Tbilisi Book Fair 2026: Four Days of Books, Authors, and Georgian Literary Culture at Expo Georgia, April 23–26

Georgia is a country that has kept its language alive against extraordinary historical pressure — against conquest, occupation, and the Soviet attempt to subordinate everything distinctive about Georgian culture into a uniform communist identity. The Georgian alphabet, which has been in continuous use since at least the 5th century, was not just a writing system but an act of cultural resistance. The books written in it were not just publications but declarations of survival.

This history lives in the Tbilisi Book Fair — the spring edition of Tbilisi's annual celebration of the written word, which takes place from Thursday, April 23 to Sunday, April 26, 2026 at Pavilion 11 of Expo Georgia, the country's leading exhibition and convention centre.

Four days of Georgian and international publishers, author presentations, literary events, and the specific energy of a city that takes its books seriously. Entry is open to all.

Georgia and the Written Word: A Cultural Foundation That Runs Deep

To appreciate what the Tbilisi Book Fair means in context, it helps to understand the role that literature and the written word have played in Georgian cultural identity — a role that goes considerably beyond the commercial or the recreational.

The Georgian alphabet is one of only fourteen writing systems in the world that is currently in active use and that was entirely original in its creation — not derived from another script. It first appears in inscriptions from the 5th century AD, but Georgian oral literary tradition predates this significantly. The national epic poem "The Knight in the Panther's Skin" (Vepkhistkaosani) by Shota Rustaveli — written in the 12th century under Queen Tamar's patronage — is not merely a historical artefact: it is a living cultural text, quoted at Georgian feasts, referenced in everyday conversation, and studied by every Georgian schoolchild as the foundational work of their literary heritage.

The Georgian Publishers and Booksellers Association — the organisation that has run the annual Tbilisi International Book Festival since 1997 — represents a publishing sector that has rebuilt itself after the Soviet period and now produces thousands of titles annually in Georgian, with a growing translation programme bringing Georgian literature to international readers and international literature to Georgian audiences.

The Tbilisi Book Fair: April 23–26 at Expo Georgia

The Tbilisi Book Fair at Expo Georgia in late April is the spring edition of Tbilisi's literary calendar — a book fair format that brings together publishers, authors, translators, and readers in one of the city's largest exhibition spaces.

Venue: Pavilion 11, Expo Georgia

Dates: April 23–26, 2026

Format: The fair is structured around publisher stands in Pavilion 11 — the main exhibition hall that has hosted Tbilisi's literary fairs for many years — with both Georgian publishers and international participants presenting their catalogues.

Alongside the main book market, visitors can browse:

• New releases from Georgian publishers across fiction, non-fiction, children's books, academic, and illustrated titles
• International books and translations available in Georgian editions
• Publisher catalogues and forthcoming titles
• Stationery, gifts, and book-related merchandise

The Tbilisi International Book Festival: Georgia's Flagship Literary Event

The Tbilisi Book Fair in April is the spring edition of the city's book culture, while the Tbilisi International Book Festival (TIBF) — organised by the Georgian Publishers and Booksellers Association since 1997 — is Georgia's flagship annual literary event.

The 27th Tbilisi International Book Festival takes place from May 29 to June 1, 2026 at Expo Georgia — just five weeks after the April spring fair, making the spring-summer period the richest consecutive stretch in the Tbilisi literary calendar.

The TIBF format, which the spring fair draws on for programme inspiration, has developed over 27 editions into one of the largest literary events in the Caucasus region:

• 80+ Georgian and foreign publishing houses participating each year
• 100+ events across four days — presentations, readings, workshops, literary discussions, children's programme
• Tens of thousands of visitors across the festival's duration
• Focus country programme — each edition partners with a different country's literary scene to provide special programming; past focus countries have included Poland, Norway, Germany, Finland, and Turkey; the focus country programme is prepared by the relevant cultural institute in Tbilisi and includes author visits, publisher meetings, and cultural events
• Children's Space — a dedicated section with puppet theatre, workshops, and meetings with children's authors and illustrators, supported by festival partner TBC Bank
• "Actors for Literature" — one of the festival's most popular recurring programmes, in which famous Georgian film and theatre actors present books and lead artistic readings before large audiences
• Literary prizes — the festival is the occasion for several Georgian literary award ceremonies

The April Book Fair is a more focused, market-oriented complement to the TIBF's fuller programme — offering the same opportunity to discover Georgian publishers and buy books in a fair format without the full programming overhead of the May festival.

Expo Georgia: The Venue and Its Significance

Expo Georgia is the only convention and exhibition centre in Georgia and the leading one in the Caucasus region — a multi-pavilion complex that hosts international trade fairs, conferences, agricultural expos, and cultural events across its extensive pavilion space.

