The 35th Sarajevo International Book Fair was officially opened in the “Mirza Delibasic” hall in the Skenderija Center on Wednesday, with the participation of more than 150 publishers from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the region and beyond.
KJP Center Skenderija – Sarajevo Fair and Program Council of the Book Fair is traditionally the organizer of the International Book Fair, which is held this year from April 17th to April 22ndunder the motto “The Word” (Rijec). The programs of the participants of the fair are realized in the “Mirza Delibasic” hall, the Youth Centre, the Foaje, ”Svecani salon”, and on the plateau of the Skenderija Center, on an area of 10,000 square meters. In the “Mirza Delibasic” hall, publishers from BiH, the region, and Europe offer an extraordinary program and fair discounts for their publications.
The President of the Program Council of the International Sarajevo Book Fair, Ibrahim Spahic, told journalists that the 35th book fair is actually a holiday of words, a holiday of authors, a holiday of publishers, a holiday of librarians, but above all a holiday of readers.
“That’s why I’m happy that already in the first hours of the fair, we have more visitors than exhibitors. It’s a phenomenon because this fair is founded and based on the idea that people socialize with books, to be open to books,” said Spahicyesterday.
This year too, the fair will traditionally mark World Art Day, World Book and Copyright Day, and 70 years of the European Convention on Culture. The expert jury consisting of president Asmir Kujovic and members: Marija-Fekete Sullivan, Lejla Alimanovic, Biljana Zaric, and Aida Gavric, will award the fair’s traditional awards for the best achievements in the past year. In addition to the fair’s awards, the publishers will also award their traditional awards.
At the fair, in addition to the “Mirza Delibasic” hall, the Children’s Pavilion in the Youth Centre, Amphitheater, and Dancing Hall were opened, where presentations and promotions of books for children and youth, workshops and playrooms dedicated to creativity for the youngest, including theatrical, musical and film productions, as well as new IT technologies will be organized, AA writes.
Photo: illustration