Festival of Mountains of Literature

July 10, 2026 – July 18, 2026

Ścinawka Górna

We invite you to this year's Góry Literatury Festival. The 12th edition will take place from July 10–18, 2026, in 30 locations across the Kłodzko Land, the Wałbrzych agglomeration, and the Dzierżoniów Basin. The festival is one of the largest literary and social events in Poland, initiated in 2015 by Nobel Prize laureate Olga Tokarczuk. For nine days, organizers invite participants to over 170 events featuring 240 special guests, the majority of whom are, of course, writers. Additionally, there will be: conjurers from Lublin, visual artists, academics, music bands, youth amateur theater groups, actors, journalists, and activists. Among them, Georgi Gospodinov, a Bulgarian writer hailed as a future Nobel laureate, will present his latest book, „Everything Became the Moon.” Alberto Manguel, an Argentine writer and scholar, author of „A History of Reading,” will also meet with the public. The festival stages will also feature Natalia de Barbaro, Krzysztof Łapiński, Adam Michnik, Artur Nowak, Stanisław Obirek, Kacper Pobłocki, Kazimiera Szczuka, Tomasz Stawiszyński, and Ewa Woydyłło. Concerts will be performed by artists including Hania Rani, Ralph Kamiński, Kasia Sienkiewicz, Renata Przemyk, Spięty, Pablopavo i Ludziki.

The poetry and educational programs will also be record-breaking: Little Mountains of Literature (for children and youth) and the Flying People's University (for adults). These activities are particularly important for the organizers, and last year's edition often had a lack of workshop spaces for everyone interested. Listening to the voices of participants from previous festivals, they have prepared the largest number of nature walks in history – which are a special form of commentary on the festival's main theme: Territories. There will also be loud readings performed by prominent actors and actresses, as well as female authors. Important films will be screened, and there will be meetings with their creators. Amateur theaters have been traditionally invited to perform on professional stages. Additionally, for the first time, a film program for children has been organized. Participants will also be able to take part in many interesting panels, including those on artificial intelligence, spirituality, and migration as a way of life. Important films and performances by amateur theaters will be presented.

Literature and travel have always been a harmonious duo, and everyone can use their time on a train in their own favorite way – for example, by opening an interesting book. The result of this natural synergy is the engagement of Polish State Railways S.A. in a celebration of literature. The company has become the official „Travel Partner” of the 12th edition of the Mountain Literature Festival, organized by the Olga Tokarczuk Foundation. The partnership aims to remind people of the unique advantage of traveling by train, known as „dual time.” Train travel is a moment when we can be simultaneously on the go and fully utilize it by engaging in other activities. Hence, this mode of transport is recommended to the festival's guests and participants.

This unique collaboration coincides with the important 100th anniversary of Polish State Railways, themed „Connecting People, Places, and Stories,” and 2026 has been designated by the Sejm as the Year of the Polish Railway. For years, trains have not only connected cities but also brought people closer and become the main theme of many outstanding literary works. The best proof of this is Władysław Reymont, a Nobel Prize laureate for his epic „The Peasants.” Before Reymont gained worldwide fame, he worked for several years as an official for the Warsaw-Vienna Railway. Wisława Szymborska was also connected with railways, taking up employment as a clerk and cashier at the railway in 1943, during the ongoing Nazi occupation. The patronage of Polish State Railways over the festival of Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk connects the tradition of Polish railways with art.

Our involvement with the Góry Literatury (Mountains of Literature) festival is tied to PKP's mission of connecting people, places, and stories for 100 years, ever since PKP was formed from the three railway networks of the partitioned Poland. Traveling by train offers us something incredibly important – time, which we can dedicate, for example, to reading a book. It was during my train journeys that I read, among others, „The Book of Jacob” and „Flights.” By supporting the festival organized by the Olga Tokarczuk Foundation, we are drawing on the best historical traditions when railway work inspired great creators, with Władysław Reymont at the forefront – argues Alan Beroud, CEO of PKP S.A. and PKP Group.

The main theme of this year's Literature Mountain Festival will be „Territories.” An introduction to the reflections on this concept will be the opening of the festival with a reading of a fragment from Olga Tokarczuk's new novel, performed by the author herself. And it's worth noting that rail transport plays a key role in moving people and connecting cities, territories, and crossing borders.

– Our shared inspiration is Olga Tokarczuk's book „Flights” and its main message that by exploring the new and being on the road, we become better people, and evil and fears can be effectively tamed by constant movement. We especially invite festival participants to the nearby Wałbrzych – Kłodzko railway line, which is considered one of the most beautiful in Europe. We hope that along the way they will also visit Wrocław, which last year was chosen as the second-best railway station in Europe, second only to Zurich Central Station, and ahead of such renowned facilities as Berlin Central Station or London Paddington Station – says Paweł Lisiewicz, member of the management board of PKP S.A. for Development and Investments.