"BookStar" is 10 years of struggle.
A struggle for freedom.
A struggle for the freedom of thought.
A struggle to remain oneself.
A struggle to belong, but also a struggle to be different.
"BookStar" is 10 years of inspiration.
Inspiration for writers, for readers, for the silenced, and inspiration for the forgotten.
Who all did BookStar inspire?
First of all, all of us here, from the hardworking teams behind the festival to the entire literary, media, and public audience.
But it also inspired writers from every corner of Europe.
Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer would create an entire chapter of his monumental novel Grand Hotel Europe after his stay at BookStar.
It inspired the unique Slavoj Žižek to compile the collection of essays Ashtray in a Hotel in Skopje.
It inspired columns by Slavenka Drakulić and countless congratulations and thank-you notes from everyone who left Macedonia with a full heart.
But sadly, it also inspired those who feed on envy, and who twice attempted to extinguish the only festival of European literature in the region.
But fortunately, it also inspired us not to allow them to succeed.
Because BookStar is also 10 years of support, 10 years of offering a hand.
Support for quality literature, but also support for those who, for one reason or another, have lost something that most of us have.
Therefore, BookStar is also 10 years of support for inclusive minds, for creative souls, for green ideas, and for the transformation of our country into a well-organized and modern society.
But we are thankful as well.
Thankful for the support we have received over these 10 years, regardless of the quantity – it doesn't matter – from various domestic and international partners. Without you, we probably wouldn't have made it through this entire decade.
BookStar is 10 years of dreaming.
Dreaming with eyes closed and with eyes open.
"BookStar" is 10 years of dreaming of stars.
As Petre, yes, Andreevski, wrote: “I will gather stars for you […], just to make you love me.”
Or Radovan, exactly, Pavlovski: “It was like a curse that by day I saw stars. I approached you and my fingers filled with darkness and speech.”
I speak up loudly that BookStar is 10 years of literary stars.
We’ve seen who they were in the past, and this year they are: Kristian Novak, Jón Kalman Stefánsson, Zdravka Evtimova, José Luís Peixoto, Igor Marojević, Paola Peretti, Faruk Šehić, Miřenka Čechová, Rumena Bužarovska, Alessandro Baricco, and all the others from this magnificent festival constellation.
I salute you for being part of this story.
BookStar is 10 years of struggle, inspiration, support, and dreams.
Let us continue to struggle, to inspire, to support, and to dream TOGETHER.
Skopje, September 30, 2024
