The third edition of the literary festival Ponta Lopud Book Bridge will take place from 17 to 19 September at the restored Rector’s Palace on Lopud. Under the theme Memory, Belonging, Storytelling, this year’s programme follows the journey of a story from personal and collective memory, through writing, editing and publication, to encounters with readers, other art forms and new settings. Through conversations, author readings, a storytelling evening and presentations of new work, the festival connects the Croatian and Irish literary scenes. At the heart of the programme are themes of family, homeland, migration, conflict and exile, as well as the role of literature in bringing different experiences, communities and cultures closer together.

Following the official opening on Thursday, 17 September, the programme begins with the conversation Literature After Conflict: How Stories Help Us Live with Trauma. Martin Doyle, Books Editor of The Irish Times, Edi Matić, a writer and editor at Fragment Publishing, and Faruk Šehić, a writer and journalist, will discuss how literature engages with inherited memories, loss and the process of reconciliation. The conversation will be moderated by festival co-founder James Candon and writer and festival artistic director Staša Aras. In Voices of Contemporary Irish Literature, Sheila Armstrong, Jessamine O’Connor and Louise Nealon – three contemporary authors whose work has made its mark on the Irish literary scene in recent years – will read from their work. The day concludes with Pričigin – Bridge, an evening of live storytelling bringing together the Croatian and Irish guests Jelena Miholjević, Louise Nealon, Danijela Crljen, Marinko Koščec and James Candon to share personal and unexpected stories, moderated by Patricija Horvat.

Friday, 18 September, begins with the conversation Different Places, Different Stories: New Irish and Croatian Fiction, in which Sheila Armstrong, Louise Nealon, Jessamine O’Connor, Faruk Šehić and Marinko Koščec explore how changes in place, community and ways of life shape contemporary fiction. The conversation will be moderated by Aidan O’Malley and Staša Aras. This will be followed by the presentation of two new novels: Dario Harjaček’s Stotina godina (2025) and Marinko Koščec's Preko mosta (2026), with Patricija Horvat and Staša Aras. The evening author readings will feature Martin Doyle, Faruk Šehić, Jessamine O’Connor and Jelena Miholjević.

The final day, Saturday, 19 September, opens with Family Stories: Memory, Place and Legacy, in which Ivana Lovrić Jović (Devet receptora za gorko, 2026) and Danijela Crljen (Deset tisuća koraka, 2024) discuss how family memory and a sense of place shape a writer’s voice and individual identity. The conversation will be moderated by Staša Aras. In Home, Exile and Belonging, Oona Frawley, Shane Tivenan, Claire-Lise Kieffer and Faruk Šehić will consider home as both a real and imagined space, as well as experiences of departure and the search for belonging. In From Page to Stage, Jelena Miholjević and Dario Harjaček will discuss adaptation, performance and the dialogue between literature and theatre. In From Manuscript to Publication, editor and translator Saša Drach, in a conversation moderated by Staša Aras and James Candon, will examine the possibilities for publishing work by Book Bridge participants.

The festival concludes with author readings by Dario Harjaček, Marinko Koščec, Staša Aras, Louise Nealon and Oona Frawley, followed by the closing conversation Why Do Stories Matter? Martin Doyle, Oona Frawley, Marinko Koščec and Dario Harjaček will discuss the role of literature in fostering empathy and forging connections across linguistic, cultural and historical boundaries.

Admission is free, and the full programme is available at pontalopud.hr and on the Ponta Lopud Creative Platform’s social media channels.

The Ponta Lopud Creative Platform presents three summer cultural programmes in 2026, bringing together lovers of the arts, particularly film, music and literature. The Ponta Lopud Film Festival, the first of the three events, took place from 25 to 28 June. The second, the Ponta Lopud Jazz Festival, brought music lovers to the island from 27 to 29 August, while the Ponta Lopud Book Bridge will transform Lopud into a literary retreat from 17 to 19 September and bring this year’s summer festival season to a close.