BookCity Milano Prepares for Its 15th Edition (November 23–29, 2026). Seven Days of Books, Culture and New Ideas

The event dedicated to books and reading continues to grow. This year, the programme expands to include additional cities, bringing events to historic venues, squares, public spaces and libraries, and strengthening cultural ties between Milan and other cities.

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  Da sinistra: Giuseppe Sala, Piergaetano Marchetti, Luca Formenton, Marco Balzano e Giovanna Zucconi.

From left: Giuseppe Sala, Piergaetano Marchetti, Luca Formenton, Marco Balzano and Giovanna Zucconi.

BookCity Milano returns from November 23 to 29 for its fifteenth edition. A week dedicated to books and reading will involve the entire city with a programme of more than 1,360 events, 2,487 participants and 1,164 books presented, across 443 venues, including bookshops, libraries, museums, theatres, universities and cultural spaces.

The theme chosen for 2026 is “Il senno sulla Luna. Sette giorni di libri, ragioni e follie” (“Reason on the Moon. Seven Days of Books, Reason and Madness”), a title inspired by Orlando Furioso and the episode of the journey to the Moon to recover lost reason. This metaphor provides a starting point for reflecting on the present, amid conflicts, technological transformations, individual vulnerabilities and the need to rediscover critical thinking.

Alongside traditional book presentations and meetings with authors, the programme offers numerous thematic strands. Literature, art, philosophy, science, technology, spirituality, current affairs, politics and society come together in a calendar spanning different languages and disciplines. There will also be events dedicated to poetry, comics, cinema, music and theatre, as well as discussions of major contemporary issues, from artificial intelligence to relationships, education and gender equality.

New additions to this year's edition include initiatives dedicated to early childhood, with a specific programme designed to introduce young children to reading, and a particular focus on the Via Padova district, which will be at the centre of a cultural enhancement project developed in collaboration with local associations and independent venues.

BookCity also reaffirms its commitment to a citywide and regional programme, extending its activities beyond Milan and involving several towns across Lombardy. The programme also includes initiatives in schools, universities, hospitals and prisons, with the aim of making culture accessible to different audiences and communities.

For one week, Milan will thus become a vast meeting place for discussion and exchange, where books provide a starting point for exploring the contemporary world, sharing experiences and reflecting on the future.

The extensive programme is set to include Alessandro Bergonzoni, Stefano Accorsi, Fernando Aramburu, Franco Arminio, Pupi Avati, Andy Bluvertigo, Paolo Benanti, Federica Brignone, Jan Brokken, Federico Buffa, Mario Calabresi, Gianrico Carofiglio, Tonino Carotone, Donato Carrisi, Franco Cardini, Flavio Caroli, Gino Castaldo, Aldo Cazzullo, Mauro Corona, Francesco Costa, Samantha Cristoforetti, Massimo D’Alema, Ferruccio De Bortoli, Concita De Gregorio, Mario Delpini, Donatella Di Pietrantonio, Jean Echenoz, Amalia Ercoli Finzi, Corrado Formigli, Dario Franceschini, Gianna Fratta, Milena Gabanelli, Umberto Galimberti, Paolo Giordano, Massimo Gramellini, Nicola Gratteri, Gabriella Greison, Lino Guanciale, Samantha Harvey, Sheila Heti, Nicola Lagioia, Gad Lerner, Vittorio Lingiardi, Carlo Lucarelli, Selvaggia Lucarelli, Milo Manara, Dacia Maraini, Vito Mancuso, Neri Marcorè, Paolo Mieli, Gianna Nannini, Maurizio Nichetti, Noemi, Paolo Nori, Leo Ortolani, Vincenzo Paglia, Daniel Pennac, Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Telmo Pievani, Massimo Polidoro, Massimo Recalcati, Alejandro Guillermo Roemmers, Cecilia Sala, Giuseppe Sala, Roberto Saviano, Walter Siti, Giovanni Storti, Claudio Strinati, TVBOY, Edmund de Waal, Bruno Vespa, Francesco Vezzoli, Fabio Volo, Colson Whitehead and Zerocalcare.