For three days in late March, Athens will become the “heart” of Literature, as the City of Athens hosts the 1st Athens International Literature Festival (AILF).

From March 27 to 29, at Technopolis City of Athens, with free admission and the participation of writers from across the globe, the Festival will present a rich program of discussions focused on major issues of our time.

“The Athens International Literature Festival brings different voices, experiences, and concerns to the same table, highlighting Literature as a living tool of understanding and social intervention,” says Haris Doukas, Mayor of Athens. He adds:

“For three days, Technopolis becomes a meeting point for leading writers, journalists, activists, academics, artists, and curious readers from Greece and abroad. We present a rich program of discussions and activities—from contemporary prose and the relationship between literature and politics, to gender issues, violence and social inequalities, the future of reading, and literature’s dialogue with cinema. The Festival also includes masterclasses and open meetings with creators. All with free admission. We want literature to leave the shelves and meet society.”

Major International Voices at the Center

At the heart of the Festival are discussions highlighting the overall work of leading international authors and the themes running through their writing.

László Krasznahorkai, Nobel laureate 2025, will be in conversation with Merve Emre of The New Yorker, discussing violence, decay, political anxiety, and the awakening power of his writing—posing questions about literature as an act of resistance and vigilance in a world in crisis.

Booker Prize 2025 winner David Szalay will talk with author Sofia Nikolaidou about the relationship between writing and gender, drawing on his novel Flesh and his broader body of work, touching on identity, power, and social experience.

Booker Prize–winning Irish author Paul Lynch will be joined by writer Nikos Mantis to discuss the creative process, the “Irish boom,” contemporary prose, and the challenges of the age of artificial intelligence and global upheaval. Irish writer Kevin Barry will meet author and translator Christos Asteriou in a conversation about unconventional heroes, language, and narrative choices, starting from his novels Night Boat to Tangier and Heart in Winter.

One of America’s most important contemporary novelists, Nicole Krauss, in dialogue with writer and translator Lefteris Kalospyros, will analyze her complex narrative mechanisms, questions of identity, and the multiple influences shaping her work.

Italian author Matteo Nucci, starting from his book The Tears of the Heroes, will speak with writer and archaeology professor Dimitris Plantzos about contemporary uses of the “classical” and how antiquity functions today as a cultural and political tool.

Society, Politics, and the Dark Side of Europe

German author Katharina Volckmer will discuss writing as a space of risk and exposure with poet, publisher, and translator Danae Sioziou.

Argentine writer Selva Almada will meet journalist Tina Mandilaras to discuss the relationship between society and writing, memory, gender-based violence, and social dead ends—highlighting how the local becomes a global literary experience.

French former international footballer and anti-racism activist Lilian Thuram, on the occasion of his book White Thinking, will speak with Demis Nikolaidis and Loretta Makoulli about racist stereotypes on and off the field, in a panel moderated by Panagiotis Menegos.

A central discussion titled “Is Hope a Mistake? Literature and Politics in Dark Europe” will bring together László Krasznahorkai, German intellectual and war correspondent Carolin Emcke, historian and author Kostis Karpozilos, and Kostis Papaioannou, President of Technopolis and Director of the Observatory on the Study and Confrontation of the Far Right in Greece. The panel will explore how brutality and hatred become normalized, how public discourse shifts, and the limits of literature and political thought in an age of uncertainty.

Gender, Violence, and Literary Voices

Gender issues and how literature engages with them form another core theme. In “It’s Not Murder, It’s Femicide,” Selva Almada, Katharina Volckmer, and Vicky Tselepidi will discuss how gender-based violence is silenced through language and represented in contemporary literature, moderated by Anastasia Grigoriadou.

In “Male, Female, and the Idea of the Literary Character,” Nicole Krauss and David Szalay will talk with Kostas Kaltsas about how male and female voices and identities are constructed in modern prose, how masculinity and vulnerability are portrayed, and what the concept of the “literary character” means today.

Literature Today

The present and future of literature will be examined with a fresh perspective. In “We’re Fine with the Past—But What About the Present and the Future of Literature?”, leading international critics Merve Emre (The New Yorker) and Thomas Meaney (Editor of Granta) will speak with journalist Athos Dimoulas (Kathimerini Magazine K) about literature’s role in an era of fragmented attention and digital distractions.

In “A Thousand Images, a Thousand Words,” prose writers and screenwriters Nikos Panagiotopoulos, Kallia Papadaki, and Panagiotis Evangelidis, together with filmmaker Yannis Economides, will explore where storytelling’s heart beats today and whether prose remains a primary narrative tool or a source of inspiration for film and TV.

Reading clubs will also take center stage in “Reading Clubs: Pillars of Reading Culture,” coordinated by Vivi Georgantopoulou and moderated by Mikela Chartoulari, highlighting the power of collective reading experiences.

The Athens of Writers

The Festival also connects deeply with its host city. “The Athens of Writers” is a recurring thematic unit of AILF, exploring how the city shapes and inspires writers and their characters.

The inaugural edition honors the great “Athens chronicler” Menis Koumandareas, a leading voice of postwar Greek prose. In “Time Is a Little Toy. And Athens Is Everywhere – Menis Koumandareas and the City,” Theodoros Grigoriadis, Eliana Chourmouziadou, Christos Chryssopoulos, and Maria Fakinos revisit his work, where Athens emerges as a living organism rather than a mere backdrop.

Masterclasses & Parallel Events

Two special masterclasses will be held with Paul Lynch and Nicole Krauss, offering participants an inside look at the creative process, storytelling, and the role of language in shaping experience and memory. Participation is limited (details at ailf.gr).

All discussions will take place at Technopolis venues—Gas Holder 1 “Miltiadis Evert” Amphitheater and the Cleaning Tanks—with free admission via entry passes. Sessions will be streamed on-site screens and available with simultaneous interpretation in Greek, English, and sign language.

Book signings will follow each discussion at the Old Ovens, while books and official festival merchandise will be available at the Technopolis Shop and the book café at INNOVATHENS.

The Festival will also feature workshops, screenings, guided tours, and music events to be announced soon—aiming to create an open meeting space in the heart of Athens, where writers, readers, and visitors connect not only through books, but through ideas, experiences, and stories.

A festival aspiring to become a landmark of Athens’ contemporary cultural life—and a celebration of Literature open to all.