WARSAW INDEPENDENT BOOKFAIR 2023  
Warsaw, September 9-10, 2023  
ADA Puławska  
“The more you know, the better you do”  
We are happy to invite you to participate in the seventh edition of the Warsaw Independent Bookfair! This year it will take place on the 9-10th of September in A.D.A. Puławska. If you write, print, organise, translate, run a library, conduct any research, create or, like us, you simply like books, come and support us in our efforts for independent publishing houses and book-centred self-organisation. We invite you to debates, lectures, workshops and concerts.  
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The armed conflict in Ukraine has recently highlighted the artificially created divisions, in every sense, but especially the literal one, in the form of borders, walls, and entanglements. The war crisis, among other things, is forcing mass movements of the population, abandoning their own previously safe home in search of a new ones. This journey is paid for with great effort; at every stage, it encounters obstacles, state and political structures that are reluctant to it, that actively oppose it, and that are unprepared for it. There is in all this a movement moving in a different direction, so to speak, “against the current”. It is a community, self-organization, and mutual aid. All the people/groups of people/initiatives spent (and still spend!) every spare moment of the past year patrolling the border forests in search of those who managed to cross the border with great effort. It is every hand that has given a warm blanket, water, medicine, and a bowl of soup. Every person who welcomed a refugee into their home, offered them a job, legal assistance, a translator, or performed any other act of kindness.  
And it is these acts that give hope. For the fact that, regardless of our background, we are human beings and can see in the “others” not “strangers” but people. For the fact that another world is possible. On the fact that surely fences and walls and tanks and guns are unnecessary to us daily.
We want to dedicate the upcoming fair to all those who have left their homes for various reasons (political, climatic, and economic). By coming together, building diverse communities, and providing daily support, we are ready to coexist and get the best from each other. We especially invite publishing initiatives, authors/authors and grassroots groups that prepare literature and publication materials (translations, graphics, zines) in and for the languages of discriminated groups, including Kurdish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Arabic and many others. We want to confront the topic of divisions on various levels (geographical, economic, mental) and the mechanisms behind them. We also want to answer whether it is possible to dream of a society without artificially imposed borders and look at communities that form stateless and multicultural structures.  
Over the September weekend, we will immerse ourselves in texts, poems, graphics, discussions, and music to blossom with new ideas for the years to come.  
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This event will be accompanied by meetings (including online meetings), during which topics currently concerning independent publishers and grassroots initiatives will be discussed, and are consistent with the values of the Sixth Independent Bookfair. Our event is open to the egalitarian idea of hearing out those excluded. It’s a space to share our experiences, learn from each other, respectfully discuss alternatives and look critically at the current reality.  
Last year, the Bookfair was attended by publishing houses, collectives and people representing various circles, both from Poland and abroad. The event also attracted a lot of book lovers and we hope it will be like that this year as well.  
We cannot cover exhibitors’ travel expenses, but we do not charge a stand fee. However, if you want to come and your only obstacle is your financial situation, write to us – we will try to devise a solution together. Our bookfair is also free for visitors.  
Because of a limited number of stands for exhibitors, please notify us of your arrival in advance. We await applications (until June 1st 2023) at warsawbookfair[at]riseup.net. You can also use this e-mail to contact us about any cooperation proposals, questions and comments regarding the event.  
We hope to see you there!  
The collective of the Warsaw Independent Bookfair  
https://warsawbookfair.noblogs.org/  
Topics: #Internationalism, #Multiculturalism, #Migration, #Diasporas, #Antimilitarism, #Borders, #MutualAid, #SelfOrganization