The Ukrainian Program at the 2026 Leipzig Book Fair
Foto: Vira Dumke
From March 19 to 22, the Leipzig Book Fair will take place in Germany. As part of the Ukrainian program, more than 20 events are planned in total, including 11 organized by the Ukrainian Institute and its representative office in Germany together with partners. The events will be held on the fair’s stages at the Ukrainian stand (Hall 4, D311) and at the Polish Institute in Leipzig.
When:
March 19–22, 2026
Where:
Leipzig Exhibition Grounds, Hall 4, Stand D311; Polish Institute Leipzig
Admission:
New Releases & Featured Authors
The program includes the English-language edition of Yevhenia Kusnetsova’s ‘Cooking in Sorrow. A Manual for Interacting with Ukrainians and Food,’ a witty and incisive exploration of Ukrainian identity, as well as Natalka Sniadanko’s ‘The Empress’ First Investigation,’ a novel that combines historical crime suspense with political subtext. It also features the German translation of Serhy Yekelchyk’s book on the Ukrainian experience of the Second World War and Anatoli Kusnezow’s ‘Babyn Jar,’ which addresses the Babyn Jar massacre and the enduring impact of historical violence in Ukraine today.
Among the key speakers on the Ukrainian stage are:
• Tamara Hundorowa (literary scholar)
• Jewhenija Kusnezowa (writer, researcher)
• Serhy Yekelchyk (historian)
• Natalka Sniadanko (writer, journalist)
Below you will find individual program items co-organized by the Ukrainian Institute in Germany.
March 19
12:00–12:50 p.m., Hall 4, Stand D311
‘Small Stories That Shape Major Events. When Does It Become Dangerous?’ Panel discussion. Participants: Yevhenia Kusnetsova (Ukraine), Michal Hvorecký (Slovakia).
3:15–4:15 p.m., Hall 4, Stand D311
Official opening of the Ukrainian stand. Participants: representatives of the Leipzig Book Fair, the German Federal Government, the City of Leipzig, and the organizers of the Ukrainian program.
4:30–5:30 p.m., Hall 4, Stand D311
Getting to Know Ukrainians Through Humor. Presentation of the book Cooking in Sorrow. A Manual for Interacting with Ukrainians and Food. Participants: Yevhenia Kusnetsova, Gulliver Cragg. Moderated by Dr. Kateryna Rietz-Rakul.
March 20
10:30–11:00 a.m., Hall 4, Booth D311
Common Myths About Language in Ukraine: What Is True and What Is Not? A conversation with writer and researcher Yevhenia Kusnetsova.
1:00–1:50 p.m., Hall 4, Booth D311
Ukrainian Feminist Literature: Voices, Texts, and Trends. Panel discussion with Tamara Hundorowa, Natalka Sniadanko, and Roksolana Sviato.
8:00–10:00 p.m., Polish Institute in Leipzig
Crime Night in the Format Weimar Triangle Plus: Ukraine. Reading with Natalka Sniadanko (Ukraine), Lucie Rico (France), Sophie Sumburane (Germany), and Maciej Siembieda (Poland).
March 21
12:00–12:50 p.m., Hall 4, Booth D311
“Ukrainian Library”: A conversation on the contemporary relevance of Ukrainian classical literature with Tamara Hundorowa and Claudia Dathe. Moderated by Kateryna Stetsevych.
3:00–3:50 p.m., Hall 4, Booth D311
Overlooked Entanglements: German-Ukrainian History. Panel discussion with Serhy Yekelchyk and Martin Schulze Wessel. Moderated by Gwendolyn Sasse.
5:00–5:50 p.m., Hall 4, Booth D311
Presentation of the book Babyn Jar by Anatoli Kusnezow. Participants: Christiane Körner and Serhy Yekelchyk. Moderated by Kateryna Mishchenko.
March 22
2:00–3:00 p.m., Polish Institute in Leipzig
Staged readings of the collection of contemporary Ukrainian drama Ukrainian Horizons in German translation. Participants: Kateryna Molchanova, Sebastian Anton.
3:00–4:00 p.m., Café Europa (Hall 4, E401)
Presentation of the book The Ukrainian Experience of the Second World War. Participants: Serhy Yekelchyk and Marko Martin.
Partners
The Ukrainian program is organized by the Ukrainian Book Institute, the Goethe-Institut Ukraine and House of Europe programme, the Ukrainian Institute, the Ukrainian Institute in Germany, Mystetskyj Arsenal, and the Federal Agency for Civic Education, in cooperation with international partners. The Ukrainian stand was made possible through funding from the Commissioner of the Federal Government for Culture and the Media, as well as support from the City of Leipzig, NUMO, and the Federal Foreign Office.