Held for over two decades, Book World Prague is one of the most significant book fairs in Eastern Europe. It is organized by Svět knihy, Ltd., a company of the Association of Czech Booksellers and Publishers that focuses on supporting and promoting Czech publishers. The name of the company literally translates as “book world”, coinciding with the name of the fair. The Prague Book Fair is held at the Výstaviště Praha exhibition ground.
The four-day fair features exhibitors and authors from all over the world. Hundreds of exhibitors from different countries present their national literature and publishing industry to a wide audience of locals and tourists. Each edition of the fair has a guest of honor – a country or region whose literature is heavily featured at the exhibition. Past guests of honor include Latvia, German-speaking countries, Spain, Russia, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Egypt, and the Nordic countries.
Alongside the book expo, Book World Prague offers a rich and diverse parallel program including about 400 events. It features meetings with established authors from the Czech Republic and abroad, book signings, presentations, seminars and conferences, literary readings, panel and round table discussions, and more. There are also special industry events for registered exhibitors only.
Many events in the parallel program focus on a designated theme or several themes exploring important issues and trends in the field of publishing and literature. For example, the focus of Book World Prague 2017 included themes such as Genius Loci in Literature (Place in the Starring Role), The Book as Object, and Audio Books.
Since 2011, Book World Prague has been presenting the Jiri Theiner Award. It is awarded to a person or institution operating abroad who or which has made a significant contribution to the promotion of Czech literature abroad.
Photo: Fra
