Vilnius Fellowship 2025 wrapped up

This year we brought new energy to the anniversary Vilnius Book Fair by launching the first-ever Vilnius Fellowship.

We had an excellent group of four publishers specializing in adult fiction from Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland and the UK—people who live and breathe publishing, who talk about books with sparks in their eyes even after many years in the field.

As a modern-day book smuggler, I'm always on the move, so it was refreshing to see more action in my home base, Lithuania. We had two full days to build connections between Lithuanian publishers and the visiting fellows, to showcase our vibrant book fair and the city of Vilnius. We visited publishing houses, shared ideas, engaged in discussions, dined together, and told each other our stories. I believe this kind of exchange is now more important than ever.

The fellowship was organized by the Lithuanian Culture Institute and the Lithuanian Publishers Association (Lietuvos leidėjų asociacija) and coordinated by me and Sigita Pūkienė from Aukso žuvys publishing house. I hope it becomes an annual tradition, and we get to welcome you to Vilnius in the future.