusian Club “Siabryna” ) .
Co-organizers of the children’s program: Association of Belarusian Parents in Lithuania , Vilnius Belarusian Museum named after Ivan Luckevich , Belarusian School in Vilnius .
General information partner: Bellit.info. Information partners: Reform.news , “Litradio” .
The book fair will be located at the Tautinių bendrijų namai (House of National Communities) at Raugyklos g. 25. The following publishers will be represented there: Gutenberg, RozUm Media, Kamunikat, “Mėne Nyamė”, “Połackie Labyrinths”, “Pflaumbaum”, “Logvinau”, Vesna, hochroth Minsk, “Janushkevich”, Skaryna Press, Stembridge.
Admission to all festival events is free.
Friday, October 16, 2026
Tautinių bendrijų namai (House of National Communities) , Raugyklos g. 25.
18.00-18.15 – Grand opening of the festival.
18.15-19.00 – 18.15-19.00 – Discussion on the occasion of the publication of the book “Cods are flying. Children of special settlers: Belarus-Kotlas-Belarus” (Vilnius, 2026). Participants: Iryna Romanova, Tsikhan Charnyakevich. 19.00-20.00 – Discussion “How to be Europe?” Belarus is also Europe, its center is near Polotsk. But in the European Union, Belarusians still feel like they are not their own. We are reluctant to get in touch: get off us, we will suffer ours here. International projects are a rare exception, translations are only on holidays. How to be Europe? How to speak so that others can hear you? How to get in touch with holders of interesting passports from EU countries? And are they interested in us? Participants: Alena Glukhova, Dmitry Strotsev. Moderator: Sergei Shupa.
8:10 PM – 9:00 PM – Musical performance by Fantastic Swimmers.
Saturday, October 17, 2026
Tautinių bendrijų namai (House of National Communities) , Raugyklos g. 25.
10.30-11.10 – Vyachka Krasulin . Offline trepanation of the poet’s creative personality. Presentation of the collection of poems “Through Nothing to Nowhere”.
A conversation about poetry, the creative process, inner freedom and how a poem is born. Without pre-prepared answers – just a sincere conversation about literature, life, doubts, inspiration and everything that happens “under the poet’s skull”. Other characters will also be present, who will add atmosphere to the adult matinee. 11.10-11.55 – Presentation of the publication of the Theater and Drama Studies Workshop of the Department of Belarusian Studies on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Workshop and the 70th anniversary of the Department of Belarusian Studies of the University of Warsaw. Participant: Andrei Maskvin . 11.55-12.35 – Author’s meeting with Sergei Kalend . Presentation of the new book “Mr. Prose”. 12.35-13.35 – Public presentation of the study “History of Retail Trade in Belarus: In 3 vols. Vol. 3. Retail Trade in Soviet and Post-Soviet Societies of Belarus. From 1921 to the End of the 20th Century” (VESNA Publishing House, Prague, 2026). Participants: Iryna Romanova, Iryna Makhovskaya . Moderator: Sergei Shupa .
13.35-14.15 – Presentation of the book of translations of the Lithuanian poet Vytautas Machernis “I recognized the king in you”. Participants: translator Wanda Martinš duš Reiš , editors Alma Lapinskiene, Siaržuk Gavrilenko . 14.15-15.15 – Lecture-dialogue by Andrei Ezerin “The Gravity of a Foreign Homeland” .
15.15-16.00 – Discussion “ Chagall Style: Metaphor, Poetry and Gatehouses”
Marc Chagall’s poetics grew out of Vitebsk courtyards and gatehouses, from the everyday life of Belarusian Jews. Through self-reconstruction and reassembly of images, this everyday world was embodied in a tortuous metaphor. The magical world of dysfunctional youth: here cows not only fly. Participants: Sergei Shupa, Timur Kudzelich. 16.00-16.45 – A new dimension of Belarusianness. Presentation of the translation of the novel by Elena Glukhova . Bellit is even written in French. The domestic reader requires a translator, otherwise it cannot be read. A nation abroad – is this our path now? One of them, for sure. At the presentation of the translation of the novel “Our Shining Bodies”, the author will talk about the book, European literature, and how and why she writes in French.
16:45-17:30 – “Lawyer Stories” – a conversation about law and lawlessness through the personal stories of people who continued to defend others.
With the participation of lawyers: Dzmitry Lepretor, Natallia Matskevich, Tatyana Lishankova, Maksim Znak . Moderator: Adaria Gushtyn .
17.30-18.15 – Discussion “Translating Sartre: “Existentialism from Sartre to Bykov” . Participants: translator Vladislav Horbatsky , historian Tatiana Astrouskaya , publisher Igor Ivanov .
18.15-19.15 – Panel discussion “Incommunicada. The Man Who Is Not There” . Participants: Natallia Matskevich, Maksim Znak, Ina Karney . Moderators: Pavel Lyagchylov, Tatyana Nyadbay.
19.15-20.00 – Presentation of Yugasya Kolyada’s new book “A Journey by Elevator” . Participants: Yugasya Kolyada,moderator Vladislav Horbatsky , publishing house “Pflaumbaum ”.
20:00-20:45 – “ Rock and roll of the late 80s – early 90s : what teenagers in Polesie listened to and played.” Participants: Vladislav Navazhylov (Lesley Knife), Alexei Dzikovitsky. Moderator: Yaroslav Ivanyuk.
