Themes 2022

South Africa, the Climate Crisis, Crimetime and Voices from Ukraine will be the themes of the 2022 Gothenburg Book Fair

The 2022 Gothenburg Book Fair will be permeated by two major themes in addition to the focus on the Climate Crisis. South Africa will once again be Guest of Honour, while Crimetime – Sweden’s biggest crime fiction festival, hosted in conjunction with the Gothenburg Book Fair since 2018 – will be one of the main themes of the Fair for 2022. An additional theme has also been announced – Voices from Ukraine. 2022 will mark the 38th edition of the Book Fair.

South Africa was scheduled to be the theme country and Guest of Honour at the 2020 Gothenburg Book Fair, but this was postponed due to the pandemic. However, Covid permitting, it is now finally time for Sweden’s book lovers to get to know this multifaceted country that has no fewer than eleven official languages. The literature of South Africa and its current social issues will be reflected in seminars, in discussions, on the floor of the Book Fair and in poetic performances. The National Library of South Africa and the South African government’s Department of Sport, Arts and Culture will be the Book Fair’s formal partners. A range of civic organisations, including the Global Square and the Church of Sweden, will be involved in the planning and programming around this theme.

The Climate Crisis has already been announced as one of the themes of this year’s Book Fair, with a fiery programme planned including both a series of seminars and a Climate Stage.

Additionally, Crimetime is to be a third theme of the 2022 Gothenburg Book Fair. Sweden’s biggest crime fiction festival, hosted in conjunction with the Gothenburg Book Fair since 2018, is taking another step up and will be leaving a particularly big mark on the 2022 Fair experience. The Crimetime programme will be extended by an extra day into the Friday and will include a multitude of exciting events and activities on site.

Voices from Ukraine has been announced as an additional theme for the event. Gothenburg Book Fair has taken the initiative to bring this theme to the programme in order to give dedicated space to Ukrainian writers and narratives in these difficult times. The thematic focus will be delivered in partnership with stakeholders including the Embassy of Ukraine in Sweden, Swedish PEN, the Global Square, the Church of Sweden and several publishing houses and other organisations.