Memorable meetings, top books at Bookfest Chisinau 2025; Bookfest general organizer says internationally renowned authors brought to event

The International Book Fair Bookfest Chisinau have brought to the capital of Moldova some of the most illustrious names of the contemporary Romanian literature: Mircea Cărtărescu, Gabriela Adameșteanu, Tatiana Țîbuleac, Ionela Hadârcă, Radu Paraschivescu, Sabina Fati, Cristian Preda, Denisa Comănescu, and Dan Croitoru, who filled the launch and debate halls, often to capacity. The event was hosted at the Mediacor Center on September 3-7.

‘’We managed to bring internationally renowned authors. These are names that any literary festival in the world would appreciate, and we had the chance to bring them together in Chisinau for five days – a rare and extremely valuable opportunity,’’ the executive director of the Association of Romanian Publishers and the general organizer of Bookfest, Mihai Mitrica, has told MOLDPRES.

According to organizers, the audience, especially young people, responded enthusiastically, taking advantage of the festival at the beginning of September, when many were returning from vacations and preparing for the new school year. Book launches with the authors in attendance were at the top of sales.

This year's edition featured some of the most relevant publishing houses: Humanitas, Polirom, Cartier, Arc, as well as the Romanian Academy Publishing House, Art Editorial Group, Curtea Veche Publishing, Nemira Publishing House, Junimea Publishing House, Litera, and many others.

The Bookfest Chisinau International Book Fair, a project initiated in 2016 at an initiative by the Culture Ministers of Romania and Moldova, enjoys the High Patronage of the President of Romania and the President of Moldova for the fourth year in a row. Since 2022, the Moldovan State University (USM) has proven to be the ideal host for this event and public interest confirms the success of this choice.

For future editions, we are thinking of developing a more mature and rounded schedule, involving other communities, not only Chisinau. We need to consult among partners and see how everyone can contribute, in order to make Bookfest exactly what the audience wants: a complete and memorable literary festival.

The 2025 edition was funded by the Department for Relations with Moldova of Romania’s government and is organized in partnership with the Ministries of Culture from Romania and Moldova, along with the National Library of Moldova, the Union of Publishers from Moldova, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Moldova and the Association of Romanian Publishers. Strategic partners of the event were Innovate Moldova and the Embassy of Sweden in Moldova.