The complex is located in Tbilisi and is used throughout the year for events ranging from agricultural exhibitions to technology fairs to food expos — but it returns to its most culturally resonant use every spring and early summer when Pavilion 11 fills with books.

Pavilion 11 — the dedicated book fair pavilion — is a large, climate-controlled exhibition hall that accommodates the publisher stands, event spaces, children's areas, and reading zones that make up the book fair layout. The pavilion's capacity and organisation allow for a genuinely comfortable fair experience even at the peak attendance periods of a weekend afternoon.

Expo Georgia address: 1 Agmashenebeli Alley, Tbilisi, Georgia

The complex is accessible by metro from the city centre — the Varskvlavi (Star) Metro Station on Metro Line 1 is the closest station, approximately 10 minutes by metro from Freedom Square.

Tbilisi's Literary Landscape: Beyond the Fair

The Tbilisi Book Fair at Expo Georgia exists within a broader literary ecosystem in Tbilisi that gives the city one of the most active reading cultures in the Caucasus.

Bookshops Worth Visiting During Book Fair Week

Biblusi (multiple locations including Rustaveli Avenue) — the dominant chain bookshop in Georgia; Georgian language, Russian, and English-language stock; international magazines and stationery

Prospero's Books (14 Rustaveli Avenue) — the English-language bookshop that has been a gathering point for Tbilisi's international community and English-reading Georgian readers for decades; an institution in the city's literary life, with a cafe attached and a selection that covers literary fiction, travel writing, history, and books on Georgia and the Caucasus

Libreria (Sololaki) — the specialist bookshop in the Old Town district, with a carefully curated selection and a particularly strong Georgian literature section

Gebi — one of the long-established Georgian publishers and booksellers with retail outlets in Tbilisi, participating in both the spring fair and the TIBF

The Tbilisi Literary Cafes

The coffee-and-book culture of Tbilisi is expressed in a number of cafes that maintain small libraries and literary atmospheres alongside their coffee programmes — in Vera, Sololaki, and along Rustaveli Avenue, these spaces are where the city's reading community gathers between formal events.

The Georgian National Library

The Parliamentary National Library of Georgia at 7 Gudiashvili Street — one of the oldest and most significant libraries in the Caucasus, holding over 4 million items including rare Georgian manuscripts, historical documents, and one of the most complete collections of Georgian-language publications in existence — is open to visitors and is one of the cultural landmarks that contextualises the Book Fair's place in a larger tradition.

Practical Information for April 23–26, 2026

Dates: Thursday, April 23 – Sunday, April 26, 2026

Venue: Pavilion 11, Expo Georgia, Tbilisi

Address: 1 Agmashenebeli Alley, Tbilisi, Georgia

Entry: Open to all visitors (admission typically free or nominal entry fee; check georgiatoday.ge and the official GPBA website closer to the event)

Getting to Expo Georgia:

• By metro: Metro Line 1 to Varskvlavi (Star) Station — approximately 5-minute walk to the Expo Georgia complex entrance; journey from Freedom Square station approximately 10 minutes
• By taxi/Bolt: From the city centre, approximately 15–20 minutes by car; fare approximately GEL 8–12 (~€3–4.50); Bolt is the most efficient option
• By bus: City bus routes serving the Agmashenebeli/Expo Georgia area connect to the city centre

From Tbilisi International Airport:

• Metro Line 2 from the airport to Akhmeteli station, then change to Line 1 direction toward Isani/Samgori and continue to Varskvlavi; total journey approximately 35–40 minutes
• Taxi/Bolt from airport directly to Expo Georgia: approximately 30–35 minutes; GEL 30–40 (~€11–15)

What to bring:

• Cash (Georgian Lari, GEL) — many publishers and smaller stalls prefer cash; ATMs are available at the Expo Georgia complex
• Reusable bag — books are heavy and you will likely buy more than expected
• A list of Georgian authors to explore — the book fair is one of the best single opportunities to discover contemporary Georgian literature and to purchase editions that are not available outside Georgia

Weather in late April Tbilisi:

18–24°C, spring afternoons, long evening light; the indoor pavilion format means weather is irrelevant for the fair itself, but the walk to and from the metro or taxi in late April Tbilisi is one of the more pleasant short urban journeys of the year.

Four Days for Books, One City for Literature

From April 23 to April 26 at Pavilion 11 of Expo Georgia, Tbilisi's spring literary season is in its fullest expression: publishers, readers, Georgian literature in all its depth, and the international books that a city this curious about the world naturally wants to engage with.

The fair opens on Thursday. It runs through Sunday. Tens of thousands of people will pass through Pavilion 11 across those four days — people for whom books are not background but foreground, in a country that has kept its alphabet and its literature alive against extraordinary odds, and which celebrates both every spring at Expo Georgia.

The Tbilisi International Book Festival follows five weeks later, May 29 – June 1, at the same venue.

Verified Information at a Glance