Czechia, Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2026, presents its literary and cultural programme and the pavilion design
75 authors travelling to the fair / the Guest of Honour Pavilion invites visitors into a fantastic world of literature / live comic drawing with a robot / dozens of cultural events in Frankfurt and many other cities
Today, Czechia, Guest of Honour at this year’s Frankfurter Buchmesse (7-11 October 2026), presented its literary and cultural programme and the design of the Guest of Honour Pavilion at a press conference in Frankfurt, Germany. Tomáš Kubíček, Director General of the Moravian Regional Library and Director of the Czech Guest of Honour presentation CZECHIA 2026, and Martin Krafl, Director of the Czech Literary Center and Programme Director of CZECHIA 2026, provided information about the activities at this year’s Frankfurter Buchmesse and the Year of Czech Culture. Jindřich Ráftl and Jan Tůma from the architectural firm JinJan and Jana Hájková, project manager of CZECHIA 2026, presented the concept for the 2026 Guest of Honour pavilion. This was followed by a discussion with author Dora Kaprálová, whose latest work was awared the 2026 Magnesia Litera Prize and the European Union Prize for Literature.
“Imagination Interface”: the Guest of Honour Pavilion at the book fair
Derived from a quote from Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, the theme of the Guest of Honour presentation is: “Czechia: A Country on the Coast.’ At the press conference, Jindřich Ráftl and Jan Tůma of the architectural firm JinJan presented the concept ‘Imagination Interface’ for the 2,300-square-metre Guest of Honour exhibition hall. The Czech Guest of Honour Pavilion is designed to invite visitors into a fantastic world of literature. Round, inflatable elements of various sizes will structure the space. They symbolise the diversity of human imagination and serve as seating areas at the same time. The concept is complemented by interactive stations such as ‘buoys’ and a ‘poetic lighthouse’, which use AI to bring Czech literature to life. A robot will help to draw comics live, and an exhibition will showcase Czech illustrations from the past 30 years. At the same time, the Guest of Honour Pavilion prioritises sustainability: lightweight, modular components minimise transport costs, material consumption, and waste.
Press images of the Guest of Honour Pavilion are available for download here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-N1-UJxGZHB-9CJl4ZkQIm3b7DibRLLa(opens in a new window)
The Year of Czech Culture: readings and exhibitions at the book fair and in numerous cities
75 Czech authors will be travelling to the book fair in October. Over the five days of the fair, a wide-ranging programme for both industry professionals and the general public will take place on two stages in the Guest of Honour Pavilion, featuring readings, discussions and professional exchanges. In addition to the literary programme at the fair, numerous events are planned in Frankfurt and across the German-speaking world. As part of the Year of Czech Culture, dozens of readings will take place leading up to Frankfurter Buchmesse. At readings in Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Cologne, Munich, and Vienna, attendees can look forward to appearances by Iva Procházková, Miroslav Hlaučo, Vratislav Maňák, Marek Torčík, and Sophia Marzolff, among others. As this year’s guest country at the texttage.nuernberg from 16 to 19 July, the Czech Republic will be represented by Jaroslav Rudiš, Štěpánka Jislová, Anna Řezničková, Alžběta Stančáková, Jaromír Typlt, Jan Laštovička, and Vratislav Maňák. From 29 September to 1 October, the literary festival ‘Ahoj! Czech Republic Crosses Over’ in Vienna and Bad Ischl will feature readings by Radka Denemarková, Lucie Faulerová, Dora Kaprálová, Michal Ajvaz, Petr Borkovec, and others.
In October, the German premiere of works by Slavomír Hořínka, Barbora Tomášková, and Pavel Šabacký will take place at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt am Main in collaboration with the Ensemble Modern. At the Internationales Theater Frankfurt and during the special edition of the Drama Panorama festival, the Czech Republic will showcase contemporary drama. In collaboration with the arthouse cinemas in Frankfurt am Main, two film screenings will take place. The Czech Guest of Honour is also a partner in the German-language premiere of the television series Gerta Schnirch, which was inspired by Kateřina Tučková’s novel Gerta, the German Girl and produced in collaboration with Czech Television ČT, ARTE, and HBO.
The Guest of Honour presentation will be accompanied by numerous exhibitions at cultural institutions in Frankfurt and the surrounding area: The SCHIRN KUNSTHALLE FRANKFURT is dedicating an exhibition to the sculptor Anna Hulačová. The Museum of Communication is presenting ‘Samizdat’, an exploration of the suppression of free expression in Czechoslovakia. The Klingspor Museum in Offenbach am Main is hosting the exhibition ‘Czech Book Design and Illustration 1900 to 2025’. The exhibition ‘Beyond Paper Plane’ at the Struwwelpeter Museum focuses on extraordinary picture book art from the Czech Republic. The German Architecture Museum (DAM) invites visitors to explore new Czech architecture. The German National Library offers a lyrical experience with ‘Reiner Kunze and Czech Poetry.’ At the Palmengarten, visitors can engage with garden utopias in the work of Veronika Richterová. The Haus am Dom is featuring dissident literature from the Czech Republic, from Božena Němcová to Radka Denemarková. Contemporary Czech photography can be admired at the German Film Institute & Film Museum. And the Archaeological Museum is hosting “The Bronze Beauty from Kladina”.
Further information is available in the press kit: https://literaturtest.de/newsletter/pm/press_conference_ffm_czechia_guest_of_honour_Presskit.pdf(opens in a new window)
Contact for the media:
Contact for the media: Guest of Honour Czechia
Literaturtest, Annika Grützner, Nathalie Weber und Mathias Voigt
tschechien@literaturtest.de(opens in a new window), phone: +49 (0)30-531 40 70-27