This year’s Debrecen Book Week will be held at a new location, the Aranybika Hotel and the square in front of the building, between June 10 and June 14 under the motto “Open Gate – Open Book”, organizers announced at a press conference held at the Méliusz Juhász Péter Library.
According to library director Béla Lóránt Kovács, the Debrecen Book Week has traditionally served as a “city diplomacy event” as well. This year, the guest city will be Novi Sad.
The traditional Book Street will feature 15 stands on the promenade in front of the historic Aranybika Hotel, while book launches, workshops, and architectural tours will take place inside the building.
Poet Tamás Korpa, curator of the event, said visitors will be introduced to a concentrated selection of literary works from the Novi Sad region and its leading authors.
Among the featured writers from Vojvodina will be Gábor Virág (writing under the pen name Aaron Blumm), Attila Balázs, Ottó Fenyvesi, and poet and playwright Anna Terék.
The honorary literary guest of the event will be László Végel, who will officially open the festival on June 11 at 5 p.m. and participate in a public discussion afterward.
Morning programmes will focus primarily on children, while afternoon and early evening events will target adult audiences. Five winners of the Children’s Book of the Year Award have been invited: Péter Nyulász, Csenge Virág Zalka, Borbála Szabó, Ottó Kiss and Eszter T. Molnár.
A special guest this year will be music historian Ádám Bősze.
The event will also feature the literary debuts of two young authors from Debrecen: Bodza Réka Csizmadia will present her poetry collection Indulat (Impulse), while Adél Horváth will introduce her novel Sok ördögök (Many Devils).
The 97th Debrecen Book Week will conclude on June 14 with the presentation of Illegalists, the latest novel by Kossuth Prize-winning writer and poet András Visky.
Highlights of the programme
- June 10: Architectural tours of the Aranybika Hotel, historical fiction panel discussions, and book launches.
- June 11: Official opening ceremony, discussions with Vojvodina authors, and a world music concert by the Bakos Árpád Trio.
- June 12: Children’s programmes, literary discussions, and presentations by Anna Terék, Ottó Fenyvesi, and Attila Balázs.
- June 13: Debut book launches, literary studies presentations, and events featuring János Szentmártoni and János Géczi.
- June 14: Family programmes, Ádám Bősze’s lecture on Vivaldi, and closing events with Schein Gábor and András Visky.
Author signing highlights
Among the featured signing sessions:
- June 11: Szabó Imola Julianna, Péter Nyulász, Aaron Blumm, and László Végel.
- June 12: Borbála Szabó, Anna Terék, Attila Balázs, and Ottó Fenyvesi.
- June 13: Ottó Kiss, Csenge Virág Zalka, Adél Horváth, János Szentmártoni, János Géczi, and Bodza Réka Csizmadia.
- June 14: Eszter T. Molnár, Ádám Bősze, Gábor Schein, Nóra Lajtos, and András Visky.
All events will take place at the Aranybika Hotel (Piac Street 11–15, Debrecen), while the book fair itself will be held on the promenade in front of the hotel.
You can find the full program in Hungarian here.
