The Joseph Conrad International Literary Festival is now of age, but still rebellious and disobedient – this is our announcement of the 18th edition of the Kraków festival, slated to take place on 19-25 October. We are going to meet Juan Gabriel Vásquez, Rene Karabasz, Szczepan Twardoch, Joanna Ostrowska, Christoph Ransmayr, Sophie Gilbert, Ryszard ‘Peja’ Andrzejewski and Cristina Rivera Garza, as well as many others.

The headline of the 18th Conrad Festival, organised by the City of Kraków, the Krakow Festival Office and the Tygodnik Powszechny Foundation, is Disobedience. ‘Our guests, representing a variety of languages, cultures and perspectives, will talk about how disobedience can be both understood and put into practice,’ says Paulina Frankiewicz, the festival’s Programme Director, emphasising that Joseph Conrad is the perfect patron for such encounters. ‘His characters are kept hostage by the era of advancing globalisation. Their reality is shaped by migration, sharing the world with other peoples, and by the industrial and technological revolution. They have to find their place in a world where the old rules no longer apply and the new ones have not yet been established. A hundred years later, we find ourselves living in a reality in which the existing order is proving just as inadequate. Let us search together for a new literary compass,’ says Frankiewicz, encouraging the audiences.

Albert Camus is going to be a key figure during this year’s festival, which coincides with the 75th anniversary of the release of The Rebel, in which the Algerian-French thinker set out his own philosophy of rebellion. The debate on the seminal essay will feature the writer, translator, and the Nobel Prize winner’s grandson – David Camus; historian Joanna Ostrowska; political scientist Basil Kerski, and Maciej Kałuża – founder of the Polish Albert Camus Association.

One of South America’s most acclaimed writers, translators and journalists – the Colombian Juan Gabriel Vásquez – will also join us in Kraków. His books, which have been translated into more than thirty languages, express dissent and disobedience against politically correct falsehoods and the triumph of conspiracy theories, against the devastation caused by polarisation and the civil war in Colombia and against the way women are treated in a society marred by machismo.

The issue of violence against women will also be touched upon by Cristina Rivera Garza – Mexican writer and professor, who will also join us at the festival. She won the Pulitzer Prize for her book Liliana’s Invincible Summer – her contribution to the fight for justice and preserving the memory of the victims of violence.

Disobedience is a constant theme in Szczepan Twardoch’s prose.His (anti-)heroes are outsiders with ambiguous identities who are forced to make morally difficult choices in times of historical upheaval. During the festival, we will talk about disobedience and rebellion as forms of literary and existential expression, and the things we can learn from his defiant protagonists.

Among the writers representing Anglophone literature, we will meet the UK-born Sophie Gilbert. In her Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves,which caused quite a stir, the author highlights how the excessive expectations placed on women have been exacerbated by the growth of the media and capitalism. Gilbert will discuss these issues with another guest – the Spanish journalist Begoña Gómez Urzaiz, author of the book Las abandonadoras. 

Another important theme raised during the festival is youth – a period in life where one is particularly predisposed to rebellion. This issue will be explored by Rene Karabasz – Bulgarian writer, screenwriter, director and actress. In her novel Before the Pomegranates Ripen – shortlisted for this year’s Booker Prize – she tells the story of a young woman who assumes the role of a man for the rest of her life in order to avoid marrying a boy she does not know under Albanian customary law. We will talk with Karabasz and the Iranian writer Mahsa Mohebali about the need for self-determination, resisting the established norms and the struggle to find one’s own identity.

Hip-hop is a culture of rebellion, built on the foundation of non-conformism, criticising reality, breaking down barriers and calling for equal opportunities. Rappers of all genders talk about identity, emotions and a shared cause in a way that reaches beyond the walls of academia and intellectual circles. That is why some of the leading figures from the Polish hip-hop scene will be attending one of the festival events – we will meet Ryszard ‘Peja’ Andrzejewski and Anna ‘Ryfa Ri’ Wilczkowska.

We have also invited Christoph Ransmayr – a renowned and award-winning Austrian author, whose stories prepare readers for what may well be the most important clash of the desire to be immortal with the reality, in which everything is transient. During the festival, we will talk about meditation on a world that transcends the time we spend in it, and the role of literature in this practice.

‘I am convinced that the rich programme of this year’s edition will meet the diverse needs of our audiences,’ says Carolina Pietyra, the festival’s executive director and the head of the Krakow Festival Office. ‘We are set to meet Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk to discuss her latest book, as well as Nathacha Appanah, winner of the Goncourts' List: Polish Choice Prize. What is more, Didier Eribon is coming back to Kraków to talk about friendship, alongside Geoffroy de Lagasnerie and Édouard Louis. This year’s Conrad Festival will also feature meetings with comic book authors – Aurélien Lozes and Nicolas Presl, illustrator and painter Joanna Karpowicz, and with one of Poland’s most important visual artists – Zbigniew Libera. This festival is a celebration of rebellious thought that you simply cannot miss!’ Pietyra points out.

The programme also features debates on the Parisian Culture magazine circle, a series of ‘Reading Classes’ workshops and the Conrad Award Gala. The remaining festival events, including the Book Congress, children’s workshop, a film stream, meetings in independent bookshops and the Word2Picture programme bringing together the publishing and audiovisual industries, will be announced in September. The meetings will be hosted on the MOS Stage of the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Kraków, at the Potocki Palace and other festival venues.

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A film stream, exhibitions, fifteen discussions in cosy bookstores, workshops and literary walks—the programme of Kraków’s literary festival now features also all of these events. Another crucial aspect of the Conrad Festival are the debates held as part of the Book Congress and Word2Picture series. The overarching theme is the idea of disobedience that brings it all together.

