The 21st edition of Books at Berlinale took place at Berlinale 2026 from February 14 to 17. The goal of the project, a collaboration between the Berlinale film festival and the Frankfurter Buchmesse, is to strengthen cooperation between the film and book industries. The selected books are presented in a moderated session to approximately 180 leading figures from the film industry.
This year, Czech writer Eli Beneš also made it to the top 10 with his book A Slight Loss of Loneliness. He is the first-ever Czech representative in the twenty years of this project.
Eli Beneš received the DILIA Litera Award for Debut of the year. “I wrote the book primarily for myself, the kind of book I would like to read. I didn’t write a novel for awards or profit, but in the end, I got both, and that is certainly gratifying – I don’t believe those who say they don’t care at all,” says the writer.