2026 edition
DateSaturday, 5 December 2026
Time11:00 – 18:00
VenueTemple de Clarens, Av. Eugène-Rambert 30, 1815 Clarens (Montreux)
See the venue on the map
OrganiserR.O.D. Association
In collaboration withA.C.-RO Suisse (Fribourg)
With the support ofRomanian-language schools in Switzerland
Free entry
About the festival
Diaspora BookFest is an intercultural literary event built around direct encounters between writers and the public. It is aimed at Romanian communities, but also at the Swiss public and the region’s international communities, and brings together Romanian authors living in Switzerland or in the diaspora alongside writers of other nationalities.
What sets the festival apart is the closeness between author and reader: the author is not just a name on a book cover, but a living presence the public can talk to and exchange experiences with.
Theme of the first edition: “From idea to book”
This first edition, a pilot, pays special attention to young literary talents and encourages young people to write. Through dialogue with authors, participants will discover the stages of a book’s journey:
idea → first texts → manuscript → revision → finding a publisher → editorial process → publication → meeting the reader
A highlight of the day will be a conversation with a young author who wrote a book at the age of 16, an example showing that age is no obstacle to creativity.
Where we come from
Diaspora BookFest grew out of monthly meetings devoted to poetry, literature and cultural dialogue, started by the R.O.D. Association. Born in the Romanian community, they gradually attracted authors and participants of other nationalities and showed there is interest in a broader literary event.
Previous editions
This is the festival’s first edition. Once it is over, photos and a summary of the day will be added here, and every future edition will have its place in this section.