Why Some Budapest Bus Stops Are Turning Into Tiny Literature Galleries This Autumn
If you’re wandering around Budapest this autumn and notice commuters lingering at a bus or tram stop a little longer than usual, don’t assume they’ve missed their ride. Chances are they’re reading a short story. Across the city’s busiest transit stops, ordinary advertising panels are being transformed into miniature literary showcases as part of “Álljon meg egy novellára!” (loosely, “Stop for a Short Story!”), one of Hungary’s most beloved literary initiatives, now in its ninth year.
A Literary Tradition Built Into the City’s Bus Stops
The concept, launched by outdoor advertising company JCDecaux back in 2017, is simple: instead of ads, some of the country’s busiest bus and tram shelters display short stories written by everyday people, giving commuters a few minutes of good writing while they wait. Over nine editions, the jury has evaluated more than 23,000 submissions, and this year’s competition drew 3,120 entries from writers across Hungary.
One stop has already gone a step further than the rest. At Móricz Zsigmond Square, one of Buda’s busiest transport hubs, a shelter has been reimagined into a full storytelling corner, complete with oversized book-shaped benches passengers can actually sit on while waiting for their tram. It’s a playful, photogenic touch worth a short detour if you want to see the project in three dimensions rather than just on a printed panel.
Meet This Year’s Winning Stories
Twenty stories made this year’s shortlist, representing eighteen authors, since two writers each had two separate stories selected, a first in the competition’s history. All entries were judged anonymously to keep the process fair.
The top prize went to Bence Álmos Kiss for his story “Öt perc” (“Five Minutes”), earning roughly 300,000 forints. Second place went to Péter Palotai for “A répanadrágos fiú beprogramozza a közös jövőt,” while third place was awarded to Donáta Batta for “Összetevők” (“Ingredients”). Bookstore chain Libri, the competition’s main sponsor, also gave its special award for the best entry from an author under 25 to Barbara Czebei for “Rigószív” (“Blackbird Heart”).
Best deals of Budapest
Like the winning entries, all twenty shortlisted stories explore small, recognizable moments of everyday life: a wait that stretches too long, a chance encounter, a quiet tension between two people, or a small decision that ends up mattering more than expected. It’s exactly the kind of writing that rewards a short pause between destinations.
Where and How to Read Them
The twenty best stories are now on display at some of the busiest bus and tram stops around the country, including several prominent Budapest locations, and are also published online for anyone who’d rather read at their own pace. There’s an audio option too: the stories have been recorded as a podcast series performed by well-known Hungarian actors Miklós Vecsei H. and Panna Balázsy, available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Even without fluent Hungarian, it’s a charming way to experience contemporary local culture during your trip.
Public voting is also underway through October 1, giving readers a chance to pick their own favorite among the twenty finalists.
The People Behind the Project
The jury was once again chaired by acclaimed author Krisztián Grecsó, now in his eighth year in the role, alongside returning members Miklós Vecsei H. and Orsolya Stefanie Ludvig of Libri, joined this year by writer and psychologist Noémi Orvos-Tóth and author Betti Kollár.
Grecsó has emphasized that projects like this show literature is a living tradition, not something that ended with the great poets of the past or with school exams, and that placing stories in public spaces helps make them more approachable, especially for younger generations. Tímea Jamniczky, CEO of JCDecaux Hungary, has described her favorite image of the project: someone waiting for a tram who gets so drawn into a story that they let the tram go just to finish reading it.
More Than Just a Competition
Nine years in, “Álljon meg egy novellára!” has grown into more than a writing contest. It’s a genuine community event that gives emerging Hungarian writers real visibility, with several past winners going on to publish in respected literary magazines. For visitors, stumbling across one of these stories, whether printed at a tram stop, discovered on a giant book-bench at Móricz Zsigmond Square, or heard through headphones on a podcast, offers a small but genuine window into contemporary Hungarian storytelling, and a reminder that Budapest’s most interesting surprises sometimes hide in plain sight, right at the bus stop.