Bookfest was created by the Romanian Publishers Association (Asociaţia Editorilor din România, AER), a professional organization established in 1991 to support Romanian publishers and contribute to the development of the country’s publishing industry. Before creating Bookfest, the AER curated Romania’s national stands at the Frankfurt Book Fair and the Paris Book Fair. The inaugural Bookfest was held on June 13-18, 2006 at Romexpo, a large exhibition center in Bucharest.
Bookfest is the most important event in the country’s publishing industry, and all major Romanian publishers take part, offering their best and latest books to a wide and diverse audience of readers, as well as giving readers the opportunity to meet their favorite authors and become the first to learn about exciting new releases. Other participants include book distributors, bookstores, libraries, and literary agencies.
In addition to the book fair proper, the program of the festival includes book presentations and launches, meetings with authors, autograph sessions, presentations, literary debates, conferences, illustration exhibitions, and more. Of course, there is a special program for kids, given that Bookfest is typically held around International Day for Protection of Children.
Over the years, Bookfest has welcomed a lot of special guests from Romania and abroad. They have included, for example, Romanian President Traian Băsescu, who participated in the presentation of Traian Ungureanu’s new book alongside philosopher Gabriel Liiceanu and journalist and author Emil Hurezeanu; literary critic Nicolae Manolescu and poet and essayist Ana Blandina, who participated in the presentation of the autobiography of Andrei Serban, a renowned Romanian-American theater director; historian and journalist Adrian Cioroianu, journalist and author Cristian Tudor Popescu, and many others.
Two Romanian presidents launched their books at Bookfest. At Bookfest 2010, former president Ion Iliescu presented his book După 20 de ani. 1989 (“After 20 Years. 1989”) about the Romanian revolution of 1989 and its aftermath. At Bookfest 2015, incumbent president Klaus Iohannis presented his book Primul pas (“First Step”) about his future plans as president, a sequel to his 2014 autobiography Pas cu pas (“Step by Step”).
Like many other book fairs around the globe, Bookfest has the tradition of choosing a guest of honor for each edition. The guest of honor is a country whose literature and publishing industry are given the spotlight during the event. Past guests of honor at Bookfest have included Spain, Hungary, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Israel, Sweden, the United States, and others.
In addition to the main event in Bucharest, local editions of Bookfest have taken place in Brașov, Cluj-Napoca, Târgu Mureș, Timișoara, and other Romanian cities.
Photo: facebook.com/BookfestRomania
