17 September 2026, 22:32
The Odessa 2026 International Literary Festival Kicked Off in Moldova
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PHOTO: Odessa City Council
The 11th "Odessa" International Literary Festival has kicked off in Chisinau; this is the fourth time it has been held outside Ukraine due to the war. The event’s program combines appearances by authors in Moldova with online and in-person meetings in Odesa.
This was reported by the Odesa City Council.
The event will feature literary readings, film screenings, workshops, as well as meetings at schools and universities in Chisinau, Balti, and Cahul.
Odessa is presenting a separate online and offline program.
On September 17, students from Gymnasium No. 26 will meet with Galina Vdovichenko, author of the popular children’s series “36.6 Cats.”
On September 18, an online meeting will be organized for students from Odesa universities with Iryna Fingerova, an Odesa native, doctor, and author of the novel “Draft.”
On September 19, meetings with authors will take place in the Greek Hall of the Vasylko Odessa Academic Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater. Yevheniia Genova will present her nonfiction collection “They Chose Ukraine,” and Zoya Kazanzhy will read poetry from her collection “Marta and Other Women.”
On September 20, there will be an online conversation with Andriy Lyubka about his experiences as a writer and military serviceman.
In Chisinau, poetry by Vladislava Ilyinska, Mykhailo Kutsak, and Taya Naidenko will be presented.
A separate part of the program will be the international project “Museum Diary of the War.”
The 11th Odesa International Literary Festival will take place September 17–24 in Chisinau as part of the CHILL Festival—the Chisinau Literary Laboratory.
In previous years, the festival was held in Batumi, Bucharest, and Krakow.
Earlier, as part of the “Port” literary festival in Odesa, Intent journalist Yevgeniya Genova presented the book *They Chose Ukraine* — a nonfiction collection of real stories about young people who, as children, found themselves under Russian occupation or were deported but managed to return to Ukraine.
