Belgrade International Book Fair opens with Tunisia as guest of honor

The 69th Belgrade International Book Fair officially opened on October 23, 2026, running through October 31 under the slogan “Words Build the World.” The event features approximately 300 direct exhibitors and nearly 700 participants including indirect exhibitors. Tunisia is the guest of honor this year, marking 70 years of diplomatic relations between Tunisia and Serbia.

While the fair includes participants from 14 other countries, including Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Republika Srpska), Montenegro, Greece, Georgia, Croatia, Italy, Iran, Morocco, Germany, Romania, Russia, and Slovakia, the event faces internal controversy. Several leading Serbian publishing houses are boycotting the fair, citing unfavorable participation conditions and a lack of representation in the organizing committee. Critics have described the current state of the fair as a “mirage” due to the absence of major domestic publishers and significant Serbian-language titles.

Special guest Lordan Zafranović is scheduled to attend, and the program includes various cultural presentations, including a monograph on the International Actor Festival. The fair is hosted at the Belgrade Fairgrounds, with different halls dedicated to domestic publishers, international pavilions, and religious or academic literature.