One of Ukraine’s largest book festivals postponed amid security concerns and ongoing Russian attacks

Knyzhkova Kraina, a major Ukrainian literary event, will not take place in Kyiv this September. Organizers postponed the four-day event until April 2027, citing the security situation in the Ukrainian capital amid continued Russian attacks.

The postponement comes as Kyiv tightens restrictions on public events amid a deteriorating security situation. From Sept. 10, entertainment and sports events held outdoors or at venues without shelters will be temporarily banned in the capital. The measure was approved by the Kyiv Defense Council.

The Lviv BookForum, however, is still set to take place from Sept. 10–13. Held since 1994, it is one of Ukraine’s longest-running book fairs and a major international literary festival.

The festival, titled “Knyzhkova Kraina. Zahadkova” (“Book Country. Mysterious”), had been scheduled for Sept. 17–20.

“We were really looking forward to this meeting. We were preparing the program, a large book fair, new activities, and surprises,” organizers wrote, adding that the team had worked on the festival every day and hoped until the last moment that visitors would still be able to gather for this event.

Organizers said the additional time would allow publishers to recover from recent attacks and prepare new books, authors to finish manuscripts, and printing houses to produce new print runs. The festival team said it would use the pause to make the next edition larger and richer in content.

The postponement came after several publishers had already withdrawn from the September festival. As of Aug. 31, KSD, Moia Knyzhkova Polytsia, Vovkulaka, Mamino, Fabula, Varvar publishing and KnyhoLand had canceled their participation. At that stage, more than 100 publishers, bookstores, and independent authors were still expected to attend, with more than 400 events planned.

Festival director Alla Rybitska told Chytomo that participants had withdrawn for different reasons, but most were linked to the consequences of Russian attacks, particularly the destruction of book stocks they had planned to bring to the festival. KnyhoLand cited losses from the Russian strike on its warehouse in Kharkiv, while KSD said it was withdrawing because of the worsening security situation in Kyiv and its responsibility toward employees, authors, partners, and readers.

The decision follows a particularly destructive summer for Ukraine’s publishing industry.

On Aug. 28, a Russian drone struck warehouses storing books belonging to dozens of Ukrainian publishers and bookstores. Vivat’s Kyiv warehouse burned down, including new releases and books by Ukrainian authors that had been prepared for Knyzhkova Kraina. Vivat CEO Yuliya Orlova said at the time that the publisher’s participation in the festival had become uncertain.

The same attack affected books belonging to Readeat, Book.ua, Osnovy, Nash Format, A-ba-ba-ha-la-ma-ha, Laboratoria, Creative Women Publishing, IPIO, Markobook, Hto tse? Publishing, and others. Some publishers reported losing most or all of the stock they had stored at the affected facilities.

Earlier in August, a Russian attack on Kyiv damaged the offices and warehouses of Nash Format and Laboratoria, while Petrivka, one of Ukraine’s largest book markets, suffered extensive fire damage.

July attacks had already caused major losses. A Russian strike on July 2 destroyed around 800,000 BookChef books. Overall, Russian attacks destroyed nearly 1 million BookChef books over the summer. Another attack overnight on July 18–19 destroyed or damaged around 850,000 books and devastated the Konvi printing facility, a #knygolove warehouse, and other publishing infrastructure.

On Aug. 1, a Russian attack caused a large fire at RNK-Ranok’s logistics center in Kharkiv, destroying around 8 million copies, including approximately 600,000 school textbooks. By Aug. 19, more than 1.1 million school textbooks intended for 2026 had been destroyed in Russian attacks on Ukrainian publishers and printing facilities.

Knyzhkova Kraina has become one of Ukraine’s largest literary gatherings since its launch in 2024. Its spring 2026 edition attracted 71,465 visitors, while more than 85,000 books were sold. The festival also collected 1,580 books for Ukrainian service members and more than 400 for rural libraries.

The September edition would have been the festival’s sixth. Organizers initially intended to proceed despite participant withdrawals and had prepared shelter capacity for around 4,000 people, roughly matching the expected number of people present at peak times. The postponement was announced the following day.

The next Knyzhkova Kraina is scheduled for April 2027.

As reported earlier, Ukraine’s Culture Ministry has announced measures to support the publishing industry following the recent attacks, including plans to restore state-funded library acquisitions, introduce rapid grants for small publishers, and develop war-risk insurance for finished print runs.

Nova Poshta, a major Ukrainian postal and logistics company whose fulfillment facilities were among those affected in the Aug. 28 attack, also said it would compensate publishers and bookstores for destroyed stock and develop mechanisms to help restore lost books and print new runs.

Chytomo has also launched its “Reading to Endure” campaign, highlighting books that remain available from publishers affected by Russian attacks and encouraging readers to support them through purchases.

Main image: Knyzhkova Kraina