History

The Chania Book Festival, an annual literary event dedicated to books and authors, is situated in the city of Chania on the island of Crete. This festivalItIt receives financial support from both local municipal and regional authorities. To date, two successful festivals have already taken place, in both 2022 and 2023, with plans for the third festival to be scheduled from June 26 to June 30, 2024.

Both the first two festivals featured an impressive lineup of approximately 60 events, boasting a total of 100 speakers, across various venues in the historic old Venetian harbor of Chania. The festivals attracted the participation of renowned Greek authors, literary critics, academics and notable foreign literary figures, including luminaries such as Bernardo Atxaga from Spain's Basque Country, Lana Bastašić from Bosnia, Roderick Beaton from the United Kingdom, Rumena Bužarovska from North Macedonia, Maria Caracausi from Italy, Mona Chollet from France-Switzerland, Ian Collins from the United Kingdom, Santiago Gamboa from Colombia, Andrej Kurkow from Ukraine, Daniel Mordzinski from Argentina, Ruth Padel from the United Kingdom, Leonardo Padura from Cuba, Sergio Ramírez from Nicaragua, Bethan Roberts from the United Kingdom, Santiago Roncagliolo from Peru, Michael Llewellyn Smith from the United Kingdom, Ana María Shua from Argentina, and Éric Vuillard from France.

Primary goal of the Chania Book Festival is to establish itself as an international hub for authors and readers alike, offering a vibrant platform for public discussions on literary and societal matters, hosting book presentations, thematic discussions as well as a variety of parallel events, including seminars, concerts, film screenings, storytelling sessions, and theatrical performances.