The autumn festival "Book Country. Mysterious", scheduled for September 17-20, has been postponed to the spring due to safety risks and the need to preserve the festival as a strong event in the future, reported Yevhen Mushkyn, Director General of the National Complex "Expo Center of Ukraine", in a Facebook post.
According to Mushkyn, the decision to postpone was made after the organizers re-weighed all circumstances, including public safety, the expectations of tens of thousands of visitors, the ability of publishers and bookstores to earn funds during a difficult period for the book industry, as well as responsibility to partners and teams.
He emphasized that the reputation of the festival and the opportunity to keep "Book Country" strong and continue it in the future were also taken into account when making the decision.
"I am very sorry that on September 17-20 we will not meet at the festival. But ‘Book Country’ is more than a four-day event. It is books. The people who write, publish, sell, and read them. And the community that has grown around them," wrote the Director General of the Expo Center of Ukraine.
Mushkyn also appealed to people who planned to visit the festival on those days with a call to support the book industry – to buy a book or several books in a bookstore or online.
"Support a publishing house, a bookstore, an author. Tell your friends about your purchase," he urged.
According to him, in this way, September 17-20 can still remain days dedicated to books.
