The first Gothenburg Book Fair was held in 1985. The event was arranged purely as a professional trade fair for librarians and teachers. It attracted about 5,000 visitors. The following year, the organizers decided to expand the event. The fair opened up for the publishing industry as a whole, as well as for book lovers. That year the number of visitors rose to 25,000. Since its inception, the Gothenburg Book Fair has developed into a major cultural event that features about 900 exhibitors and has an annual attendance of around 100,000 visitors.
The Gothenburg Book Fair is organized by Bok & Bibliotek i Norden AB. The event comprises three parallel sections: several exhibition halls, a comprehensive conference program, and the International Rights Center where publishers and agents can buy and sell literary rights.
The organizers of the Gothenburg Book Fair are especially proud of the conference program. It consists of seminars, lectures, readings, debates, talks, and other events featuring renowned writers, scholars, thinkers and Nobel Prize laureates from around the world.
The fair’s exhibition program features around 900 exhibitors. Publishers present an impressive variety of books, including fiction, non-fiction, books for children and youth, comics and graphic novels, magazines, and more. Exhibitor stands also host various activities for attendees of all ages.
Each edition of the Gothenburg Book Fair has a guest country, also known as country in focus, whose literature and publishing industry is heavily featured throughout the event. Besides, most editions of the fair have had a theme. For example, the theme of the 2017 fair was “Bildung and Cultivation”.
In 2020, the event was held online due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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