Find out about the scheduled events of the 22nd TBF. The programme brings together a wide range of events covering contemporary publishing and intellectual production. Book presentations, discussions, tributes and activities for different audiences compose a complete picture of the exhibition. Explore the sections and discover the events that interest you.
Saturday 9 May 2026
14 events
11:00–12:00
11:00–12:00Why Children’s Books are a Serious Business
Vangelis Iliopoulos, President of Greek IBBY, Author, Educator; Panos Christodoulou, Director of the Network for Children's Rights; Vasiliki Nika, Faculty Member, Laboratory Teaching Staff, Department of Primary Education – University of Athens, Translator; Grigoris Abatzoglou, Child Psychiatrist, Professor Emeritus of Child Psychiatry – Aristotle University of Thessaloniki; Elena Pataki, Publisher (Patakis Publications)11:00–12:00Screening: Ballad of the Self-Proclaimed Knight Zhelyazko and the Fire-Breathing Dragon; Dimcho and Viola
12:00–13:00
12:00–13:00Picturebooks in Children’s Literature
12:00–13:00Building Bridges Between Languages – Bulgarian and Greek
13:00–14:00
13:00–14:00Regional Bookstores: Cultural Hubs
Demi Koutsostamati, Little Bookstores; Eleni Provatidou, (To Mati bookshop in Katerini); Panagiotis Ioannidis (Anemos bookshop in Larisa); Evripidis Konstantinidis, (Konstantinidis bookshop in Thessaloniki)
14:00–15:00
14:00–15:00EUPL / European Union Prize for Literature & Translation
14:00–15:00Screening: Short films based on stories by Yordanka Beleva
15:00–16:00
15:00–16:00Sports, Cinema, Music: Gateways to Reading
16:00–17:00
16:00–17:00Buying and selling children’s rights: illustration, copyright, and licensing
16:00–17:00Novels adapted for the big and small screens
17:00–18:00
17:00–18:00Investing in reading; successful reading promotion initiatives by EURead members in Bulgaria, Sweden and Greece
Valentina Stoeva (Reading Foundation, Bulgaria), Lovisa Fhager Logothetis (Bonnier Family Foundation, Sweden), and Ava Chalkiadaki (Diavazontas Megalono, Greece)17:00–18:00What is Ex Libris? – History and Modern Applications – The Book as an Object of Memory and Personal Identity
Angeliki Bozou, Artist & Illustrator; Eleni Tsaldiri, Artist & Author; Lela Stroutsi, Illustrator & Author, Board Member of Greek IBBY
18:00–19:00
18:00–19:00Book Launch of the Greek translation of Ina Vulchanova's novel Crack-up Island
19:00–20:00
19:00–20:00Conversation with the writer Iana Boukova and the Greek poet Pavlina Marvin
Meet the publishing professionals participating in the TBF 2026 Fellowship Programme, coming from across the globe: publishers, editors, rights managers, licensing officers, literary agents, and scouts.
The Thessaloniki International Book Fair (TBF) is organized by the Hellenic Foundation for Books and Culture (HFBC) in collaboration with the TIF-HELEXPO, the Greek publishers and the Municipality of Thessaloniki, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and the Region of Central Macedonia. It is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, as part of the Central Macedonia Regional Operational Programme 2021-2027. TBF is a member of the International Book Fairs Forum and the European Book Fairs Network ALDUS UP.
