The Magic of Reading
The rustle of turning pages, the smell of printer’s ink, thousands – nay, millions – of letters making up words, letters and chapters, the reader’s gleaming eyes…
…or the truest magic of a new book in a nutshell! We are about to experience it a hundred times over with the 21 International Book Fair (26-29 October).
Last year’s anniversary edition struck several new records: over 700 exhibitors from 25 countries, 759 authors from Poland and abroad and around 68,000 visitors. And each year the numbers of readers, authors and guests keep growing. To say nothing of the titles…
This year’s guest of honour will be France, with publishers, authors, poets and illustrators arriving from the land of Molière, Proust and Houellebecq. The organisers promise a fascinating programme including literary events and meetings with authors and translators, prepared by numerous institutions and publishing houses promoting French literature in Poland. The majority of publishers bring their latest titles and their most popular authors. Kraków welcomes guests including Katarzyna Bonda, Fr. Adam Boniecki, Prof. Jerzy Bralczyk, Arlette Cousture, Jakub Ćwiek, Daniel de Latour, Jacek Dukaj, Katarzyna Grochola, Cezary Harasimowicz, Jan Hartman, Sylwia Chutnik, Marek Kamiński, Grzegorz Kasdepke, Leon Knabit, Marek Krajewski, Camilla Läckberg, Roma Ligocka, Andrzej Maleszka, Jakub Małecki, Remigiusz Mróz, Łukasz Orbitowski, Beata Pawlikowska, Olga Tokarczuk, Michał Rusinek, Tomasz Samojlik, Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, Tomasz Sekielski, Vincent V. Severski, Szczepan Twardoch, Krzysztof Varga, Adam Wajrak, Janusz Leon Wiśniewski and Adam Zagajewski. Pop into the Authors’ Zone at the weekend for autographs and selfies with your favourite writers. As ever, there will be salons of children’s and young adult literature, new media, graphic novels, and academic, scientific and religious publishers. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the Jan Długosz Competition, awarding prizes for best popular science books.
This year’s meetings are held under the banner of freedom, with the words of the Portuguese author Fernando Pessoa “I read and I become free ” as the motto. Give in to your natural desire to read! (Barbara Zając, "Karnet" magazine)
