Paulina Frankiewicz appointed the Programme Director of the Conrad Festival!

The Conrad Festival in Krakow is considered the most important international literary event in Poland and one of the key events of its kind in all of Europe. Since 2009, it has been jointly organised by the City of Kraków, the Krakow Festival Office – operator of the Kraków UNESCO City of Literature programme – and the Tygodnik Powszechny Foundation. The list of guests invited to attend the seventeen editions of the festival included eminent writers from six continents, including winners of prestigious accolades – the Nobel Prize for Literature, the Booker Prize, the Goncourt Prize, the Cervantes Prize and the Strega Prize. A staple of the festival is the Conrad Award Gala, featuring the best debuts of the past year.

Paulina Frankiewicz will start working on the programme for the October festival in January. She is a philosophy graduate – in 2024, she defended her dissertation on absurdism at the University of Łódź. She has worked as a promoter of the philosophical series published by the university’s publishing house, as well as secretary of the Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Literaria Polonica academic journal. From 2020 to 2024, she owned a cosy bookshop Do Dzieła in Łódź, and in 2023-2024 she worked as deputy director of the House of Literature in Łódź. Until recently, she was in charge of promotion at Wydawnictwo Karakter publishing house. She is the president of the Polish Albert Camus Association and book editor, who writes about literature, hosts meetings with authors, organises debates and reading workshops.

‘The Conrad Festival, which I have been a part of for a long time now, is about freedom of thought and asking in-depth fundamental questions in order to seek answers. Often for a long time after the festival events are over, on my own,’ says Paulina Frankiewicz, adding: ‘Literature remains one of the few spaces where we can still be together despite all the differences. The importance of this cannot be overstated. It is worth following the truth of a story that can help us face the past, present and future reality, understand and enrich our inner and outer worlds. I am immensely happy to have an opportunity to play my part in supporting all the courageous readers in their endeavours.’

Until now, the creative director of the Conrad Festival was Olga Drenda – writer, anthropologist and columnist at Tygodnik Powszechny.. She has worked on two editions of the festival – the 16th edition, titled Authenticity, and the 17th, titled Radical Hope. During this time, the festival featured numerous eminent authors, including Abdulrazak Gurnah, Karl Ove Knausgård, Olga Tokarczuk and Emily St. John Mandel.

‘Due to personal reasons, I am currently unable to commit to the festival to the extent it needs. We remain in touch – this is certainly not a farewell for good. I am glad to be able to hand over my responsibilities to Paulina Frankiewicz,’ says Olga Drenda. ‘I would like to thank the Tygodnik Powszechny Foundation, which invited me to join this endeavour, and the Krakow Festival Office team for their trust and faith in my ideas. I am convinced that we have managed to uphold the reputation of a festival that has its own style and voice, but also the willingness to change and explore new paths. ‘The heated discussions among the audience, the long life of our conversations and even the notes taken in the heat of the moment during meetings with authors were the best indication that the event is alive and has an impact,’ Olga Drenda points out.

‘Together with my deputy – Agnieszka Iskra – we would like to thank them both. ‘Olga for the amazing ideas brought to life over the past two years, and Paulina for her courage in taking on the challenge of taking over the festival,’ says Aleksander Kardyś, President of the Tygodnik Powszechny Foundation.

Carolina Pietyra, who also heads the Krakow Festival Office, will continue to serve as the executive director of the Conrad Festival. ‘We have no doubt about the important role the autumn festival of literature plays in Krakow’s cultural life. That is why we have been taking care of its stable development together with the Tygodnik Powszechny Foundation,’ the executive director points out and adds: ‘I accept Olga Drenda’s decision with understanding and gratitude for the inspiring collaboration over the past years. Its results – in the form of recordings of selected festival meetings and debates about literature – can be seen on the organisers’ social media profiles and in the  Conrad na fali podcast. We are now starting the intensive work on this year’s event. I am looking forward to making it a reality with Paulina Frankiewicz on board!’.