Second edition of FELT, the Festival of European Literature in Tirana, kicks off
The Festival of European Literature in Tirana (FELT) comes back for a second edition to celebrate European culture in Albania. FELT 2025 brings 12 authors, representing 13 EU member states, and takes place on 2-6 December 2025. Organised by the European Union to Albania in partnership with the Italian Institute of Culture and in collaboration with EU Member States embassies, it brings together well-known writers from Ireland, Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Spain, Netherlands, Croatia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Greece, France, Italy and Poland who will connect with Albanian readers and visit high schools and universities.
Aiming to highlight the diversity of European voices, promote contemporary literature, and engage Albanian public with authors and creatives from all over Europe, the festival offers a platform for dialogue, understanding, and storytelling through dynamic formats.
“The European Literature Festival in Tirana is about creating spaces, arches and bridges that bring people together through stories. In partnership with EU Member State embassies and the Italian Cultural Institute, we are featuring a dozen contemporary European writers – some of whom have also been translated into Albanian. We want this festival to be an opportunity for conversation, exploration and connection, where authors, their translators and readers come together to explore today’s world and its challenges through the power of literature,” said the EU Ambassador to Albania Silvio Gonzato.
“The Italian Cultural Institute is delighted to collaborate once again in an initiative that brings to Tirana the voices of European writers who embody the best of values such as cultural diversity, multilingualism, and the creative richness of European culture, and shares them with the Albanian public,” said Alessandro Ruggera, director of
Italian Institute of Culture.
FELT takes place in several venues, from Europe House to the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet and Folk Ensemble in Tirana, Vila 31 x Art Explora, National Library Sotir Kolea, Tulla Culture Centre, Babel Library and the National Puppet Theatre, creating spaces of discussions and conversations and facilitating access to different cross-generational and niche audiences for emerging authors. The festival provides opportunities to explore ideas, genres, stories and concepts, serving as a forum for meaningful dialogue, inviting participants to get to know rich literary traditions and gain deeper insight into contemporary societies.
As literature nurtures the architecture of thought, developing our imagination and building conscience, the European writers joining FELT through their literary works and dialogues, explore a diverse range of topics. Multilingual writing and belonging, writing in a minority language, identity, migration in contemporary literature and European cultural memory, struggling with mental health, family’s role in writers’ lives and careers, challenges faced by young writers, societal challenges such as Artificial Intelligence, war and conflict,literature in transition, themes of displacement, coming of age and resilience are among them.
Reading sessions from the works of Maja Haderlap, Begoña Oro, Michał Rusinek, Barbara Stock (Vincent book), Přemysl Vinš on Karel Čapek’s work, Djamel White - Fighting Words, Milena Selimi, Ena Katarina Haler, Christos Kythreotis, Nadia Terranova, Dario Voltolini and Philippe Collin reveal colourful literary landscapes of European authors.
The programme includes school day engagements and evening conversations open to the public, as well as contemporary artistic performances, creative writing workshops and experimental collaborations combining spoken word and music on the theme of literary memory. The festival reflects the linguistic, cultural, and thematic diversity of European literature. FELT invites participants, to explore the transformative impact of reading and storytelling in shaping a more connected and empathetic Europe.