The uniqueness of this year’s edition of the Conrad Festival is evidenced by the choice group of guests from all over the world. It is also recognised by the audience because of the multitude and variety of topics discussed. Due to the unpredictable pandemic situation in the world, this year for the first time in history we will connect online with the authors and guests of the main event programme. We will meet with Sigrid Nunez, Marek Bieńczyk, Roy Jacobsen, Karl-Markus Gauss, Magdalena Tulli and Elif Shafak, among others.
The motto of this year’s festival is “The Visible and the Invisible”. Together with our guests, we will reflect on the ways in which literature names and introduces selected phenomena into society, while leaving others unnamed (or invisible).
From 19 to 25 October, we will host writers from all over the world on the channels of the Conrad Festival. The organisers will connect with Norway, Belgium, the United States, Czechia, France, Turkey, Ireland, Iceland, Russia and Austria. Every day of the festival, a virtual meeting with one Polish writer and two writers from abroad is planned.
On the last day of the festival, we will meet the winner of the Conrad Award, which has been handed out since 2015. The statuette, in the form of a characteristic telescope, goes to the author of the best prose debut every year. The Conrad Award is a part of the programme for supporting debuts in Krakow – UNESCO City of Literature, a joint venture of the City of Krakow, the Krakow Festival Office, the Book Institute and the Tygodnik Powszechny Foundation.
The Conrad Festival is organised by the City of Krakow, the Krakow Festival Office and the Tygodnik Powszechny Foundation.
22.10 - 4 p.m. Kevin Barry
24.10 - 8 p.m. Elif Shafak
25.10 - 2 p.m. Emilie Pine
25.10 - 6 p.m. Ian Bostridge
British Council is a Partner of the Festival.