“Alternative Book Festival” to take place in Nicosia

On the weekend of November 15 and 16, the first Nicosia Alternative Book Festival will take place in the old town of Nicosia — an event dedicated to publications and initiatives promoting socio-political dialogue and addressing the topic of censorship.

The festival will run from 11:00 to 20:00 at Yalla Collective Space & Café on Perikleous Street.

The event is organized by collectives and publishers from Cyprus and Greece and is designed as a platform for books, magazines and zine-culture projects that rarely appear at major festivals or on bookstore shelves.

Organizers emphasize that the festival aims “to foster dialogue and the free exchange of ideas without discrimination” and “to discuss the intensifying censorship practices of recent years.” The project is entirely based on principles of self-organization and does not rely on sponsors or official institutions. In the future, the organizers hope to expand the format to include more languages and cultures of the region.

Festival program:

• November 15, 16:00–18:00: Discussion “70 years since the founding of EOKA” (organizer — Psifides Publications).
• November 15, 18:00–20:00: “Censorship in Cyprus Today” — discussion on freedom of speech and public control.
• November 16, 16:00–18:00: “The Cypriot Greek language: from oral to written” — conversation on modern usage.
• November 16, 18:00–20:00: “Publishing and Politics” — Psifides (Nicosia) and Faura Books (Thessaloniki) on books as tools of political expression.
• November 15, 21:30–23:30: DJ set by Anoita Agoria in punk-rock style.

Participants include publishers and initiatives such as Affect Editions, Ajar, Fisherwomxn, IWW, Moufflon Bookshop, Faura Books, OWK Press, Ideodromio Bookshop, Peridiavasi Bookshop, Ektos Grammis, Panoptikon, Cultural Foundation 1948, Potlatch and Psifides.