‘The Conrad Festival will take place from 19 to 25 October in Kraków. Its main programme features meetings with many distinguished writers, including Olga Tokarczuk, Nathacha Appanah, Szczepan Twardoch, Juan Gabriel Vásquez, Jacek Dukaj and Becca Rothfeld. However, that is not all and we have more in store—we have just announced the next streams and series. Film screenings, youth workshops, industry meetings, debates held in various venues across Kraków… all this will come together to form a multifaceted and fascinating story about disobedience,’ says Carolina Pietyra, Executive Director of the Conrad Festival and Director of the Krakow Festival Office, which organises the event in collaboration with the City of Kraków and the Tygodnik Powszechny Foundation. ‘I am convinced that our readers will be able to find their own paths through the festival and the diverse range of events we are offering, to explore this year’s theme together, yet each in their own way. As always, we will be guided by literature from all corners of the world,’ adds Paulina Frankiewicz, Programme Director of the Conrad Festival.

Conrad in Bookstores
One of the key facets of the festival programme is the extensive range of events held in cosy bookstores. This year, we are going to meet Anna Cieplak, Paulina Goch-Kenawy, Mateusz Górniak, Ryszard Koziołek, Zu Witkowska and Barbara Woźniak. We have also planned events revolving around comic books, including a meeting with writer and game designer Paweł Kicman, and an exhibition entitled The Silent Cry of a Rebel, featuring drawings by the French artist Nicolas Presl. The Conrad in Bookstores programme also features discussions on the works of Janina Katz and Miljenko Jergović, a workshop focused on Exercises in Disobedience, and a literary walk around Nowa Huta.

Events for youth
The 18th edition marks the Conrad Festival’s coming of age; however, the organisers made sure to include events for attendees under 18. The Children’s Stream features meetings with Pija Lindenbaum, Sylwia Chutnik and Agnieszka Misiak. The organisers are also extending an invitation to take part in workshops exploring protest, breaking the rules and coping with difficult emotions. All events are aimed at different age groups ranging from 3 to 12 years old. We have also prepared an offer for youth on the verge of adulthood. The Youth Stream features workshops with Joanna Ostrowska and the Reading Lessons. Both programmes share the same objectives: developing critical thinking and finding ways of expressing dissent.

From words to images
The Conrad Festival is not only about literature itself. The Word2Picture stream offers many opportunities for discussions concerning various areas of culture that make use of both words and images. The programme features events open to everyone: a debate on adaptations of literary classics and a discussion about the new trends in the world of TV series. These open events are complemented with expert workshops for illustrators, game developers, animators and screenwriters. The Word2Picture stream and the Adaptation Zone, organised by the International Book Fair in Krakow (a partner of the Conrad Festival), will offer a comprehensive programme aimed at representatives of the creative industries and the general public, showcasing the various ways in which literature, film and other forms of storytelling intersect.

As is our annual tradition, we joined forces with the Pod Baranami Cinema to offer the Film Stream during the Conrad Festival. From 19 to 23 October, you will have an opportunity to watch five poignant films exploring the theme of disobedience in their own way in Kraków’s Main Market Square. These include: L’Etranger (2025, directed by François Ozon)—a famous adaptation of Albert Camus’s classic novel; Return to Reims (2024, directed by Katarzyna Kalwat)—a Television Theatre production tackling the issue of social mobility, inspired by Didier Eribon’s book; Persepolis (2007, directed by Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud)—an animated coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution; Thelma & Louise (1991, directed by Ridley Scott—a cult classic about social oppression, freedom and friendship; and Sarajevo Safari (2022, directed by Miran Zupanič)—a moving documentary about the war in the former Yugoslavia.

Book Congress
A regular feature of the festival is a series of events focusing on the book market, aimed at industry professionals and general audiences. During this year’s Book Congress, you can attend discussions on children’s literature and translation, as well as events featuring writers taking part in the CELA (Connecting Emerging Literary Artists) programme. What is more, industry representatives will have the opportunity to take part in sessions focusing on the work of literary prize juries, the future of literature houses around the world, and the Kraków Convention, which promotes good publishing practices.

Even more Conrad
‘This year we are also inviting the festival-goers to explore Conrad Contexts for the first time in the festival’s history. The Contexts comprise a series of events and activities focused on exploring the festival’s theme from various perspectives. The Conrad Contexts focus on offering new ways of engaging and entering into dialogue with the festival’s partners, who share their own understanding of disobedience,’ says Barbara Balmas, manager of the Conrad Festival and head of the Literary Department at the Krakow Festival Office. The programme features a discussion on disobedience in culture, a walk in the footsteps of Kraków’s rebels, a workshop on the relationship between humans and robots, and a guided tour of the exhibition Guanaquerx—the Emancipation of Technology. The organisers are also planning the releases of the graphic biography Ja, Gombrowicz, as well as an exhibition by Joanna Karpowicz, painter and illustrator known for her series of works featuring Anubis. In addition, visitors will have an opportunity to see the installation Voices of Disobedience, which was built as part of the UNESCO Cities of Literature programme.

The events will take place at numerous venues across the city, including the Potocki Palace, the Design Pharmacy, the Pod Baranami Cinema, the Hevre Café and Kraków’s intimate bookstores. Admission to many of the events is free of charge. Attending workshops requires signing up in advance by e-mail. Tickets for the film screenings are distributed by the Pod Baranami Cinema. For more information, visit the Festival’s website.