IvAlive at Le livre sur les quais: Ukrainian Literature, Culture, and Support

For the third year in a row, the IvAlive team spent the first weekend of September at Le livre sur les quais — a book festival in Morges that brings together writers, publishers, readers, and everyone who loves literature.

This year, our booth featured books for every taste: titles from Ukrainian publishers in a variety of genres, available in Ukrainian, English, and French. For us, it was another opportunity to introduce Ukrainian literature and culture to an international audience.

Throughout all three days, our booth welcomed many visitors. Hundreds of readers stopped by, and around 350 books found new homes. The proceeds from the sales will go towards the further development of the KnygAlive library.

Our conversations with local residents were especially meaningful to us. People stopped by our booth, showed an interest in Ukraine, shared words of support, and wished our country victory. Some bought Ukrainian books for themselves — to learn more about Ukraine — while others chose them as gifts for their Ukrainian friends and acquaintances.

An important part of our presence at the festival was an installation featuring books that had been burned. These books came to us directly from Kharkiv, from the Ukrainian publishing house Ranok.

Through this installation, we wanted to remind people of something the world needs to keep talking about: Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is aimed not only at destroying cities and taking human lives. Ukrainian culture, language, collective memory, and books are also being targeted.

For us, taking part in Le livre sur les quais is about much more than presenting Ukrainian books. It is an opportunity to talk about Ukraine through its culture, introduce its literature to new readers, create a space for dialogue, and help Ukrainian books reach audiences beyond Ukraine.

The three days of the festival left us with much more than hundreds of books sold. They brought new connections, dozens of sincere conversations about Ukraine, and a sense of support — something that is especially important to us today.

Thank you to everyone who visited our booth, chose a Ukrainian book, supported KnygAlive, and became part of our mission. And thank you to all our partners, friends, and supporters who made IvAlive’s participation in Le livre sur les quais possible.

You can find more photos and videos — at the link.