21.00 – 21.50 – Musical evening by Maxim Znak . Presentation of the book “Colonists” and answers to questions in songs.
Playground, Vilnius Belarusian Museum named after Ivan Luckevich (Vilniaus, 20)
Curator – Ekaterina Zhamoydina.
10:00-11:00 – “Three… two… one… A BOOK!” How real paper magic is created, from letters to drawings. Secrets of the writing and illustration kitchen at a meeting with author and illustrator, winner of the Auntie Award, Elga Popova.
11:00-12:00 – Fun and sporty: a discussion around the book “Pate Plays Football” by Tim Parvel . Participating are Artsyom Sizintsev and Ekaterina Zhamoydina (ages 6-10).
12:00-13:00 – How does the past become ours? A conversation with the author of the book “Siberian Haiku” Jurga Vileabout how to talk to teenagers about the past so that they want to listen and read for themselves. Moderator – Kateryna Zhamoydzina (age 10+).
13:00-14:00 – Book Bridge: Irish books in Belarusian. Presentation of the project to publish Irish children’s books, implemented with the support of the Embassy of Ireland in Vilnius.
Participants: Irish Ambassador to Lithuania Sedna McHugh ; philosopher, public figure Pavel Barkovsky ; representatives of the Gutenberg publishing house ; translator Andrei Skurko ; representative of the Belarusian Book Institute Alexander Dvoretskaya ; representatives of the Belarusian Parents’ Association Kateryna Zhamoydzina and Vadim Zarankin.
2:00 PM-3:00 PM – Meeting with the author of the book “Tabitha Plymtak and the Edge of the World” Erica McGann and translator Andrei Skurko (ages 8+).
15.00-16.00 – Maria Novaselska . Presentation of the book ” Your Angel” from the series “On the Threshold”.
The author will tell about the story of the birth of the book and the new series “On the Threshold”, read excerpts from fairy tales, and also talk with readers about the meanings revealed through literature for children and adults. The meeting will be complemented by reading texts, illustrations, a musical atmosphere, and an autograph session.
Sunday, October 18, 2026
Tautinių bendrijų namai (House of National Communities) , Raugyklos g. 25.
10.00-11.30 – From your audience to the international reader: how does a Belarusian book go beyond the community?
During the meeting, it is planned to discuss a number of issues: how does a foreign publisher or festival find books; what materials are needed to present a book; how copyright and translations work; how to find international partners; what role do book fairs, especially Frankfurt, festivals, IBBY and professional networks (publishers’ associations, creative unions) play; why a particular book may be interesting to a foreign reader. Organizer: Goethe-Institut within the EU4Culture II programme.
11.30-12.00 Presentation of the book “Fainting” by Vladislav Navazhilov (Lesley Knife).
12.00-12.45 – Discussion “Science is accessible to all” with game elements. Presentation of the magazine Pamyłka . Participants: Darya Manyuk, V. Korsak, Sim, Darya Roskach.
12:45-1:45 p.m. – Presentation of the Belarusian translation of Byung-Cheol Han’s book “The Spirit of Hope.”
How to live, not survive, in times of trials: a conversation about hope and the future. Participants: Belarusian Orthodox priest and public figure Alexander Kukhta, psychologist and cognitive behavioral therapist Kateryna Karpovich, translator of the book. Alexander Logvinova.
13:45-14:30 – Discussion “Tear and Stone. Poems Nailed to the Pages of Life .” Moderated by publisher Dmitry Strotsev.
14.30-15.15 – “Alien Homeland: Belarusian Theater in Emigration. Through the Pages of Nastasya Pankratova’s Book “(Not) Crossed Out: Belarusian Theater 2015–2025”.
The publisher Igor Ivanov (Skaryna Press) and the author of the book, theater critic Anastasia Pankratova , will participate.
15.15-16.00 – “Belarus in a Crooked Mirror: Poems of Late Lukashism”.
The presentation of Zmitser Dziadzenka’s book “So that the pigeons don’t get mad” will take place in the format of a conversation and the author’s guitar performance. Participants are Zmitser Dziadzenka , publisher Yaraslau Ivanyuk .
16:00-16:45 – Discussion “Why is “Fahrenheit 451” important for Belarusians ?” Participants: Sergei Shupa, Andrei Yanushkevich.
16.45-17.30 – Discussion “Post-disaster writing: dead end or perspective?”
Literature does not end after a catastrophe, even though it seems that writing is no longer possible. Maybe this is a chance to return from the world of imaginary concepts and speak directly? Let’s throw away the lullabies – now we write seriously? And what, “as before” will definitely not work out? Participants: Maksim Zhbankou, Yulia Artsyomova.
17:30-18:15 – Lecture “Folk Worldview in the Modern World” and presentation of the Pentateuch “Traditional World Order of Belarusians”.
18.15-19.15 – Discussion about the book by Sergei Dubavets “Collection of Creators” . Participants: Sergei Dubavets, Sergei Kharevski . Moderator: Sergei Shupa .
19.15-20.15 – Discussion about the book “Scream at the Dump” by Maxim “Dali” Kryvtsov . Participants: publisher Dmitry Strotsev , translator Olga Franko (online) .
