The 15th TBF opens its gates to the public with the motto “We listen, we read, we discuss!”
On Thursday, May 3, 2018, the 15th Thessaloniki Book Fair, opens its gates to the public. For four days, Thessaloniki will be the hub of all activities of interest for publishers, writers and the professionals of the book industry, as well as for the large readership that is expected to visit Pavilions 13, 14 and 15 of the TIF-Helexpo to participate in the great annual meeting for the book in Greece.
La Francophonie – the French-speaking countries- is the Guest of Honour and Democracy in the 21st Century the main focus, while the thematic tributes of the current Book Fair are Literature and Memory, the Refugee Experience and Book and Performance. The well-established programme of events also comprises presentations of new publications, discussions with authors, and a special tribute to crime fiction with the participation of renown foreign writers. There will also be meetings among professionals from the world of books, thematic exhibitions and screenings, the 5th New Writers’ Festival, the 3rd Translation Festival, as well as various events in the Children’s Corner and the Teenagers’ Forum, which will be provided this year with their own stand in Pavilion 14.
Furthermore, within the framework of the 15th TIBF special discussions and talks concerning professional issues of the publishing field will be organized. Great emphasis will be placed on the reception of the Greek books published abroad, and significant figures from the publishing field will be invited to contribute to this issue.
Among many other events and activities, two European projects will be presented at Thessaloniki, 3-6 May: The “European Union Prize for Literature” and the EMMA digital Platform.
The European Union Prize for Literature
The discussion “European Union Prize for Literature: Translation, Prizes, Literature” (Friday, May 4, 19:00-20:00, Babel Presentation Hall) will highlight the institution of the European prizes, Europe and its literature, the common and different identities, the “common language” of translation and the new European authors. Major participants will Anne Bergman-Tahon, Director of the Federation of European Publishers, the winners of the European Union Prize for Literature 2017 Darko Tuševljaković (Serbia) and Kalia Papadaki (Greece). It will be coordinated by Yiorgos Chouliaras, President of the Hellenic Authors’ Society & President of the National Jury of the European Union Prize for Literature.
The digital tranistion of the book: an ongoing process
The digital challenges that the book will face at the present and in the future will be highlighted at the 15th Thessaloniki Book Fair, in the framework of which active digital projects will be presented to the readers and the professionals of the book industry (New digital approaches of the book). The ensuing open discussion (The digital challenges of the book) aims to examine the challenges for the digital transition of the book. Through a wide range of presentations, the TBF visitors will familiarize themselves with applications, platforms and services, whose objective is to bring the digital age to education, to libraries, to the humanities, to the publishing industry, to the promotion and the reading of books as well as to the reader communities.
Effective Content Marketing for book publishers and events – A hands-on session to help you get started with EMMA
Within this framework, there will be the presentation of the EMMA digital platform, a European project with partners including the Frankfurt International Book Fair in cooperation with the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH) in Thessaloniki and the UK-based software company IN2. The EMMA platform aims to collect, organize, analyze and present the content of cultural activities which focus on the book in the social media and through the multimedia narratives. By setting up a network of culturally active communities, book fairs, publishers, festivals etc., its developers invite the Greek bodies involved in the process to participate in this digital European community for the book.
EMMA will be presented by Marifé Boix-Garcia (Frankfurter Buchmesse), Vasileios Mezaris (CERTH), George Ioannidis (IN2).
Talking about language: Writing literary works in “small” languages”
A discussion on the limitations and charm of the so-called “small” languages that insist on preserving the “national” identity (Satuday, May 5, 14:00-15:00, Mataroa Presentation Hall): they cultivate the literary discourse and interact creatively in a permanent dialogue and conflict with the world dominance of the powerful languages.
Organized by the Hellenic Foundation for Culture with the cooperation of the publishnews.com.br magazine (Brazil), this session will feature: Uxue Alberdi (author, Basque Country), Marko Pogačar (author, Croatia), Kallia Papadaki (author, Greece), Ivan Sršen (author & publisher, Croatia), Efi Giannopoulou (translator & critic, Greece). Moderator: Carlo Correnho, publisher of the magazine publishnews.com.br (Brazil).
About the Thessaloniki Book Fair
The TBF It is organized by the Hellenic Foundation for Culture in collaboration with TIF-HELEXPO, the Municipality of Thessaloniki, associations of Greek publishers as well as independent publishers. It is supported by the Hellenic Parliament and is under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Sports.
Web: http://thessalonikibookfair.gr/?lang=en /
Facebook: thessalonikibookfair
