The International Book Festival ‘Green Wave’ is an annual meeting point for Ukrainian and foreign publishers, book distributors, authors, critics and readers – a massive book fest.
Areas of focus: book publishing and book distribution, modern literature, popularisation of reading, international cultural contacts, art, cultural education.
The Festival has been held in Odessa since 1996, and includes a book market, international program of online and offline events and special projects.
Festival Participants: publishing houses, bookselling enterprises, educational and cultural institutions; authors, critics, publishers, editors, artists, cultural luminaries.
Festival Attendees: mass audience, representatives of culture, art, education and creative industries; media community.
The prominent critics, editors, journalists, publishers, famous writers and poets, in particular: Barry Cunningham, first publisher of ‘Harry Potter’ (Great Britain); Paul Muldoon, poet, Pulitzer laureate (USA); writer Charlotte Kerner (Germany); writer Andrea Pau (Italy), illustrator Sarah Mazzetti (Italy), poet Vasyl Makhno (USA), Ukrainian writers Andrii Kurkov, Khrystyna Vengryniuk, Mariana Savka, Larysa Denysenko, Marianna Goncharova, and many others were guests of the festival in 2018-2019.
In 2018, over 10 thousand people attended ‘Green Wave’. The festival had 7 locations. There were 72 events for adults and children. The special program ‘Boundaries of Literature’ comprised 18 events and 40 speakers.
In 2019, about 12 thousand people attended the festival. The literature for children and teenagers was a focus of attention. 5 locations in the historic centre of Odessa were deployed. There were 80 events held featuring 37 speakers.
In 2020, XXIV International Book Festival ‘Green Wave’ was held offline and online under the sponsorship of the Ukrainian Cultural Fund. From 6th to 9th August, the online agenda comprised 96 festival events held, whereof 44 were for children and teenagers. Roughly, over 12 thousand people attended the book market and all the events of the festival.
The online program was held from August to late October 2020. Due to the financial assistance of the Ukrainian Cultural Fund took it place – the project won a grant in the program ‘Innovative Cultural Product’. Over 60 video-events were arranged in the online program in 9 thematic cycles feat. 68 speakers – Ukrainian and foreign writers, poets, publishers, critics, culture researchers, mass media, cultural managers and readers.
Countries represented by the participants: Ukraine, USA, Israel, Czech Republic, Italy, Slovakia, Kazakhstan, Germany, Great Britain, Scotland, Australia.