The 53rd Athens Book Festival 2025 was a huge success.

This year, for the third consecutive year at Pedion Areos, the Book Festival saw even greater participation from publishers and organizations.

More than 210 publishing houses participated in 287 stands. Twenty-seven major events took place on the Festival’s main stage, 202 on the three publishers’ event stages, and hundreds of book signings by authors. Public participation was impressive from the first day of the Festival on Friday, September 5, until late on Sunday, September 21.

Noteworthy and rather disappointing was the absence of a representative from the Ministry of Culture throughout the Festival, despite the fact that it was held under its auspices. The Athens Book Festival is one of the most important cultural institutions in the country, with a long tradition and a significant contribution to the dissemination of literature, the promotion of reading, and the support of Greek books. The presence of the Ministry of Culture at the opening of such a prestigious institution is not merely a formality, but sends a clear message of support to authors, publishers, booksellers, and, above all, the reading public. Its absence, on the contrary, would have sent a message of indifference towards an entire sector that, more than ever, needs institutional recognition and the support of the State.

The main theme of the 53rd Book Festival 2025 was “Children and Reading: Discovering the world through books.”

As part of the tribute, and in collaboration with important cultural, social, and political institutions, interactive discussions, lectures, round tables, concerts, theatrical performances, and other events, thus giving visitors the opportunity to attend and participate in a diverse cultural event. Among the discussions that attracted the interest of the public were the round table with the participation of the Greek Section of IBBY and Library4all on the importance of school libraries and the cultivation of reading through school; the round table discussion by the interdisciplinary association Reading as I Grow Up on the importance of early reading interventions; as well as an open discussion by the online magazines Kokkini Alepou and O Anagnostis on the promotion of criteria for selecting children’s books. The 53rd Book Festival also hosted the art exhibition “The D of Rights” by the Network for Children’s Rights.

Alongside the main tribute, there was an anniversary reference, through the naming of stages and special events, to the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mikis Theodorakis and Manolis Anagnostakis. The publishers’ event stages were decorated with works by the renowned cartoonist Effie Xenos. Popular actor Konstantinos Konstantopoulos lent his voice to the promotional spot, while the poster, catalog, and promotional material for the 53rd Book Festival were adorned with works by renowned Greek artist Konstantinos Patsios.

The institutions and organizations that participated with stands were: the Region of Attica, the Hellenic Parliament Foundation for Democracy and Parliamentarism, the European Parliament Office in Greece, the Representation of the European Commission in Greece, the Association of Athenians, the Institute of Historical Research / National Research Foundation, the Ethnological Society of Greece – National Historical Museum, the Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation, the Network for Children’s Rights, and the Vision of Hope Association.

This year’s inauguration was performed by His Excellency, the President of the Republic, Mr. Constantine A. Tasoulas. During the inauguration and throughout the exhibition, the Festival was visited by, among others, Mr. Nikitas Kaklamanis (Speaker of the House), Kostas Vlasis (Deputy Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, on behalf of the Prime Minister), Niki Kerameos (Minister of Labor and Social Security), Athanasios Davakis (Deputy Minister of National Defense), Socrates Famellos (President of SYRIZA – P.S.), Stefanos Kasselakis (President of the Democracy Movement), Pavlos Geroulanos (Member of Parliament, former Minister of Culture and Tourism), Christina Kefalogianni (Deputy Regional Governor of Attica), Georgios Vlachos (Deputy Regional Governor of Central Athens), Eleftheria Moraitaki-Pikrou (Deputy Regional Governor of Parks & Animal Health), Angelos Syrigos (Member of Parliament), Kyriaki Malama (Member of Parliament).

Finally, regarding the incident that occurred at the Festival, involving an unprovoked and unacceptable attack on a publisher by an Israeli visitor because there was a Palestinian flag inside the booth where she was standing at the time, the Hellenic Publishers Association stated, among other things, in its press release: “The Hellenic Publishers Association unequivocally condemns all forms of violence, verbal or physical, as well as any attempt to intimidate or silence free expression. Such incidents have no place in the world of books—which should be a place of dialogue, respect, and culture—nor in our society as a whole.”

The 53rd Book Festival was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, the Region of Attica, the Municipality of Athens, the Hellenic Book and Culture Foundation (ELIVIP), and the Athens Chamber of Tradesmen (EEA). It was held with the support of the Organization for Culture, Sports, and Youth of the Municipality of Athens (OPANDA) and the Organization for the Collective Management of Literary Works (OSDEL) and in collaboration with Little Paris of Athens, the Network for Children’s Rights, the Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece – National Historical Museum, and the Philippos Nakas Conservatory.