The 9th Tbilisi International Festival of Literature was held under special circumstances. Instead of its traditional host – the Writers’ House – the organization of the festival was taken over by the Georgian PEN Center. In recent years, the Georgian government began gross interference in the cultural sphere to subordinate it, as a result, several cultural institutions, including the traditional organizer of the festival – the Writers’ House – lost their independence. As the preservation of the independence of creative processes, freedom of speech and expression is crucial in literature, in 2024, the festival was organized by the Georgian PEN Center. The main theme of the festival was “Protest within literature and beyond,” which was directly related to the ongoing protest movement in the country against the “Russian Law.” Festival guests had the opportunity to meet the English writer of Georgian origin, Leo Vardiashvili, whose debut novel achieved great success in Britain and beyond.