Costa Navarino: Democracy and Books in the Spotlight

The power of books, their effect on democracy and contribution to political change and social awareness will be on the focus of the Democracy and Books Weekend, which will be held between September 14 and 16, at Costa Navarino in Messinia, in the Peloponnese.

Organized for the fourth consecutive year by Costa Navarino in collaboration with The New York Times (NYT) Democracy Forum, the event will take place on the occasion of Athens’ role as World Book Capital for 2018.

The Weekend’s central panel discussion will be moderated by The New York Times Book Review editor Pamela Paul and will feature prominent speakers including author and philosopher Pascal Bruckner; author and environmentalist Stanley Johnson; Bloomsbury Group Editor in Chief Alexandra Pringle; Eaton Professor of the Science of Government at Harvard University, Daniel Ziblatt, and Nexus Institute founder and author Rob Riemen.

Furthermore, participants include The New York Times Company president and CEO Mark Thompson; Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and author Serge Schmemann; author and columnist Roger Cohen.

The Westin Resort, Costa Navarino

Parallel events will include a discussion with Alexandra Pringle on the ways a book can be successful and its course from the manuscript to the bookstore. Furthermore, Pascal Bruckner will read extracts from his book “Un racisme imaginaire: La querelle de l’islamophobie et culpabilite”.

In addition, the Democracy and Books Weekend will include philosophy walks in the Messinian countryside; classes of traditional local cuisine; olive oil tasting events and  guided tours to the exhibition “When Pictures Paint a Thousand Words”, which features illustrations by renowned Greek artist Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas.

The Weekend will take place within the framework of The NYT Athens Democracy Forum, which will be held for the sixth consecutive year between September 16 and 18, in Athens.