BOKBAR Pop-up Bookshop

For the second year running, books will be lining our walls as autumn leaves fall. BOKBAR, a Nordic bookshop perched at the very top of the lively Belleville hill, will be taking up residence at the Institut suédois and offering a wide choice of novels by Nordic authors as well as as a selection of books relating to our exhibition programming.
Start date:
17 Oct 2025
End date:
21 Dec 2025
Category:
At the Institut Suédois
Time
From Tuesday to Sunday, 12 pm to 7 pm. Late opening on Thursday to 9 pm. Launch evening: 16 October, 6–9 pm. 
Illustration showing three characters at a bar, reading books.
Illustration Isabel Gaillard

BOKBAR is the only Nordic bookshop-cum-cafĂ© in Paris, a place for keen and curious readers to gather in the cosmopolitan neighbourhood of Belleville. On its shelves, which will be extending to the Institut suĂ©dois for the autumn, great classics and newly published works stand alongside graphic novels and children’s books, from Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland.

In addition to novels, the bookshop will be offering a selection of books relating to the themes of the Institut’s programme of events: contemporary art in October to accompany Tarik Kiswanson’s exhibition, photography in November for the ‘Materials of Memories’ collective exhibition, and, in December, beautiful, lavishly illustrated books to offer as gifts.

@cafebokbar on Instagram

Event: Nordic literature through the eyes of a bookseller, an author and a translator
04.12.2025 / 19:30 – 20:30
In English

What makes literature “Nordic”? Is it a distinct tone, a particular way of seeing the world, or a shared literary nerve reflected in recurring themes and stories? Or is “Nordic literature” simply a story we continually reinvent?

A bookseller, an author, and a translator – Natalie Magnusson, Anneli Jordahl, and Anna Gibson – will share what they recognize in Nordic writing, what surprises them, and what connects it across languages and borders. Far from academic discourse, this conversation embraces subjectivity, rooted in practice, intuition, and lived encounters with literature.

Useful information

  • Pop-up bookshop open and books for sale during the Institut suĂ©dois’ opening hours, from Tuesday to Sunday, 12 noon–7 pm, 9 pm on Thursday.
  • Reading room on the second floor accessible at weekends during opening hours and on Thursday evenings, 6–9 pm.