26th BOOK FAIR(Y) IN ISTRIA
Pula Festival of Books and Authors

Theme: Where We're at?

4th – 13th June 2021
Knitwear Factory Arena

In contrast to the Festival of Children's Literature – Monte Librić, which was the first public manifestation that was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic in Croatia, in the case of the Pula Festival of Books and Authors, the place in the long line of postponed manifestations was not of much significance. What did matter was that it was completely prepared, adherent to the public health protection measures, and transported to the new locations, such as museum-gallery space Sacred Hearts, which was, for this occasion, transformed into a beautiful bookstore that never saw the day of its opening.

Instead of taking place in the winter, when it usually occurs, and in the House of Croatian Defenders, the 26th Book Fair(y) in Istria took place from the 4th until the 13th of June in the space of the former knitwear factory Arena and Shipyard Pub, whose spacious terrace, that used to be a part of factory premises – served as a central stage for the Fair programs.
The joy that the possibility of gathering after isolation and lockdown gave rise to, the lovely Mediterranean weather, the spirit of the early editions of the Fair that gave a second life to the forgotten and unused yet well-known venues of Pula, along with the appearances of a magnificent poet Petar Gudelj who proclaimed the Fair officially open and great Serbian poet Svetislav Basara, made everybody forget that ill-fated Fair that was supposed to happen half a year ago.

Through rendering poetry its central theme and "Where we're at?“ the overarching question, the Book Fair(y) in Istria not only challenged the credo of the current moment, the so-called new normal but also reminded one of how life used to be and how it will never, as it seemed at that moment, be the same.

The only edition of the Pula Festival of Books and Authors that took place under the umbrellas brought to one's mind the charm of the city that used to be known for its punk and working-class culture. And then, the winter arrived…