FINAL press release: BOOK WORLD PRAGUE 2017
A book fair notable for a record number of visitors and a positive response from exhibitors and visitors alike
23rd INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR AND LITERARY FESTIVAL
venue: Palace of Industry, Prague Exhibition Grounds (Holešovice)
11th – 14th May 2017
Organizer: Svět knihy, s.r.o. [Book World Ltd.], a company of the Association of Czech Booksellers and Publishers
Patrons: Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic, Mayor of Prague, Mayor of Prague 7 District
Sponsors: Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, Prague City Hall, Prague 7 District Authority
Main partner: ČSOB (bank)
Partners: Association of Audiobook Publishers,DOX Centre for Contemporary Art,CzechTourism, Czech Centres, National Gallery, National Museum; Alza Media, Auroton Computer, Brand, Graspo, Chybík + Kristof, KOMA, Magnesia
Media partners: Czech Television, Czech Radio, Právo, Knižní novinky, Host, A2, Art & Antiques, Literární noviny, Echo weekly, Radio 1, Newton Media
The 23rd Book World Prague international book fair and literary festival prepared several innovations for its visitors, most of which were very well received. Existing exhibitors were joined by small, specialist publishing houses, whose presentations, displays of books and programmes were held in a special tent. The festival part of the event branched out into the impressive surroundings of the Lapidarium, while in a lively new space in front of the Palace of Industry visitors found new refreshment opportunities plus a creatively designed InfoPoint with mini-gallery and reading area. There was also a programme in the new Gulliver airship for literature, held in cooperation with the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art. Seven walks were offered to visitors interested in discoveringliterary sights of Prague.
This year’s programme for professionals focused mainly on translation and the presentation of Czech literature abroad. There were several discussion panels featuring representatives of publishing houses abroad whose lists contain Czech literature, scholars of Czech who translate it, and literary agents who offer the sale of rights for the publication abroad of works by Czech authors. The programme for professionals also included a meeting attended by the committee responsible for organization of the Czech Republic’s guest-of-honour appearance at the 2019 Leipzig Book Fair and invited German publishers.
As part of the theme Genius Loci in Literature: Place in the Starring Role, the UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature were presented in a major exhibition. Representatives of four Creative Cities – Krakow, Lviv, Barcelona and Nottingham – came to Prague to share experience and inspiration in the programme for professionals. The Creative Cities Dublin, Heidelberg, Ljubljana and Óbidos were represented at the fair by their writers.
The programme of The Book as Object, the second major theme of the fair, comprised many exhibitions. The Lapidarium building, which is adjacent to the Palace of Industry, housed displays of the world’s most beautiful books, the art of Eliška Čabalová and works by Michal Bačák (Best Illustrator at the Czech Grand Design awards), plus the National Museum’s exhibition On the wings of the muse: artists and books. There were exhibitions, too, in the Palace of Industry, where visitor attractions included an opportunity to replicate a page of the Kralice Bible by medieval letterpress technology.
The third major thematic focus was Audiobooks. Visitors were invited to a special space to listen to interesting books read by famous Czech actors. The expansive programme of the Association of Audiobook Publishers ran in the Audiobooks Room.
Other themed segments that always attract many visitors includeevents for children and young people, Fantasy & SF,Cooking with the Book and Das Buch, aproject for presentation of German-language literature.
Competitions and prize-givings have become an essential part of the fair’s programme. At this year’s event, the fair’s organizers, individual publishing houses and associations for professionals held a total of nineteen of them. The most popular include the ‘Torture Rack’ Anti-award(Czech Literary Translators’ Guild), theAwards of the Academy of SF, Fantasy and Horror(Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror), the2016 Audiobook of the Year(Association of Audiobook Publishers) andthe Jiří Orten Prize(Association of Czech Booksellers and Publishers). The Jiri Theiner Awardwas this year conferred on Edgar de Bruin, a Czech scholar, translator and literary agent from the Netherlands.
Events with the highest visitor attendance included readings by writers John Boyne and Uri Orlev (who also came together for a debate at the Memorial of Silence at the Bubny railway station) and bestselling authors Corinne Hofmannand Karine Tuil.Chinese dissident writer Liao Yiwu attracted a high level of interest owing to his attitudes and opinions.
Statistics for BOOK WORLD PRAGUE 2017
Literary Festival
participants:636
total programmes: 486
total exhibitions: 20
countries and regions active in the programme: 27
Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America
Fair
exhibitors: 396
stands: 205
surface area: 3,412 m2
professional visitors registered: 682
accredited journalists:237
visitors: 44,000
exhibiting countries and regions: 31
Belarus, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America
A total of 33 countries were represented at the fair and festival.