CHILL Festival to host transborder literary network in Chișinău

The CHILL – Chișinău Literary Laboratory festival is scheduled to take place in Chișinău from September 17 to 24, 2026. The event aims to serve as a space for contemporary literature and cultural dialogue between East and West.

In a strategic move to create a transborder literary network, the CHILL festival will act as an umbrella for both the International Literature Festival Odesa (ILO) and FILIT Chișinău. Organizers stated that this partnership serves as an instrument for European dialogue and a form of solidarity against the fragmentation caused by war and political borders. For the ILO, the 2026 edition will mark its fourth time being held in exile, following previous iterations in Batumi, Bucharest, and Krakow.

The festival will feature an inaugural speech by Polish poet and essayist Tadeusz Dąbrowski. The program includes readings, book launches, debates, and film screenings, featuring international guests such as Andrei Kurkov, Sergey Loznitsa, and José Luís Peixoto, alongside representatives from Moldova and Romania.