Georgian Publishers and Booksellers Association

Caucasus and Black Sea Basin Countries Regional Publishing Conference

Organized by Georgian Publishers and Booksellers Association, within the framework of the “Tbilisi – World Book Capital” project, Caucasus and Black Sea Basin Countries’ Regional Publishers Conference was held on April 11-12 in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The Regional Publishing Conference revolves around the diverse and engaging topics of the publishing and bookselling industry with the main emphasis on the challenges and opportunities of the seven countries in the region (Georgia, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine).

Nearly 30 publishers and industry representatives from the Caucasus and Black Sea countries are participating in the conference, as well as professionals from Europe, United Kingdom and the United States of America. Due to the ongoing situation in Ukraine, according to the decision of the conference organizers, Ukrainian participants, who aren’t able to travel due to the current circumstances, joinred the conference online. Russia, which also belongs to the Black Sea Basin countries, was not invited to the conference as a sign of boycott. “We offered Ukrainian publishing houses to participate in the event through online platforms.

Representatives of the International Publishers Association (IPA) and PEN America are also taking part in the event. Access was free and available for every publishing professional from Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Romania who wanted to attend Caucasus and Black Sea Basin Countries’ Regional Publishers Conference. During the period of preliminary registration up to 100 publishers from Georgia and other countries of the region expressed their willingness to attend the conference.

The main part of the conference consisted of sessions in the form of panel discussions, involving a moderator and several participants from different countries sharing diverse experiences, background, cultural context and discussing possibilities for development, progress and cooperation.

Videos are available on the following links:

• Official Opening and Book Market Presentations
• Translation: Crossing languages without crossing out cultures
• On the edge: Writers from the South Caucasus and Black sea region reflect on Russian expansionism
• Kyiv, Sophia, Bucharest, Tbilisi – four literary destinations
• How agents build better careers for writers
• Independent publishing: stories of survival and success
• Building a bright bookselling future after the pandemic
• Copyright – challenges and opportunities
• The tension in translation: when local and global talents collide
• Why does freedom of publish matter?

For the information about participants, please click on the link.