Sopot by the Book

This year’s seventh edition of the “Sopot by the Book”, organized by the Municipal Public Library in Sopot and the City of Sopot, will take place on 16-19 August. Each year organizers select one country, which literature becomes the leading theme of the Festival. This year, readers will have a chance to delve into the literature and culture of French.

For four days, the town becomes a real literary resort and meetings with authors are held in the most beautiful venues. Sopot is a literary city where people can meet, create and explore literature.

The festival offers numerous meet the author sessions, debates, workshops, screenings of films inspired by literature, book fairs, concert, as well as an outdoor reading room and events where literature meets other fields of art.

The first edition of the festival was dedicated to Polish reportage; the second to Scandinavian and Icelandic literature; the main theme of the 2014 edition was Russian literature; the fourth edition was dedicated to Czech literature. In 2016, the festival celebrated Israeli literature. The sixth edition was dedicated to Spanish literature. Sopot has so far been visited by Asa Lind, Christer Mjaaset, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, Moni Nilsson, Vladimir Sorokin, Jelena Chizhova, Ivan Vyrypayev, Alexandra Marinina, Petra Hůlová, Jaroslav Rudiš, Jiri Menzel, Petr Zelenka, David Grossman, Etgar Keret, Rutu Modan, Shira Geffen, Javier Cercas, Almudena Grandes, Claudia Piñeiro, Ed Vulliamy and many others.

Each edition of the “Sopot by the Book” gives an opportunity not just to explore national literatures, but also to participate in a book fair, workshops, film screenings, theatrical events. Among other of Festival’s entertainments, there are also a relaxation zone on the Cultural Beach, an open air reading zone, and a series of meetings with nominees and laureates of the Nike Award and the Ryszard Kapuściński Award for literary reportage.

The lineup does not lack options for younger readers, who are offered to take part in i.a. family workshops and meetings with popular authors, organized within the Literary for Children and the Literary for Youth series.

"Sopot by the Book" was the winner of ‘Kulturalny Sztorm Roku 2012’ [Cultural Storm of the Year 2012] - a poll organised by a daily newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza Trójmiasto; and in 2016 the Festival won a poll by Polish Radio Three in the ‘Event’ category as voted by the listeners.

The Festival is a non-profit event and the participation is free.