The Paris Book Festival is organized by the National Publishing Union (Syndicat national de l’édition). It takes place every spring at the Paris expo Porte de Versailles, the largest exhibition park in France situated in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. It’s a four-day event featuring over 1,200 exhibitors, nearly 3,000 authors and about 800 events and activities for attendees of all ages, including both industry professionals and the general public.
Although the program of the festival does feature industry-related events, the Paris Book Festival is a non-specialist book event for a wide audience. It is regarded as one of the most important cultural events in France due to its rich and varied programming. Both established and up-and-coming authors from around the world come to Paris to present their new works and to communicate with readers.
The program of the Paris Book Festival includes a large book exhibition divided into several sections for attendees to navigate easier, meetings with authors and illustrators, book signings, conferences and seminars for industry professionals, readings, and more. Famous authors that have attended the festival include Jorge Amado (Brazil), Paulo Coelho (Brazil), Umberto Eco (Italy), Anna Gavalda (France), Doris Lessing (the UK), Salman Rushdie (India), and others.
For over three decades, each edition of the Paris Book Festival has welcomed a new country or region as its guest of honor. Every year, a delegation of authors and publishers from the guest country arrive at the festival to present the diversity of its literature and publishing industry. Past guests include the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, the USA, Japan, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, China, Russia, India, Israel, Mexico, Japan, Romania, Argentina, Morocco, South Korea, and more.
Since 2011, each festival has also featured a guest city. This project is designed to celebrate iconic cities known for their strong literary tradition. Past guest cities include Buenos Aires, Moscow, Barcelona, Shanghai, Kraków and Wroclaw, Brazzaville and Pointe Noire.
Photo: Decrescenzo Editeurs
