This year’s festival under the theme “The Distance Between Us: Loneliness and Solidarity in European Literature”, brings together contemporary authors to explore the role of literature in healing and connecting people amid the divisions of the 21st century.

In 2019, Thibault Clemenceau and his wife travelled through countries including Iran, India and Myanmar before arriving in Vietnam. His experiences during the journey were documented in the book Un Duo Vers l’Inconnu, which later won the René Caillé Prize for best adventure book.

At the festival, Clemenceau will share the perspective of a traveller for whom journeys and encounters across continents become a way to overcome loneliness. His story also illustrates how personal boundaries can be broken down to find empathy and solidarity in a world that appears increasingly fragmented.

According to organisers, the theme of European Literature Days 2026 goes beyond physical journeys to explore the inner lives of people in the 21st century. Loneliness today is seen not simply as an individual experience, but as a condition shaped by the growing intrusion of technology, generational divides and the erosion of community values.

Through the works of five contemporary European writers, the festival raises questions about the nature of isolation and the effort to reach out to others in a fragile state.

Alongside Thibault Clemenceau, Vietnamese readers and literature enthusiasts will also be able to meet other notable European writers, including Sasha Marianna Salzmann and Miku Sophie Kühmel from Germany, British writer Rebecca Watson and Austrian author Peter Simon Altmann.

The diversity of the authors’ styles and experiences is expected to create a multidimensional forum on art and life.

Festival highlights include the “Summer Literature Night” programme on the evening of May 9 in Hanoi, where participants will take part in a walking literature recital across nine reading stations in the Ba Dinh area, alongside a series of discussions in Hue and Ho Chi Minh City on topics such as the body in urban spaces, writing as an effort to heal and the incompleteness of the self.

This year’s festival also marks a strategic partnership with the Frankfurt Book Fair, the world’s largest book fair. Two special exhibitions featuring German children’s picture books and works shortlisted for the German Book Prize 2025 will be introduced, offering Vietnamese publishers, translators and readers direct access to publishing trends and the latest titles from Europe.

European Literature Days to return to Vietnam with vibrant activities

VOV.VN - The European Literature Days 2026 is scheduled to come back to Vietnam from May 7 to 17 under the theme “The Distance Between Us: Loneliness and Solidarity in European Literature”.

European Literature Days sharing words across three cities

The European Days of Literature 2025 festival continues to be packed with interesting activities and workshops in the three big cities of Ho Chi Minh City, Hue and Hanoi.