Zagreb Book Festival međunarodni je književni festival koji se održava na godišnjoj razini u šest najljepših dana svibnja u središtu Zagreba. Osnovan je u uvjerenju da su književnosti i umjetnost temelj svakog kvalitetnog društva te ideji susreta i zbližavanja pisaca, umjetnika, kulturnjaka i njihove publike – susreta koji inspirira, zabavlja te potiče na raspravu i kreiranje novih vrijednosti. Važan dio programa Zagreb Book Festivala stoga svake godine zauzimaju panel-diskusije i predavanja u kojima svjetski i domaći intelektualci i umjetnici odgovaraju na neka od najvažnijih i najaktualnijih pitanja današnjice.

Peto izdanje ZBF-a predstavljamo pod nazivom ”Vrli novi svijet”. Težnja za uspostavljanjem savršenog društva kroz programiranje sreće i užitka od modernog čovjeka današnjice stvara atrofiranog pojedinca koji s jedne strane živi u svijetu bolesnom od blagostanja, dok su s druge strane milijuni ljudi prisiljeni bolji život potražiti preko opasnih i neizvjesnih migrantskih ruta. Uza sav napredak modernog društva suočeni smo s dehumanizirajućim aspektima materijalnog i znanstvenog progresa koji od pojedinca, više nego išta, žele napraviti sretnog potrošača. Čovjek današnjice često se osjeća otuđenim, iako komunicira više nego ikad, a depresija, osjećaj osamljenosti i anksioznosti spadaju među vodeće izvore nezadovoljstva. Masovna proizvodnja učinila je široko dostupnima automobile, mobitele, informacije, kao i jeftine podražaje koji simuliraju osjećaj zadovoljstva, ali isti taj sretni zapadni čovjek posvuda bilježi porast ksenofobije i populizma. Oblikovanje unificiranog društva, genetski inženjering, ukidanje svih izvora frustracija, napora i boli, zapravo su rezultat pokušaja da se ljudima omogući sreća – ali, je li to zaista moguće na način  koji smo odabrali? Kakva je budućnost čovjeka današnjice, tko su milenijalci i kako vide svijet koji su zatekli te što žele od njega učiniti, što će se u budućnosti događati sa znanošću, umjetnošću i religijom, zašto se zaista želi ograničiti kretanje ljudi žicama i zidovima, tko će nam reći što nosi budućnost i vrijedi li još uvijek misao jednog od najutjecajnijih filozofa 19. stoljeća, F. Nietzschea ”Imamo umjetnost da ne bismo umrli od istine”.

Zagreb Book Festival is an international festival of reading that takes place in the centre of Zagreb, for six beautiful days, in May. The aim of the festival is to promote interest in books and reading, and to approach, in an interactive way, audiences of different interests and ages. The festival was initiated with the belief literature and arts make the foundation of every quality society, as well as with the premise that meetings and gatherings of writers, artists, culturally inspired people, and their audiences inspire and encourage dialogue, exchange of opinions and creation of new values.

“Ïn times when most communication takes place in digital form, a tangible, physical experience of the festival has an increasing importance. The Zagreb Book Festival becomes the meeting place of people with similar interests and values, a platform where they share experiences and deepen their interest in literature, reading and critical thinking about the world that surrounds us….- Petra Ljevak, director of the festival”

Besides presentations, promotion, signings of many new books, an important part of the annual Zagreb Book Festival Program is panel discussions and lectures in which renowned international and national intellectuals and artists respond and comment on some of the important contemporary issues.

The fifth edition of the ZBF- entitled “Brave New World”– will open on Monday, 20 May 2019, at the Museum of Arts and Craft. It will offer a rich program packed with well-known names of the Croatian and foreign literary scene; it will offer six days of intellectual pleasure to lovers of books and reading.

The longing to establish a perfect society, one that aims to program happiness and pleasure, often turns a contemporary person into an atrophied individual who lives surrounded by wealth, while on the other hand millions or people are forced to search for a better life by crossing the dangerous and uncertain migrant routes. With all the advantages of the modern society we are faced with inhuman aspects of material and scientific progress that is, above all, aiming to create a happy consumer.   Although we communicate more than ever, the contemporary (wo)man feels alienated, and depression and feelings of loneliness and anxiety become major causes of dissatisfaction. Mass-produced cars, mobile phones, information, and cheap stimulation that bring instant gratification are widely available, yet this same, supposedly happy, western (wo)man is marked by an increasing growth of xenophobia and populism. Formation of a unified society, genetic engineering, abolishing all causes of frustration, effort and pain are nothing but the results of the endeavour to create happy people – but is this really possible to do in a way we have chosen to do?  What is the future of contemporary people? Who are the millennials? How do they see the world they have found? What do they want to make out of it? What will happen with science, art, and religion in the future? Why would one want to limit movement of people by wire and walls? Who will really tell us what the future brings? To what extend is the thought of one of the most influential philosophers of the 19^th century, F. Nietzsche, “We have art in order not to die of the truth” still valid?