The 2026 Helsinki Book Fair will bring more than 1,000 programme events to Helsinki from 22 to 25 October 2026, making this year’s edition the largest in the event’s history and one of the most extensive literary gatherings in the Nordic countries.
Held at the Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Centre, the four-day fair will feature more than 1,000 interviews and discussions across 17 stages, with more than 2,000 authors, researchers, politicians, artists and other public figures taking part. The central theme for 2026 is language, with particular attention given to Finnish, translation and world literature.
The programme brings together some of Finland’s best-known literary names, including Pirkko Saisio, Tommi Kinnunen, Kjell Westö, Leena Lehtolainen, Satu Rämö, Riikka Pulkkinen, Juhani Karila and Olli Jalonen.
The international programme is also unusually broad. French writers Édouard Louis, Olivier Norek and Philippe Collin are among the headline guests, alongside Ukrainian author Kateryna Yehorushkina and Swedish writers Erik Svetoft, Elaf Ali, Patrik Svensson and Viveca Sten. Sten will also take part in a reading circle with visitors on Saturday.
Almost 50 international guest authors from 10 countries are expected in Helsinki. The participating countries are Sweden, France, Estonia, Ukraine, the United States, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Several other internationally known writers will join the programme remotely, including Patrick Radden Keefe and David Grann from the United States, Alana S. Portero from Spain and Heather Morris from New Zealand.
Ville Blåfield, programme director of the Helsinki Book Fair, said the strong international presence is particularly fitting for a year in which translation and world literature are central themes.
The 2026 programme will also give Finnish fiction a larger presence through the introduction of a new stage dedicated to contemporary Finnish prose. The Roihuvuori stage will feature more than 60 Finnish fiction writers, including Heikki Kännö, Hanna Brotherus, Ivan Maniraho, Riitta Jalonen, Elina Hirvonen, Philip Teir, Markku Haussila and Minna Lindgren.
The new stage will also host Yle’s Kulttuuricocktail book discussions from Thursday to Saturday at 4pm, presented by Anna Tulusto. The addition reflects the fair’s continuing emphasis on bringing authors and readers together while giving greater visibility to new Finnish literature.
Language will run through much of the programme beyond the new fiction stage. Daily discussions organised by the Helsinki Book Fair and Helsingin Sanomat at noon will examine different aspects of the Finnish language. The sessions, which will also be streamed on HS.fi, will feature writers Rosa Liksom, Riko Saatsi, Maxim Fedorov and Eeva Vekki, poet Saila Susiluoto, musicians Samuli Putro and Pekka Salminen of Gasellit, linguist and writer Janne Saarikivi, screenwriter Anna Brotkin, humour researcher Jarno Hietalahti and Leena Nissilä, director of the Finnish Language Centre.
Translation will be another major part of the programme. Kirsi Piha will interview translators Kaijamari Sivill and Kaisa Kattelus about the Finnish translation of Virginia Woolf. Authors including Mariia Niskavaara, Iida Turpeinen and Leena Krohn will meet translators of their works in discussions and reading circles.
The programme will also extend beyond Finland’s two main literary languages. Alongside extensive Swedish and English programming, the Kallio Stage will host events in Somali and Estonian.
Blåfield said the language theme also connects the fair with the Finnish Language Centre’s 50th anniversary celebrations and the national theme year for Finnish languages. The programme will explore how Finnish is changing, how writers use it and how language connects Finnish literature with wider cultural worlds.
Politics and social affairs will have a substantial presence as well. The biography and non-fiction programme includes figures such as former president Sauli Niinistö, former prime minister Sanna Marin, Anna Kontula, Elina Valtonen, Timo R. Stewart and Timo Miettinen.
A number of public figures will also appear with memoirs, including A. W. Yrjänä, Göran Stubb, Harry Harkimo, Jesse Markin, Susanna Penttilä, Esko Roine, Jutta Urpilainen and Kari Heiskanen.
Some of the programme’s most distinctive events will bring together speakers whose work explores related subjects from different perspectives. Iida Turpeinen and Pajtim Statovc, for example, will discuss the relationship between humans and other species through their literary work. Journalists Erkka Mikkonen and Mari Karppinen will discuss their experiences as members of sexual minorities working in an authoritarian superpower, while writers Kari Hotakainen and Matti Rönkä will examine their work in children’s literature.
For Tanja Pasila, business manager at Messukeskus, the expansion of Finnish fiction is an important part of the fair’s role in the country’s literary culture. She said the event provides authors with an opportunity to make their work visible while giving readers a place to encounter both established and emerging writers.
The Helsinki Book Fair has become an important annual meeting point for Finland’s publishing and literary communities. The organisers describe the event as a cultural forum centred on reading, literature and book sales, with freedom of speech, equality and respect for human dignity among its stated values.
The scale of the event has continued to grow. More than 104,000 people visited the Helsinki Book Fair in 2025, according to the organisers, making it the largest literary event in the Nordic countries.
The 2026 fair will be organised by Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre in cooperation with the Finnish Publishing Association and the Finnish Booksellers Association. The event will take place alongside the Antiquarian Book Fair, organised with the Finnish Antiquarian Booksellers Association, and the Wine & Food event, organised in cooperation with Viinilehti.
The Helsinki Book Fair will run from Thursday, 22 October, to Sunday, 25 October 2026. Opening hours are 10am to 8pm from Thursday to Saturday and 10am to 6pm on Sunday.
With its unusually large programme, major Finnish literary names, international authors and a strong focus on language and translation, this year’s fair is set to place Finnish literature in conversation with a much wider literary world.
Tickets are available in advance at a lower price in the online store: http://shop.messukeskus.com
The Helsinki Book Fair magazine is available for distribution in libraries and bookstores, among others. A list of distribution points can be found on the event website: www.helsinginkirjamessut.fi
