Croatian Book Night 2026: 15 years of advocating books and reading

The Croatian Book Night, Croatia’s national programme marking World Book and Copyright Day (23 April) together with Croatian Book Day (22 April) and promoting the importance of books and reading in relation to major social issues, will this year be held on 23 April.

During 15 years of its celebration, the Croatian Book Night has grown into one of Croatia’s most recognisable and popular mass cultural events spotlighting books and reading. It currently brings together over 600 institutions which regularly organise over a thousand programmes all across Croatia. Taking place on several hundred locations, it links booklovers, writers, publishers, libraries and bookstores, strongly advocating the culture of reading.

Books and reading in a world desperately in need of comradeship

Wishing to counterbalance the growing divisions in today’s world, the programme of this year’s Night calls for peace, togetherness, gentleness, dialogue, understanding, solidarity and empathy as the foundations for the wellbeing of the individual and the entire society.

Drawing on a masterpiece of Croatia’s 20^th-century literature, a poem by the great Tin Ujević on existential loneliness and the power of the awareness of human connection (Pobratimstvo lica u svemiru), it brings into spotlight the importance of realising how much we all need each other despite our differences.

Great and inspiring literary anniversaries in 2026

The 170^th anniversary of the birth of Nikola Tesla perfectly underpins the message of this year’s Night, reminding us of the values which this genius considered crucial for the advancement of humanity. Stating in his autobiography (My Inventions, 1919) that peace is one of the vital prerequisites for human progress and that what thwarts it most is ignorance, conflicts and fanaticism, he insisted that the book was our reliable friend and ally in trying to better understand ourselves and others. Also, he gave reading a central role in his formation as both a person and ingenious inventor – I had studied a dozen languages, delved in literature and art, and had spent my best years in libraries reading all sorts of stuff that fell into my hands (…) and felt that most of my life had been squandered. But it did not take long before I recognized that it was the best thing I could have done.

Inspiration for overcoming the disorder, hostility, lack of dialogue and confusion characterising today’s global developments may also be found in the thoughts, works and biography of a dominant figure of Croatian modern literature Miroslav Krleža, the 45^th anniversary of whose death, along with the 90^th and 40^th anniversaries of the death of Federico Garcia Lorca and Jorge Luis Borges, respectively, the Night will be marking.

Also, the 55^th anniversary of the premiere of one of the most popular Croatian musicals, Jalta, Jalta, by the late Croatian composer Alfi Kabiljo, provides an opportunity for better taking in and acting on its message of hope considering the uneasy resemblance between the historical period to which it refers and the distressing global geopolitical developments which we are witnessing today.

Becoming part of the 2026 Croatian Book Night programme

Everyone interested in joining the 2026 Croatian Book Night may organise a programme spotlighting books and reading in the light of this year’s Night’s theme and register it by 23 March 2026. Although programme registration will be possible after this date, only the organisers of the programmes registered until then will receive the Night’s promotional materials.

Looking forward to including your programme in another nationwide celebration of the written word – organised with the support of the Croatian Ministry of Culture and Media, Croatian Publishers Licensing Society (ZANA) and the Croatian Chamber of Economy – and all the joys and benefits associated with it are the Night’s organisers: the Chamber’s Publishers and Booksellers Association, National and University Library in Zagreb, Zagreb City Libraries, books-and-literature-oriented e-zine and web portal Moderna vremena, ZANA and the Croatian Association of School Librarians.