Odakle zovem (Where I'm Calling From)
Four free evenings of poetry and film at Karver bookstore's riverside plaza.
This event has ended
It returns every year — dates for the next edition haven't been announced yet.
Podgorica in early July is a city of hot days and long, sociable nights. Montenegro's capital sits on a plain where rivers meet, and the Ribnica — small, quiet and threading through the very heart of town — is where the city comes to cool down after dark. Holding a literary festival on its embankment turns that geography into stagecraft: the water, the stone and the summer night do much of the work before a word is read.
Its stage is unlike any other: the plaza on Obala Ribnice, along the small Ribnica river in the heart of the city, where summer nights host poetry readings, film screenings and open discussions. The 2026 edition was opened by the Czech Ambassador, accompanied by a string quartet, and paid homage to the dramatist Ljubomir Đurković and to Božo Koprivica, the beloved essayist who died in 2026.
The festival carries the spirit of the bookstore that created it — intimate, curious and international at once. Writers read to audiences seated a few steps from the water, and the line between guests and public dissolves in conversation afterwards. It suits unhurried evenings: you arrive, find a place near the river, and let the programme carry you from poetry into film and back into talk.
All programmes are free. For anyone in Podgorica in early July, an evening on the Ribnica embankment with poetry in the air is among the city's most atmospheric experiences. The festival is annual and held at the Karver bookstore plaza on Obala Ribnice; the 2026 edition ran from 2 to 5 July.
What to expect
Born in a bookstore
Created by Karver, the beloved Podgorica bookstore founded by actress Varja Đukić.
Riverside literary nights
Readings and screenings on the plaza on Obala Ribnice, beside the Ribnica river.
18 editions of international letters
Poetry, film and discussion with guests from Montenegro and abroad since the festival's beginnings.
Free summer programme
Four July evenings, all free of charge.
A string-quartet opening
The 2026 edition was opened by the Czech Ambassador, accompanied by a string quartet performance.
Homage to great writers
The 2026 festival honoured the dramatist Ljubomir Đurković and the late essayist Božo Koprivica.
What happens when
July 2 – 5, 2026
- Thu2JulThursday, July 2Opening ceremonyThe 18th edition opened with the Czech Ambassador and a string quartet on the Obala Ribnice plaza.
- Sun5JulSunday, July 5Final festival eveningThe closing evening of the 2026 edition.
Photos
Where it takes place
Venue
Plato ispred knjižare Karver (Obala Ribnice), ispod mosta na Ribnici, i sala Muzičkog centra Crne Gore, Podgorica
Karver bookstore, Obala Ribnice, Podgorica
Get directions
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Plan your stay
Podgorica — where to stay and how to get around
Live offers from local hosts on our booking platform. Nothing is charged online — you pay the host on site.
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Booking requests are confirmed by the host; payment on site. Offers come from the Travel to Montenegro booking platform.
More events
What else is on in Montenegro around the same time.
Autumn Folklore Festival
Regional folk ensembles, vocal groups and majorettes fill Herceg Novi over five free autumn days.
Meetings under the Old Olive Tree
Children's poetry and art celebrated beneath Bar's 2,000-year-old olive tree each November.
DEUS — December Arts Scene
A month-long December season of theatre, music, literature and film across Podgorica.
